Even though the dust has now well and truly settled on the latest East Anglian Derby, I have a few things subsequently I want to get off my chest.

While I'm sure some will be expecting - and maybe even hoping - that I'd devote these columns to gloating (and I may a little) something else has managed to get under my skin.

The atmosphere on Saturday was among the absolute best I can ever remember at Carrow Road - despite Town boss Kieran McKenna's claims that it was quiet, my ears were ringing by half-time.

It was really quite extraordinary - challenges were cheered like they were goals, all home corners of the ground were bouncing and the roar at full-time could probably have been heard as far as Portman Road.

As I often tend to, I had a little trawl of social media after the game to see how the world was reacting and, believe it or not, it wasn't salty Ipswich fans reminding us of the fact their season has still been far better than ours that got to me.

What actually irked me was the unwelcome, uninvited and downright ignorant views of other fans about whether or not the 'Old Farm' is a "proper" derby.

One type of post I have seen crop up in a few different places is a photograph of the South Stand, showing the away end, home supporters and a modest number of stewards separating the sets of fans.

This, apparently, is an indication of the game not being a "proper" derby. 

Because clearly, the threat of physical violence is the only measure of how significant, how passionate and how "proper" a derby is.

The type of people spouting this utter nonsense are exactly the kind of people who give football supporters a bad name.

Clearly, the police presence over the weekend was greater than any other game, but 11 arrests aside it appears the occasion went by without any significant trouble.

And the absence of a huge wall of stewards between supporters suggests it wasn't expected either.

But to belittle the intensity of the rivalry on this basis is utterly ignorant.

While I ideally don't want Ipswich anywhere near the play-off final - I wish them no form of success whatsoever - there is a small part of me that would love our paths to cross at Wembley solely to show people how intense our derby really is.

I realise I'm biased here, but as somebody who lives and breathes Norwich City, I can assure the footballing world our rivalry is very much proper and one of the country's very best derbies.

The atmosphere on Saturday speaks for itself. 

Eastern Daily Press: Marcelino Nunez is mobbed by Norwich City fans after his match-winning derby strike to sink Ipswich

The tension and anticipation in the air was palpable and you could just sense it was a huge occasion.

I had an utterly dreadful night's sleep on Friday night, waking up countless times - and I'm sure I won't have been the only one. This is how much the derby means to supporters on either side of the border.

Then there's the border itself - this isn't a derby shared by a single city - this is an entire county facing off with another entire county. 

And then you have the history of the fixture - how many other derbies are so finely balanced?

As of Saturday afternoon, the record sits at 43 wins apiece and 23 draws.

Despite City's dominance these past 15 years, it is a contest you can genuinely see going either way any time - that's what a proper rivalry is. 

How many other derbies out there are so finely balanced? Not many, I'd wager. 

Clearly, like any derby, there will always be some hostility - as we saw earlier this season with the missiles thrown at Delia Smith - but this should not ever be used to evaluate the significance of rivalries.

It's a sad fact that there clearly are idiots out there who see football as an excuse to become tribalistic and fight - these people are not football fans.

If anything, the atmosphere in the ground on Saturday is exactly what a derby should be.

If there are scuffles between supporters inside the ground, to me that belittles the rivalry, showing a lack of interest in the game itself.

There is no mistaking to me that on Saturday, it was the football that everybody in the ground was there to care about. 

I've seldom known such intensity in how the crowd reacted to the game - every challenge, every pass, every refereeing decision elicited stronger reactions than any other match.

The way every player in yellow and green dug in, raised their intensity and fought tooth and nail showed they get it too.

How dare anybody suggest our derby is any less important, less intense and less significant than others purely on the basis that it didn't turn into a horrendous riot.

If your measure for what a proper derby is how many people end up in the clink afterwards, kindly get my great team's name out of your mouth. 

You're not football fans, shut up.