Deadline-day deal collapses in the final hours and both clubs have gone quiet
The agreement looked done, then the meeting broke up two hours before midnight.
By the evening the deal looked agreed. Two hours before midnight the parties left the table, and neither club has said a word since.
The sticking point is said to have been the payment schedule rather than the fee. No figure has been confirmed.
The pitch backs up the statistics without quite explaining them. In-game decisions are still the variable that matters most.
What happened that night
The coaching staff put the rotation down to the fixture list. On squad depth they avoid saying anything firm.
Expectations among supporters have gone up. That is the familiar side effect of a good start.
What the player does now
January will probably settle it. Until then this is how the table should be read.
The player stays in the squad for the time being. What happens on the pitch before the window reopens will decide whether the table is set again in January.
Five games in: the side climbing the table is not the one anybody tipped
Put in the bottom half by the summer predictions, they have taken eleven points from five.
The draw is out and the tennis tournament has a heavyweight first round
Two seeds meet in the opening round of the main draw.
Squad announced: two first call-ups ahead of the qualifiers
The coaching staff have refreshed the group with three names.