The Championship is an interesting one this season with several teams looking capable of mounting a promotion push to the promised land of the Premiership. Although it's a cliche to say that bouncing back to the top flight after relegation seems to be something that's getting tougher year upon year, there's definitely some truth as none of the relegated sides in 2017 managed to make it back at the first attempt with Sunderland falling straight through to League One and Hull very nearly joining them.
Nevertheless, the omens look good for West Brom this season. Relegated, ironically, as one of the form sides in the Premiership, their ability to convince Darren Moore (the man behind their late season revival) to take on the manager's job full time was a sound one and he's quickly moved to plug the gaps left by the departures they've suffered in the wake of relegation. With team spirit on the up, there's no reason the Baggies can't bounce straight back this season.
Behind them, the picture gets a bit murkier. My pick for the runners-up spot is Middlesbrough who powered their way into the play-offs with a late run under Tony Pulis last season only to lose to Aston Villa in the semi-finals. It's a close one to call but I think Boro may just shade it into second spot in the table although Pulis must know that the price of failure will be high if he doesn't deliver this season.
The arrival of Frank Lampard at Derby, who also came unstuck in the play-off semis last season and have kept the majority of that squad intact, should put them in the hunt if all goes to plan (though again, the potential for this to go haywire is equally plausible) while their East Midlands near neighbours Nottingham Forest have new owners and have been spending big which, as we found out with Wolves last season, has to put them up there as potential contenders.
Following on from last season's relegation, Stoke have done well to keep their squad from last season intact but the flip side to this is that new manager Gary Rowett will need to quickly inject the confidence that the team badly lacked last season. The Potters should be there or thereabouts but a good start is vital for them if they're to challenge. Finally, my outside bet for the top six is Millwall who finished last season like the proverbial house on fire and only just missed out on the play-offs. If they can keep that momentum ticking, they should go one better this season.
There's several other clubs with an outside shot of the play-offs - after losing in the play-off final to Fulham, you'd expect Aston Villa to be chomping at the bit to go one better but with financial problems resulting in a change of ownership and player departures plus uncertainty over manager Steve Bruce's future they may find themselves getting edged out of the top six this time around. Leeds have made an ambitious managerial appointment in former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa but it's the sort of appointment that could very easily go either way. If (and it's a big if) Bielsa manages to inject some much-needed stability at Elland Road then the play-offs are a possibility.
There's a few teams who fall into the category of "potential play-off contenders if the stars align" - both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday fleetingly showed what they were capable of last season but will need a bit more consistency this time out as will Norwich. Bristol City, Preston and Brentford have all made enough shrewd looking signings to fall into the dark horse category but will need a bit of luck to make the top six.
Of the three promoted clubs, Blackburn look the best placed to consolidate here with a decent squad that knows how to work together as a unit. Wigan and Rotherham may find the going a little bit tougher but if they can keep their promotion momentum going, they should both scrape enough to survive. You get the feeling that Swansea, back in the Championship after eight years in the Prem, aren't going to like this division much. With their better players picked off by top flight clubs and fan unrest off the field, they'll need to hope that new manager Graham Potter, fresh from guiding Ostersunds on their memorable European adventure, can hit the ground running.
QPR seem to be perennially making up the mid-table numbers in the Championship these days and there's no real signs that this season will be any different although Steve McClaren will feel he has a point to prove after a few years of underachievement at various clubs. Ipswich will be hoping meanwhile that new manager Paul Hurst, fresh from organising Shrewsbury's promotion near-miss in League One last season, can bring some freshness to a side that had gone very stale under his predecessor Mick McCarthy. Bolton snuck home late in the day last season and for the second summer running have been playing the free transfer market to rebuild their squad. However, Phil Parkinson is a canny hand at this and Wanderers should have enough to survive again.
Looking at my three picks for relegation then, Birmingham were already struggling last season and have now been hit with a transfer embargo to boot. Garry Monk will need to have all his wits about him to keep the Blues' heads above water in the coming campaign. Likewise Reading drifted backwards alarmingly last season and badly need to turn things around early on to avoid another season of struggle. Finally, Hull are facing fan unrest off the field and a team that only just scraped survival last season on it which has now been weakened further by the departures of several key players to trim the wage bill. It's weird to think that they were celebrating promotion to the Premiership just two years ago - if they don't turn things around quickly this time out then they may be facing an unwanted trip into the lower leagues this season.
FINAL TABLE
1. West Bromwich Albion
2. Middlesbrough
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3. Derby County
4. Stoke City
5. Nottingham Forest
6. Millwall
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7. Aston Villa
8. Leeds United
9. Sheffield United
10. Bristol City
11. Sheffield Wednesday
12. Norwich City
13. Brentford
14. Preston North End
15. Blackburn Rovers
16. Swansea City
17. QPR
18. Ipswich Town
19. Wigan Athletic
20. Bolton Wanderers
21. Rotherham United
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22. Reading
23. Hull City
24. Birmingham City
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