Being back at Carrow Road three times in the last fortnight, with pre-match meet-ups, has reminded me of the positive power of football - at its best, a global language and unifying force bringing diverse communities together to watch and debate the beautiful game.

So much of the nuance in those debates was lost when lockdown dictated discussion was through the prism of social media. The limit on Tweet length for those of us not accomplished writers of Haiku poetry meant increasingly polarised opinion, fewer shades of grey and potential misunderstandings. It’s so much less dramatic back in the pub ahead of, or after, a game; far more conducive to acknowledging others’ views and engaging with them - and less likely to escalate into full-on discord.

And in the ground at the moment, alongside the joy of watching live football again there’s a palpable delight at being in the company of the other fans we used to greet at every home game. It may not last, but that seems to have generated a communal generosity of spirit - I don’t think I’ve heard any seriously negative comments so far aimed at our players - the booing of taking the knee excepted (I’ll deal with that later!).

I’ve also missed (Zoom just didn't cut it) meeting up with away fans, and on Saturday it was awesome to have a drink with Foxes Pride members who we’d last seen 18 months ago at our final home game before Covid restrictions came in. Just wonderful to be exchanging bantz with them again and talking about players we’ve shared: Dublin, Eadie (and Kane), Bertrand and Maddison.

From Canaries who’ve flown to or from another club, to owners Delia and Michael and super-fan gems Stephen Fry, Hugh Jackman and Philip Pullman plus captivating players who’ve come through the ranks or have been spotted by our amazing scouts, there’s something the world over that people like about NCFC.

I was lucky to get to see some games at the Russia World Cup - and at one there were three Aussies sitting nearby - I joked with them about their yellow and green shirts, outing myself as a Canary and asked ‘are you Norwich in fisguise?’ and it turned out that one was! Cue chats about favourite players, games, links to Norwich - and eye rolls from folks around us.

It was good to see Madders again - though I get the feeling no manager since Daniel Farke has been able to fully capitalise on his prodigious talent. He was an amazing player for us, instrumental in delivering some key victories and a decent transfer deal. But unlike some in the City stand I didn’t prolong the ovation as he left the pitch; he was clearly time-wasting on Brendan Rogers’ instruction. Disappointing, James. But the whole issue of how much to applaud players from other clubs was put into perspective in Ligue 1 this week as Leo Messi came off the bench to applause not just from his own PSG fans but from home team Reims supporters too. What on earth?

Norwich Evening News: Canaries keeper Tim Krul goes up for a corner in the last minute of the game against LeicesterCanaries keeper Tim Krul goes up for a corner in the last minute of the game against Leicester (Image: ©Focus Images Limited www.focus-images.co.uk +44 7813 022858)

As Tim Krul charged upfield for what would be our final chance to square the game on Saturday you knew that, while a Hollywood script (“The Mighty Canaries”?) would demand an equaliser via our keeper’s forehead Alisson-style, real life tends not to favour our side with fortune.

The draw escaped us, but the energy and positivity from the whole Carrow Road crowd, trying to will the ball onto Tim’s head was sheer class. A welcome and contrasting bookend to the few embarrassing boos directed at players taking the knee ahead of kick-off. We are a football family and 99.9pc of the stadium care about protecting the players and supporting their unified visible rejection of hatred, so the trolls better get used to seeing it.