So the FA Cup tie we didn't really want goes to a replay I can't imagine anyone really wants.

Yes, you can say that it gives fringe players a run-out, but we won't necessarily field a whole team of them. Some of the regulars will have to be involved, just four days before the extremely crucial league game against Hull.

I don't see Chris Hughton exactly taking a Sam Allardyce approach to the FA Cup, but I imagine that if you offered him three guaranteed points against the Tigers or the chance of being the first City manager since Ken Brown to win at Craven Cottage, the league would come out on top every time.

So for that reason alone Saturday, for now, almost feels like a defeat.

It was by no means the worst FA Cup tie seen in recent years – for starters we gave it a real go in the first half.

There was no uniform going through the motions on show this time.

Obviously nothing we did was ever going to be quite as inept as losing at home to a non-league club.

And besides, given that we've lost four and won only one of our previous six FA Cup ties at Carrow Road expectations probably may not have been all that high.

Josh Murphy looked keen and was determined to get the ball every time he had a chance, David Fox made the most of his annual home appearance and Robert Snodgrass looked comfortable in his new position.

But whatever the line-up, whatever the competition it was the same old Norwich this season.

Whenever we got a telling cross into the Fulham box, the strikers who should have been waiting to convert them had been involved in the build-up and were well out of position.

And when they were in place the quality of the balls in was distinctly lacking – they should know by now that Ricky van Wolfswinkel in particular isn't going to get on the end of balls played behind him.

To be fair, the Dutchman was denied by two great saves, but it's clear that he's going to need a run of starts to get into the swing of things.

And that's an increasingly risky strategy when your league status isn't secure and you've got another forward who has been finding the net recently.

It might take half a dozen starts for him to get into his stride, but that would take us towards the end of February with time perhaps starting to run out if we're still scratching around for wins by then.

But for all the promise of the start it didn't come as a total surprise when Fulham scored first, and it says a lot for the atmosphere the FA Cup now generates that a former Ipswich player scores and it doesn't provoke much of a response in the home stands.

At least this time we were able to hit back promptly after falling behind, but as the second half wore on we looked less and less likely to score.

For all our possession we just didn't offer much in the way of goal threat. Again.

That the game finished in a draw came as no surprise, both teams inexplicably seemed to have settled for it in the closing stages.

You would have thought that neither manager would have wanted a replay, and certainly a second clash at Craven Cottage isn't going to anything remotely like a money-spinner, given the same pricing policy as the first meeting.

But there's no getting away from the fact that Fulham have now been unbeaten in two of their last three away fixtures. Obviously losing 6-0 at Hull was a one-off.