Those who have watched Hull City under Tim Walter will almost certainly confess that Saturday's 4-0 thrashing at Norwich City will not have come as much of a surprise, nor that it has taken until the ninth league game to arrive. City were well beaten at Carrow Road , and while they did fashion some chances, most notably when Chris Bedia tickled a header wide in the first half, at the other end, the Canaries created far more and in truth, the scoreline probably flattered the visitors given the hosts missed a penalty, and saw two or three gilt-edged chances passed up. The trip to Norfolk always felt like a major hurdle, and probably the biggest test of Walter's regime so far.
While a visit to Leeds United came and went without much fanfare and a fairly tame 2-0 defeat, City were also beaten 2-0 at home to Sheffield United. Both teams, on paper at least, may have appeared to have provided bigger tests than the Canaries, after all, Leeds wiped the floor with them in the play-off semi-final last season, while the Blades were a Premier League team, in name at least, even if their performances over 38 games suggested differently. But it was Norwich, a team under a vibrant new manager, and unbeaten in 22 games in all competitions at home, who you felt would test City's recent powers of recovery which saw them win three games on the spin.
Of course, you can make those wins fit any narrative you wish, depending on your viewpoint. Were Stoke City a mess, or were they a difficult nut to .