Hastings alternatives turn on mercenary pay and invasion timing

Which alternate-history scenario involving medieval England is a favorite?

Mercenary pay or a different invasion sequence offers a specific turning point, with a possible England more closely tied to Scandinavia.

A scenario in which William the Conqueror fails to invade England is favored for the different medieval history it would allow. One proposed route is Harold paying an available mercenary force, giving him more men for Hastings. Another reverses the order of the invasions: William lands first, and Harold faces the northern invasion after defeating him. That sequence could reduce the need for an immediate forced march, although the outcome remains conditional. England is imagined as retaining stronger Scandinavian ties. Following the consequences too far forward would introduce so many interacting changes that the counterfactual needs a stopping point.