What's next for Norwich City?

After weeks of speculation, started mostly by himself in his post-match interview on the final day of the season, Paul Lambert has left Norwich City for pastures new, that's Aston Villa to you. This leaves the obvious question, who will replace him?
Alan Curbishley, a running joke in regards to managerial vacancies, has of course been touted, along with Steve Bruce, Chris Hughton, Malky Mackay, Neil Lennon, and if you believe www.norwichcityrumours.co.uk and local taxi drivers, Lee Clarke.
David McNally, in an interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, denied claims that there would be any approach for Neil Lennon so that would seemingly rule him out. Curbishley, as mentioned above, is linked with every top flight vacancy, and although he had a fairly decent record with Charlton is unlikely to be appointed. The less said about Steve Bruce the better.
That leaves us with Malky Mackay and Chris Hughton. Most of the speculation in the press seems to be suggesting that Mackay is the favourite to take over at Carrow Road, with Sky Sports reporting yesterday that an approach had been made, though Cardiff have since denied that any such contact has been made. Mackay would be a popular choice with the fans, having made over 200 appearances for the club between 1998 and 2004, but his lack of experience at the highest level would be of concern.
Out of the candidates mentioned above, it is Chris Hughton that in my mind would be best suited for the job. He has Premier League experience having coached at both Tottenham and Newcastle, as well as his stint in the top flight as Newcastle manager in 2010, the outcry at his sacking serving as testament to the work he had done with the club, galvanising the squad and taking them back into the Premier League at the first attempt. Hughton also has an eye for a player, bringing in Cheik Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and James Perch during his tenure, who have become integral parts of the Newcastle team over the last season. His style of play could also be suited to the personnel that Norwich have at their disposal. With Newcastle, Hughton made great use of Andy Carroll's aerial presence and Joey Barton's delivery from wide. Stats from the season show Norwich's David Fox as having had the highest percentage of successful crosses in the league with 41.3% (minimum of 30 crosses), and only Manchester United (16) scored more headed goals than Norwich with 15.
The clincher for me would be that at Newcastle Hughton's hair slowly began to represent the teams colours and seeing him with yellow and green hair can only be a good thing for football, not just in the city of Norwich but for the world as a whole.