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.
Nobody had them in the top four in August. Five games in they are on eleven points, two off the top.
There are no stars in the squad, there is a system. The side covers about two kilometres a game more than the opposition.
The coaching staff put the rotation down to the fixture list. On squad depth they avoid saying anything firm.
What changed
Expectations among supporters have gone up. That is the familiar side effect of a good start.
January will probably settle it. Until then this is how the table should be read.
Can it hold?
What comes out of the club is contradictory, as usual. Two separate sources give two different figures for the same meeting.
The pace gets tested in winter. For sides working with a short squad the trouble usually starts in January.
PremiumDeadline-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.
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.