The Green’s had trudged off at half time looking disheartened and even the most optimistic of Argyle fans would have struggled to predict that they would snatch a point from the game. But something almost magical happened in the second half. Argyle’s performance was much improved and resilient. Indeed they had the better of the second half yet the Southend defence was proving tough to break down. Finally in the 86^th minute a snapshot by Nick Chadwick pulled a one back for Argyle and from then on the Southend defence was quaking, the fierce Home Park crowd roared the Pilgrims on and two minutes later they had rescued a point.

This is not the first time in recent weeks that Argyle have pulled off such a recovery however. Against Burton Albion they kept going and Simon Walton scored a dramatic 89th minute winner. The following week Argyle faced more tough opposition in Crawley and trailed from the stroke of half time. Argyle rarely threatened one of the fiercest defences in the league but in the 90th minute Frenchman Maxime Blanchard equalised emphatically with an overhead kick.

Despite their lowly league position, it is obvious that team spirit in the Argyle camp is sky high, and Carl Fletcher has installed the kind of mentality that saw Norwich gain so many late points last season in the Championship – it’s not over until the final whistle.

Although these late points don’t do much at a glance for Argyle’s survival hopes, you have to look at the bigger picture. These late comebacks have been against some of the divisions promotion hopefuls, who Argyle were expected to lose heavily too. If our relegation rivals fail to take anything from their games against these sides then it is immediately a point gained on them. The other thing is that these results will be keeping the squad’s morale high, and going into some crucial games we have coming up in the next few weeks, high morale will hopefully lead the way to some more positive results.

In the coming weeks, weather permitting, Argyle face Macclesfield, Barnet, Accrington and then the most crucial game of them all, Dagenham at home. Three of those games are highly winnable for the greens. Macclesfield are in terrible form and are dropping down the league table like a stone. Barnet and Dagenham & Redbridge are two of Argyle’s relegation rivals and they will look to take three points from both games anyway, but with the Green’s playing at home I am very confident of victories over these sides.

Since Fletcher took over the managerial reigns Home Park has become a bit of a fortress and Argyle have only lost twice on their own patch since Fletcher became manager. Fletcher himself has even credited the point taken against Southend to the Home Park crowd who kept the noise levels up despite being 2-0 down for most of the game.

It won’t be until we get a lot closer to the end of the season that we start to see the impact of those points that Argyle have gained. But I am sure that come the end, those points could be the difference between survival and relegation for Argyle this season.

By Plymouth blogger Sam Barker. Check out his blog at: http://samtbarker.wordpress.com/

This of course has all happened due to yet another case of mismanagement of a football club that spiralled Argyle into millions of pounds of debt and the longest administration process seen in recent years.  What happened to my club has been well documented, so I won’t break down everything that happened. However the most important thing is that we were saved by local businessman James Brent and the Green Army still have a club to support.

Cast your eyes down the League Two table and you will find Argyle 23^rd of the 24 teams and encased in the relegation battle. Should the Pilgrims fail to stay up this season it will represent the first time the Devon club has ever played non-league football. The sheer thought of seeing Argyle play in the conference sends a shiver down my spine.

The majority of Argyle fans, including myself, know that if we go down to the conference it is very unlikely we will return to the football league at the first, or even second time of asking. The standard of football at conference level is actually very good, and I believe that at about half of the teams in that league could do well in League Two. None of the teams that have been promoted from the conference in the last 7 seasons have since been relegated back down. This shows the quality that exists there and with only one automatic promotion spot, it is extremely tough league to get out of. Which is why Pilgrims everywhere know that if we go down, we may spend quite a few seasons languishing in the conference before finally returning to the football league.

The fact that Argyle are not as good as down already is something for us Argyle fans to take heart from though. After nine games we had only one point to show for our efforts, and had only scored four goals. At that point Peter Reid was replaced temporarily by central midfielder Carl Fletcher as manager, who has since been handed the job permanently. Ever since that point results have gradually got better and better for Argyle. Fletcher has won five games and drawn six, leaving us at the time of writing on 22 points – only two from safety. We were even briefly out of the relegation zone for a week, but a poor result against Port Vale coupled with a win for Dagenham sent us straight back under the dreaded line.

With 19 games left of the season, Argyle are yet to play all the teams in the bottom half of the table and will believe that they can pull of the greatest of escapes. No team is safe in the bottom half of this league; you only have to look at what happened to Lincoln last season to see that.

If Argyle stay up you will not find a happier set of fans anywhere else in the country. We won’t have won a league, a trophy or even been promoted, but we will have survived the most terrible of times as a football league club. We will have beaten administration and all that it entailed and not let the idiotic behaviour of the past board ruin our club. We will be a normal football club again and hell, if we survive this year, next season could well be a promotion push as James Brent has indicated he wants the club back at League One level at the very least.

If we stay up, it will be a victory for football.

By Sam Barker

The 16-year-old’s has made 10 appearances for the Pilgrims despite his tender years and his performances on the right wing have caught the eyes of the top flight trio.

Scouts from all three clubs have cast their eye over the Plymouth born youngster with many comparing him to new Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain due his similar style of play.

With all three interested in securing his services it’s likely the teenager will command a sizeable fee that could provide a financial lifeline for the League two side who are battling to stay in business.

The Devon based side have endured severe monetary problems over the last few years surviving a winding up order before going into administration in March.

All that came before Peter Reid was sacked as manager at Home Park with midfielder Carl Fletcher being placed in temporary charge as interim chairman Peter Ridsdale attempts to engineer a takeover of the club.

Should Arsenal, Liverpool or United step up their interest the potential sum Plymouth could receive for Lecointe would go a long way to putting the club back on a firm financial footing and give him the chance to step up his development.

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Promotion

The firm favourites to win promotion are the ‘Manchester City of League Two’ Crawley Town who romped away with last year’s Blue Square Bet Premier title with a record 105 points. Notts County recently demonstrated that the League Two title can be brought and it seems likely that Crawley, with a strike partnership of the last year’s top scorer Matt Tubbs and Cheltenham’s Wes Thomas, will repeat the Magpies trick and secure a consecutive promotion to the League One. If they challenging in January there is no doubt they will just chuck more money at it, making them deserved favourites. One of the teams that will be challenging big-spending Crawley are recently relegated Bristol Rovers who have appointed Paul Buckle as manager. The former Torquay boss took the Gulls to the play-off final last year and did an excellent job at the overachieving side. He should enable some steel in a Pirates side that has had a major overhaul in the summer. Bringing in striker Chris Zebroski from the Gulls and Scott McGleish from Orient shows the sort of intent the club has to return at the first time of asking. While another team who could have a big season are Shrewsbury Town. The teams are the nearly men of League Two after missing out on automatic promotion by one point and then falling to Torquay in the playoffs last season. After keeping hold of their key men while stil adding to the team, they will certainly be contenders again this year. They will be hoping to replicate Bury who had experienced the same sort of disappointment in the few seasons before they were eventually promoted last term.

Play-off Contenders

Oxford United look like a strong outfit this year and they have recruited well in the summer with Tony Capaldi, Deane Smalley and Peter Leven all arriving. With Constable and Craddock leading their attack this could be the year when their large fan base is rewarded with promotion. Gillingham were unlucky to miss out on the playoffs last time round and despite numerous player changes during the close season, they look a good bet for playoffs at least after some shrewd investments. It is a shame for them that new signing Adam Birchall is out for the first six months of the season but the prolific former Wimbledon forward Danny Kedwell could be the man to replace Cody McDonald’s goals. Rotherham are in a similar situation to Shrewsbury as one of the nearly men of League Two and if they can keep the prolific Adam Le Fondre at the club they stand a good chance of at least making the playoffs. Even if Le Fondre departs former Brighton man Chris Holroyd has the potential to fill his large boots. The other relegated side Dagenham & Redbridge were quite unfortunate to be go down but have lost two important players in Danny Green and Romain Vincelot which will influence them. However they play attractive football under John Still and should be around the top 10 come May.

Other sides that have playoffs ambitions include Crewe will be looking to improve on last season’s 10th place finish while Accrington Stanley may have lost a number of key players after last year’s fantastic season but they could again do well with John Coleman at the helm. Swindon Town may have received all the press attention after appointing Paulo Di Canio as manager but I believe there is little evidence of his ability as a football manager so it will be interesting to see how he gets on there and I think he will struggle to finish the season with the club. Northampton Town are another team that are difficult to judge after a shocking campaign last year but with the experienced Gary Johnson in charge, they look to have an exciting side so could surprise a few teams.

Dark Horses

I think Bradford City could well make a challenge for playoffs after a hugely disappointing campaign last year. They have recruited well in Guy Branston who will give them leadership at the back and they will be hoping that new signing Ross Hannah continues last season’s form where he scored 52 goals, albeit for Matlock Town. After being one of the favourites for the last few years this time nobody expects them and they could be a surprise package.

Let me know if I have missed anyone out and what you think of the upcoming League Two season also look out for the teams who will be looking to avoid relegation tomorrow. Follow on twitter @aidanmccartney for more Football League discussion.

Prices are going up all the time in all areas of life, whether it be the price of petrol, alcohol or food and it would seem that football tickets are just another one to add to the list. There was a wide expectancy from supporters of Premier League and Championship clubs that there was going to be an increase in ticket prices for next season, but it’s not until it’s announced that it really hits home with the fans. This is an area where football clubs have complete power over fans, for if they want to watch their team, most fans will still hand the money over. At the end of the day a football club is a business and it needs to make a profit to survive, so increasing ticket prices is just one of the ways to do it.

From what I have read about the situation the three clubs I have mentioned above have genuinely increased their prices to cope with the VAT rise and have tried to be as reasonable as possible. In this extract from the BBC website Keith Jelley, of the Liverpool Supporters Club, said: It’ll be a disappointed reaction from fans but I think it is fair.” The match day tickets at Anfield have only increased by a pound for seats in the Kop and £2 everywhere else, which doesn’t seem a lot, but when added to a season ticket becomes a bigger deal. However, it’s not quite as reasonable at newly promoted QPR, they have increased season tickets at Loftus Road by 40%, a rise which has incensed many Rangers fans who think they are being exploited by their wealthy owners. In this instance I feel QPR are taking advantage of the nationwide ticket increase and are benefiting from their promotion financially at the fan’s expense.

I wouldn’t put the increase in ticket prices solely down to the current financial climate but I do feel it has played a part. Most clubs do value their supporters and try to find a happy medium between prices that are fair for them and the club. It just shows that as much as football supporters wouldn’t be able to live without their beloved teams, the clubs need the fans and their money just as much.

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The 25 year-old has hit an impressive 13 goals so far in League 1, and while Plymouth will be desperate to hold on to their in-form striker their dire financial situation may leave them with little choice but to accept Blackpool’s £500,000 offer.

Holloway will be hoping that Wright-Phillips can repeat the success of other players that he plucked from lower league obscurity such as Luke Varney and Matt Phillips.

Wright-Phillips burst on to the Premier League scene when he scored a goal against Middlesbrough on his Manchester City debut in 2004, but failed to impress consistently and was sold to Southampton in 2006. After three unspectacular years with the Saints he joined Plymouth in 2009 but two serious injuries meant that it took him eight months to score his first goal for the Pilgrims.

It is believed that Holloway also made enquiries regarding Barnsley’s Adam Hammill, but was priced out of a move by the player’s wage demands.

The gap between the Championship and the Premiership is closing to a large degree, sides in the top half of the Championship and the lower half of the Premiership are fairly interchangeable when it comes to their side’s ability, and the only difference is obviously in the level and consistency of their play.

Last season Sylvain Ebanks Blake finished as top goalscorer for Wolves as he spearheaded their promotion campaign with a great return of 25 goals, but he has flopped badly this season and confirmed what everyone suspected, he’s out of his depth playing week in week out at the highest level. Jason Scotland was second with 21 goals and similarly, he too has failed to make the step up with Wigan after doing so well with Swansea last term, yet he has failed to trouble the scorer’s at all so far for Martinez’s boys.

Martin Paterson has shown flashes of his decent form last year for Burnley but has failed to match his 12 goals of last season. Tommy Smith, Chris Iwelumo and Kevin Phillips have also seen opportunities restricted by a lack of playing time for their respective clubs and so it falls to Kevin Doyle, the only one to have improved on last season’s performances. Although his goal return has decreased with the Irishman only netting six times so far this season for Wolves compared to his 18 last year for Reading.

This year the league’s top scorer is Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham with 18 goals, of which a large amount have been penalties, much like what happened with fellow club member Ross McCormack last year. McCormack has suffered this term with only 2 goals in all competitions as he’s struggled to get anywhere near his tally of 21 last year and also get past the flourishing partnership of Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra.

It is very odd for a league such as the Championship not to have at least one prominent goalscoring striker in it; the closest it gets is Doncaster’s Billy Sharp who has 15 goals to his name. But it does beg the question – is the standard simply not good enough nowadays, or is this year just a one off?

The league does possess some decent striker’s but compare the pool of talent to season’s past and it is certainly going through a rare tough patch in terms of quality. Amongst the best striker’s in the league are Dexter Blackstock, Jay Simpson, Andy Carroll, Michael Chopra and possibly Rob Earnshaw, but if you list their qualities they are fairly one dimensional players and limited in terms of what they could offer pursuing clubs in the top flight. Sadly Leon Best has failed to live up to expectations since his move north from Coventry to leaders Newcastle and has thus far failed to add to add a single goal to his name in the famous black and white shirt.

That’s why Kevin Doyle has slotted in so well again in the Premiership for he is a multi faceted player, his ability to hold the ball up, play up front by himself or with a partner coupled with his pace and high work rate make him an extremely attractive proposition for potential buyers and he has been one of the success stories of the season for Mick McCarthy’s Wolves side.

The Championship this season has most definitely seen the rise of the goal getting midfielder, and it’s a mark of the way the modern game is headed. Alongside Whittingham, Charlie Adam, Darren Ambrose, Brunt and Dorrans at West Brom and Kevin Nolan have all impressed in that respect in particular.

It hasn’t been a particularly high scoring league so far this season with Swansea most notably building their success under the effortlessly cool Paulo Sousa, on defensive solidity and possession football. They have score the lowest amount of goals in the entire league with just 32 coming from 38 games, but with the best defensive record in the league, their progress and success is a mark of the way the league has headed this year.

Whether this points to sides’ wisening up to the fact that there is so much more to lose financially by attacking too much or whether it’s just that certain teams play in a defensive manner is up for debate. Title hopefuls Newcastle and West Brom are the two sides to have scored the most goals in the league with Hughton’s men netting 71 times to West Brom’s 76, but this is by no means an exceptional total historically.

Their success is to be expected with the resources they have at their disposal, yet no real striker of note has emerged to take the league by storm. Andy Carroll has been solid and threatening but is still inconsistent in front of goal with a lack of composure hindering him at times, whereas at West Brom, goals have been shared out equally between the team with Jerome Thomas, Roman Bednar and Simon Cox aiding Dorrans and Brunt on easing the burden for De Matteo’s aesthetically pleasing side.

Free scoring Cardiff have played their part too with Chopra and Whittingham in particular performing well in front of goal, but both tend to get goals in bunches, much like Jermain Defoe does at Spurs, and whilst this is not a bad thing, it can make them an unpredictable outfit, for when they are firing they are an extremely tough side to face, but they can be got at and are equally as prone to being vulnerable as they are brilliant, such is their Jekyll and Hyde nature.

It will be interesting to see with only eight fixtures remaining and the playoff places all but sown up for everyone currently in them except perhaps Cardiff, whether the defensive shackles that have bound the league all season are set loose remains to be seen. As is often the case with sides that have been relegated or have little to play for, they can often end up playing with greater freedom due to a decreased sense of responsibility and so with a lot of clubs caught neither here nor there with concerns to a playoff push or a relegation scrap, the Championship could well be in for a particularly entertaining month.

As I pointed out earlier, mid-table teams in the Premiership often look to the Championship for a cheaper striker to bolster their squad when summer rolls around, but with Newcastle and West Brom all but certain to go up in my opinion, there will be little call to sign any striker in the Championship on this season’s goalscoring evidence alone. Dexter Blackstock is probably the best bet and Jay Simpson could probably do a job at Premiership level too but other than that the choice of striking quality is somewhat deficient with realistic purchases few and far between.

There’s a reason Jermain Beckford is touted so widely in some quarters for a potential move from Leeds to the Premiership. He is a very good goalscorer, perhaps a little too lightweight for the physical nature of the league, he has performed well every time he has faced Premiership opposition this season after notably bagging goals against both Spurs and Man Utd in the cup. His potential ascension to a league two tiers higher than the one he currently plies his trade in is directly linked to the lack of competition he faces from rival strikers of his quality in the Championship and is a rare occurrence. If that is not an indictment on the relative weak bunch of strikers playing in the Championship now I don’t know what is, for Beckford is a very good performer and comfortably better than League One, but the Premiership, well that’s a different kettle of fish entirely and I suspect it may be above his standard, much like most Championship striker’s around at the minute.

Written By James McManus

For Leicester City, Saturday the 22^nd August marked the debut of Scottish striker Paul Gallagher against Barnsley. He signed from Blackburn for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £900k after loan signings at four different clubs in the past four years. Now with a new club the hope is that he can finally get some stability and fulfil the potential that Saturday’s match seemed to reveal he is in abundance of.

The most obvious quality revealed against Barnsley was Gallagher’s creativity. Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said after signing him that he was very creative, and from how Gallagher played it seems that Pearson was right on the money. In particular it was Gallagher’s one touch, pinpoint passes that first caught the eye. Every time the ball was passed to him he would immediately ping the ball forward that almost always caught a run or started a move. Whenever he got the ball there seemed to be a confidence that he wouldn’t run into the opposition, or stumble a pass that’s intercepted, or get barged off the ball. His ability to instantly spot a pass was impressive, and he would react so quickly that the opposition wouldn’t have time to do anything about him.

Another unexpected quality of Gallagher’s that was revealed on Saturday was his ability to take corners. The couple that he took were all dangerous balls into the box, and this quality passed on to his general crossing as well, which was also pretty good. Gallagher is quoted by some to be quite good in the air, though this was a bit difficult to judge in the Barnsley match as only two headers came his way (despite the excessive amount of long balls Leicester seemed to play). One he was pressured for and went a bit wayward but the other mimicked his one touch passing as he shot the ball off his head and into the path of a winger. If he can carry on heading balls like that then he could turn out to be an asset in the air for Leicester.

Gallagher is also generally described as being a bit lacking in pace, though what he did show in a few glimmers in the Barnsley match was a fair amount of acceleration. His top speed may not be a blistering pace, but he seemed to be able to hit it fairly quickly. This proved especially useful in the rare few times when there was no pass available and he did go for a run. His acceleration meant that he could quickly get the upper hand with a short dribble that opened up a pass that was otherwise unavailable.

As a striker one of the most important qualities is the ability to finish. Gallagher unfortunately only really had one shot on goal and so it was difficult to judge any finishing ability. The one shot he did manage to muster however was certainly not a bad one. He spun a quick turn from a defender and stung a shot into the goalkeeper’s gloves. Given a bit more settling time and the confidence of a first team run, then a goalscoring ability might well start to peek out. He scored 13 goals for Plymouth last season and so hopefully, now that he is at a club where he actually knows his place instead of being loaned out continuously, he can grow in confidence and exceed that tally for Leicester. If not then he seems like he would still make a pretty good attacking midfielder, who can start moves and link with the forwards through his one touch passing.

All in all he looks a good bit of business for Leicester, and as the season progresses he could turn out to be quite an asset.

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Hello!  Welcome back to what looks to be a very enticing Championship season.

Those that fell (Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and West Brom) all face a daunting task and a difficult struggle to earn the right for an immediate return to the top-flight.

And for those that have joined us in the Championship, Leicester City, Scunthorpe United and Peterborough, you are welcomed to a division that will look to excite and your patience fans are going to love it.

Here in the Championship we don’t have to rely on Arab money to spark talking points and we do not require the nonsense of Sven ‘keep it in your trousers mate’ Eriksson taking the riches of a poor club.

It is here that you get pure football and pure football is what you are going to get.

An unpredictable league just has become even more unpredictable and it’s practically impossible to narrow promotion contenders down to just six.

Middlesbrough, Newcastle, West Brom, Ipswich Town, Reading, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Preston, Leicester City, Swansea City, QPR, Crystal Palace, Bristol City, Derby County all have the opportunity to gate crash the top six, the top two get automatic and the next four will go into the crazy world of the playoffs.

Burnley showed us last year that they can defy the odds and after a long, tenuous, memorable season they deserved their rightful place amongst the elite.

Wolves and Birmingham City went up automatically last term, in case you have forgotten, and hope they can lead by example of how good Championship clubs are.

Deflated teams like Reading, Sheffield United and Preston, who all suffered play off heartbreak, look to improve their squads to see if they can repeat last season’s charge up the table.

But how knows but here are my predictions (subject to change) for the upcoming season.

Barnsley

Simon Davey still may be living on his FA Cup exploits but he will find it a tough ask to keep the Tykes in the Championship this term, as new signings have been rather thin on the ground. They lack the inspiration and goal power to ensure safety.

Key Man: Brian Howard                                Prediction: 22^nd

Blackpool

The outspoken Ian Holloway would be thanking the high heavens for an opening day return to QPR but unfortunately the Seasiders will be struggling and they face the daunting task of a relegation struggle.

Key Man: Paul Rachubka              Prediction: 20^th

Bristol City

Gary Johnson will be victim of his overachievements in previous seasons. Following promotion with a fourth placed finish to the surprise of many but now teams can get the better of them and a season in mid-table beckons.

Key Man: Nicky Maynard             Prediction: 17^th

Cardiff City

Keeping hold of top scorer Ross McCormack may prove vital for Dave Jones but if Michael Chopra recaptures pinnacle form, they may be pushing playoffs no problem. Losing Roger Johnson is big but bringing in Antony Gerrard and David Marshall is a masterstroke. They will be looking to shine at the new stadium.

Key Man: Ross McCormack         Prediction: 7^th

Coventry City

With star men Scott Dann and Danny Fox both leaving, Chris Coleman has a tough task on his hands. No huge signings and too much relied upon Freddy Eastwood scoring, will be involved in relegation dogfight.

Key Man: Keiren Westwood       Prediction: 19^th

Crystal Palace

You never know what you are going to get from a Neil Warnock team but this Palace is one of the poorest in recent time. Simon Jordan’s wallet seems to have gone walkabouts as Palace don’t seem to have the financial purse strings to push for promotion this term.

Key Man: Shaun Derry                   Prediction: 15^th

Derby County

Compared to last season’s transfer activity, this summer has been relatively quiet. Nigel Clough has had his hands full trying to shape a squad. They will be a good outside bet for a playoff place but they may need another season under Clough to become a dominate force again.

Key Man: Giles Barnes   Prediction: 9^th

Doncaster Rovers

Sean O’Driscoll’s astute management saw Donny pass all expectations last term and they will have a good one this year. Their home form is crucial for their season’s outcome.

Key Man: Brian Stock     Prediction: 10^th

Ipswich Town

Roy Keane has inspiration that others can only dream about, his tactics and contacts will do well bringing in a whole host of players that will make Ipswich title contenders. This club will be very entertaining next season.

Key Man: Richard Wright              Prediction: 4^th

Leicester City

This team will be the dark horse of the Championship. Nigel Pearson is a brilliant young manager that has ambitions to burn. Another goal scorer will see Leicester be amongst the big boys once again.

Key Man: Matt Fryatt     Prediction: 6^th

Middlesbrough

If, and I do mean if, boro’ can keep their current squad and sign a few ‘Championship experienced’ players they will have the best chance to win this division. Keeping faith with Gareth Southgate was vital and motivating the ‘ex-Premier League’ players to perform will be key.

Key Man: David Wheater             Prediction: 1^st

Newcastle United

This club will have to go bad to worse to get better and a mass exodus of players duly looms, with no manager at the helm they are ill prepared for the fight in the Championship. The fact they have got no one in yet is quite frightening and fans must be worried.

Key Man: Steven Taylor                                Prediction: 14^th

Nottingham Forest

Big things are expected as the money has been spent. They will definitely be in the playoff picture but to force their way into the higher top half may be tough. Billy Davies knows this division well and could be a danger this season.

Key Man: Chris Gunter  Prediction: 8^th

Peterborough

Momentum is key and The Posh may find this season a bit more wary than others as struggling is something they are not used too. The way they play may surprise a few but Darren Ferguson will know what is expected of him.

Key Man: Craig Mackail-Smith                    Prediction: 16th

Plymouth Argyle

They will be struggling, and struggling bad. Summer signing Bradley Wright-Phillips won’t score enough to keep the team in the league. Paul Sturrock will do his best but after last year’s fortunate escape, they can’t rely on being as fortunate this term.

Key Man: Roman Larrieu              Prediction: 24^th

Preston North End

Overachieved last year and a back to reality mid-table finish is upon them. Manager Alan Irvine is a wanted man but stuck loyal to Preston in hope he can steer them up the league. Loss of captain Paul McKenna leaves any playoff chances looking remote.

Key Man: Neil Mellor     Prediction: 13^th

Queen’s Park Rangers

Appointing Jim Magilton was a shock for many and QPR won’t be doing much this term. Pressure will be on and the lack of signings to improve the squad indicates that.

Key Man: Damion Stewart           Prediction: 11^th

Reading

No one will forget Steve Coppell but the team went a bit stale at the end of last season. A new manager and a new lease of life for many of the players, a young up and coming team may take some teams by surprise. Brendan Rodgers is certainly ambitious.

Key Man: Shane Long    Prediction: 5^th

Scunthorpe United

Two promotions in three years seem like a dream come true but Nigel Adkins will find it tough in the Championship. They will need goals and possibly another loan stint of Arsenal‘s Henri Lansbury if they were to survive.

Key Man: Matt Sparrow                                Prediction: 23^rd

Sheffield United

Going strength to strength, unlucky to be beaten in the playoff final last season and will be looking to challenge again this term. The arrival of Ched Evans is a shrewd one as he may fire the goals to get The Blades back in to the top-flight.

Key Man: Ched Evans    Prediction: 2^nd

Sheffield Wednesday

Brian Laws has kept his teambuilding quiet as he looks to sneak into the playoff picture. If they get confidence in Francis Jeffers alongside Marcus Tudgay they will score goals and may prove to be a surprise, although that is doubtful.

Key Man: Marcus Tudgay             Prediction: 12^th

Swansea City

With losing Roberto Martinez, Swansea may really struggle this term and the lost of Striker Jason Scotland may prove vital. They played some of the best football last season but they may have just lost their spark now.

Key Man: Ferrie Bodde                 Prediction: 18^th

Watford

Malky Mackey has replaced Brendan Rodgers and he may find it a tougher job than expected. Watford aren’t the riches of clubs and he may have to rely on youth to get them out of trouble. Relegation candidates for certain.

Key Man: Jay DeMerit                   Prediction: 21^st

West Brom

A yo-yo team at best and it will be more of the same. They will be pushing for automatic and Roberto Di Matteo tactical know how will put them in god stead. Signing Simon Cox was clever as he may be the young spark to ignite a team full of Premier League players.

Key Man: Jonathan Greening     Prediction: 3^rd