BIRMINGHAM
Manager: Lee Clark
Position last season: 21st
Nickname: Blues
Ground: St Andrew’s
Capacity: 30,016
Players in: Jonathan Grounds (Oldham, free), Grant Hall (Tottenham, loan), Stephen Gleeson (MK Dons, free), Wes Thomas (Rotherham, free), David Edgar (Burnley, free), Gavin Gunning (Dundee United, free), Mark Duffy (Doncaster, free), David Cotterill (Doncaster, free), Clayton Donaldson (Brentford, free)
Players out: Darren Ambrose, Peter Lovenkrands, Brian Howard, Nikola Zigic, Chris Burke, Akwasi Asante, Reece Hales (all released), Hayden Mullins (Notts County, free), Wade Elliott (Bristol City, free), Liam Maher (Leamington, free), Aaron Martin (Yeovil, free), Amari’i Bell (Mansfield, loan)
Key man: Clayton Donaldson
Chances: Birmingham avoided the humiliation of relegation by the slenderest of margins on the final day last season, prompting a wholesale clear-out by boss Lee Clark. Should key new signings Clayton Donaldson, Stephen Gleeson and Wes Thomas fail to fire, Blues fans will not waste time in heaping pressure on their under-fire manager.
BLACKBURN
Manager: Gary Bowyer
Position last season: 8th
Nickname: Rovers
Ground: Ewood Park
Capacity: 31,367
Players in: Chris Brown (Doncaster, free), Luke Varney (Leeds, free), Alex Baptiste (Bolton, loan)
Players out: William Beesley, Robbie Cotton, Ryan Edwards, Hugo Fernandez Molina, Timothy Payne, Deniz Pero, Aaron Tumwa, Matthew Urwin, DJ Campbell, Dickson Etuhu (all released), Alan Judge (Brentford, undisclosed), David Goodwillie (Aberdeen, free), Josh Morris (Fleetwood, loan), Alex Marrow (Carlisle, free)
Key man: Jordan Rhodes
Chances: Gary Bowyer’s men ended last season with a goal glut amid a 12-game unbeaten run and only narrowly missed out on the play-offs. The free-scoring Jordan Rhodes has since signed a new contract and expectation will be high at Ewood Park with promotion the clear aim.
BLACKPOOL
Manager: Jose Riga
Position last season: 20th
Nickname: The Seasiders, Tangerines
Ground: Bloomfield Road
Capacity: 17,338
Players in: Sergei Zenjov (FC Karpaty Lviv, free)
Players out: Barry Ferguson, Michael Chopra, Robert Earnshaw, Louis Almond, Anderson Banvo, Jake Caprice, Adam Dodd, Nathan Eccleston, Elliot Grandin, Faris Haroun, Liam Tomsett, Nathan Tyson, Tony Warner (all released), Chris Basham (Sheff Utd, free), Kirk Broadfoot (Rotherham, free), James Caton (Shrewsbury, free), Neal Bishop (Scunthorpe, free), Craig Cathcart (Watford, free), Matt Gilks (Burnley, free), Chris Kettings (Crystal Palace, free), Mark Halstead (Shrewsbury, free), Tom Ince (Hull, compensation), Ricardo Fuller (Millwall, free)
Key man: David Perkins
Chances: Jose Riga arrived at Bloomfield Road knowing he had just six professional players and piecing a squad together, let alone building a team which can avoid a relegation scrap, has proved difficult. A disgruntled fanbase is ready to erupt if Blackpool toil, as the bookmakers have predicted.
BOLTON
Manager: Dougie Freedman
Position last season: 14th
Nickname: The Trotters
Ground: The Macron Stadium
Capacity: 28,723
Players in: Neil Danns (Leicester, free), Liam Trotter (Millwall, free), Liam Feeney (Millwall, free), Andy Robinson (Southampton, free), Dorian Dervite (Charlton, free), Ross Fitzsimons (Crystal Palace, free), Dean Moxey (Crystal Palace, free), Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff, loan)
Players out: Zat Knight, Chris Eagles, Tyrone Mears, Jay Lynch, Andre Moritz, Arran Lee-Barrett (all released), Marvin Sordell (Burnley, undisclosed), Alex Baptiste (Blackburn, loan)
Key man: Jermaine Beckford
Chances: Bolton have cleared the decks and tightened the purse strings as they cope with life in the second tier. Many supporters remain unconvinced by boss Dougie Freedman, who may need to utilise the loan market to good effect once again.
BOURNEMOUTH
Manager: Eddie Howe
Position last season: 10th
Nickname: The Cherries
Ground: Dean Court
Capacity: 10,783
Players in: Dan Gosling (Newcastle, free), Junior Stanislas (Burnley, free), Callum Wilson (Coventry, undisclosed)
Players out: Richard Hughes, Stephen Purches (both retired), Shwan Jalal (Bury, free), Matt Tubbs (AFC Wimbledon, loan), Lewis Grabban (Norwich, undisclosed), Mohamed Coulibaly (Coventry, loan) and Ryan Allsop (Coventry, loan).
Key man: Eunan O’Kane
Chances: Having roared up the division to threaten a play-off spot last season this young and talented group will look to improve on a campaign to remember. A lot will depend on Callum Wilson’s ability to step into the shoes of Lewis Grabban who enjoyed such a fruitful partnership with Yann Kermorgant.
BRENTFORD
Manager: Mark Warburton
Position last season: 2nd in League One
Nickname: The Bees
Ground: Griffin Park
Capacity: 12,300
Players in: Alan Judge (Blackburn, undisclosed), Marcos Tebar Ramiro (Almeria, free), Andre Gray (Luton, undisclosed), Moses Odubajo (Leyton Orient, undisclosed), Alex Pritchard (Tottenham, loan)
Players out: Scott Barron (released), Shaleum Logan (Aberdeen, free), Aaron Pierre (Wycombe, free), Liam O’Brien (Dagenham, free), Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham, free), Sam Beale (Eastbourne Borough, free), Luke Norris (Gillingham, compensation), Farid El Alagui (Hibs, free), Will Grigg (MK Dons, loan)
Key man: Alan Judge
Chances: The Bees are back in the second tier for the first time in 21 years and, having kept the bulk of their promotion-winning squad together, they should have little to fear. The west london derbies against Fulham will be occasions to relish.
BRIGHTON
Manager: Sami Hyypia
Position last season: 6th
Nickname: The Seagulls
Ground: American Express Community Stadium
Capacity: 30,250
Players in: Nzuzi Toko (Grasshopper Zurich, free), Aaron Hughes (QPR, free), Chris O’Grady (Barnsley, undisclosed)
Players out: Peter Brezovan, Will Hoskins, Tomasz Kuszczak, Andrea Orlandi, David Lopez, David Rodriguez (all released), Matt Upson (Leicester, free), Brennan Dickenson (Gillingham, free)
Key man: Leonardo Ulloa
Chances: Champions League winner Sami Hyypia faces a tough challenge on his managerial debut in England. The Seagulls have reached the play-offs in each of the last two seasons but a top-six finish this time around looks a big ask.
CARDIFF CITY
Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Position last season: 20th in the Premier League
Nickname: Bluebirds
Ground: Cardiff City Stadium
Capacity: 33,338
Players in: Javi Guerra (Real Valladolid, free), Guido Burgstaller (Rapid Vienna, undisclosed), Federico Macheda (Manchester United, free), Adam Le Fondre (Reading, undisclosed), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, free)
Players out: Tommy Smith, Simon Lappin, Luke Coulson, Ronnie Hawkins (all released), Craig Bellamy (retired), Andrew Taylor (Wigan, undisclosed), Don Cowie (Wigan, free), Kevin McNaughton (Bolton, loan)
Key Man: Jordon Mutch
Chances: If there is one thing the Championship title favourites will not be short of it is firepower. The goals should flow freely for Cardiff with new signings Javi Guerra, Adam Le Fondre and Federico Macheda on board. If they can make their home a fortress once more they should make an immediate return to the top flight.
CHARLTON
Manager: Bob Peeters
Position last season: 18th
Nickname: The Addicks
Ground: The Valley
Capacity: 27,111
Players in: Zak Ansah (Arsenal, free), Kurtis Cumberbatch (Watford, free), Yoni Buyens (Standard Liege, loan), Igor Vetokele (FC Copenhagen, undisclosed), Franck Moussa (Coventry, free), Andre Bikey (Panetolikos, free), Tal Ben Haim (Standard Liege, free), Johann Berg Gudmundsson (AZ Alkmaar, free), George Tucudean (Standard Liege, free)
Players out: Leon Cort, Cedric Evina, Mark Gower, Andy Hughes, Bradley Jordan (all released), Ben Hamer (Leicester, free), Dorian Dervite (Bolton, free), Kevin Feely (Newport, free), Danny Hollands (Portsmouth, free), Richard Wood (Rotherham, free), Adebayo Azeez (AFC Wimbledon, free), Danny Green (MK Dons, free), Diego Poyet (West Ham, compensation), Jordan Cook (Walsall, free), Bradley Pritchard (Leyton Orient, free)
Key man: Johnnie Jackson
Chances: Narrowly avoided the drop last season and then promptly binned the manager who saved them, while many of their better players have also departed. Once held up as the model of how to run a football club, Charlton are now a disaster waiting to happen.
DERBY
Manager: Steve McClaren
Position last season: 3rd
Nickname: The Rams
Ground: iPro Stadium
Capacity: 33,597
Players in: Alban Bunjaku (Sevilla, free), Jonathan Mitchell (Newcastle, free), Zak Whitbread (Leicester, free), Alefe Santos (Bristol Rovers, free), Cyrus Christie (Coventry, undisclosed), George Thorne (West Brom, undisclosed)
Players out: Ross Atkins, Valentin Gjokaj, Michael Hoganson, Callum Ball, James Bailey (all released), Adam Legzdins (Leyton Orient, free), James O’Connor (Walsall, free), Ben Davies (Sheffield United, free)
Key man: Chris Martin
Chances: After play-off final heartache last season, promotion will be the aim this time round for Steve McClaren’s men. However, Andre Wisdom, George Thorne and Patrick Bamford were pivotal to what Derby achieved in 2013/14 and if they do not return on loan then replacements must be brought in.
FULHAM
Manager: Felix Magath
Position last season: 19th in the Premier League
Nickname: The Cottagers
Ground: Craven Cottage
Capacity: 25,700
Players in: Shaun Hutchinson (Motherwell, free), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets, undisclosed), Tim Hoogland (Schalke, free), Kay Voser (Basle, undisclosed), Ross McCormack (Leeds, undisclosed), Konstantinos Stafylidis (Bayer Leverkusen, loan)
Players out: Damien Duff, Giorgos Karagounis, Mahamadou Diarra, John Arne Riise, Derek Boateng, Matthew Briggs, Neil Etheridge, Brede Hangeland, Charles Banya, Alex Brister, Dino Islamovic, Ronny Minkwitz, Max Oberschmidt (all released), John Heitinga (Hertha Berlin, free), Steve Sidwell (Stoke, free), Josh Pritchard (Gillingham, free), Sascha Riether (Freiburg, undisclosed), Pajtim Kasami (Olympiacos, undisclosed), Kieran Richardson (Aston Villa, undisclosed)
Key man: Ross McCormack
Chances: Felix Magath has cleared the decks at the Cottage with many of last year’s under-performers shown the door. The German has gambled £11million on Ross McCormack repeating last season’s goalscoring exploits and, if he comes close, Fulham will be right up there.
HUDDERSFIELD
Manager: Mark Robins
Position last season: 17th
Nickname: The Terriers
Ground: John Smith’s Stadium
Capacity: 24,500
Players in: Joe Murphy (Coventry, free), Lee Peltier (unattached)
Players out: Peter Clarke, Ian Bennett, Chris Atkinson, Anton Robinson, Cristian Lopez, Paul Mullin (all released), Keith Southern (Fleetwood, free), Calum Woods (Preston, free)
Key man: Nahki Wells
Chances: Huddersfield have maintained steady improvement since winning promotion to the Championship in 2012, but chairman Dean Hoyle, renowned for his sensible stewardship, shares fans’ expectations that Town should make a bigger impact this time around and manager Mark Robins will target a play-off challenge.
IPSWICH
Manager: Mick McCarthy
Position last season: 9th
Nickname: The Tractor Boys
Ground: Portman Road
Capacity: 30,311
Players in: Cameron Stewart (Hull, free), Alex Henshall (Manchester City, free), Jonathan Parr (Crystal Palace, free), Bartosz Bialkowski (Notts County, undisclosed)
Players out: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, David October, Mark Timlin, Jonathan Leddy, Tom Winter, Jordan Adekunle (all released), Carlos Edwards (Millwall, free), Scott Loach (Rotherham, free), Aaron Cresswell (West Ham, undisclosed)
Key man: David McGoldrick
Chances: Ipswich surprised many last season by sustaining a play-off challenge, finishing four points adrift of the top six, and although star performer Aaron Cresswell has moved on to West Ham, boss Mick McCarthy expects his side to challenge at the top end of the table again after boosting his squad with several shrewd signings.
LEEDS
Manager: Dave Hockaday
Position last season: 15th
Nickname: The Whites
Ground: Elland Road
Capacity: 37,697
Players in: Stuart Taylor (Reading, free), Marco Silvestri (Chievo, undisclosed), Tommaso Bianchi (Sassuolo, undisclosed), Souleymane Doukara (Catania, loan), Gaetano Berardi (Sampdoria, undisclosed)
Players out: Michael Brown, El-Hadji Diouf, Jamie Ashdown, Adam Drury (all released), Lee Peltier (Huddersfield, free), Paul Green (Rotherham, free), Luke Varney (Blackburn, free), Lewis Turner (Harrogate, free), Ross McCormack (Fulham, undisclosed), Marius Zaliukas (Rangers, free), Danny Pugh (Coventry, free)
Key man: Sam Byram
Chances: Leeds embark on their first full season under president Massimo Cellino with little-known new head coach David Hockaday tasked with launching a promotion challenge. But the majority of fans remain sceptical about the pair’s chances of delivering success after a summer of further upheaval.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Manager: Aitor Karanka
Position last season: 12th
Nickname: Boro
Ground: Riverside Stadium
Capacity: 34,988
Players in: Tomas Mejias (Real Madrid, undisclosed), Enrique Garcia (Real Murcia, undisclosed)
Players out: Lewis Sirrell, Birger Meling, Jake Fowler, Cameron Park, Matthew Waters (all released), Matthew Dolan (Bradford, free), Jayson Leutwiler (Shrewsbury, free), Stuart Parnaby (Hartlepool, free), Frazer Richardson (Rotherham, free), Marvin Emnes (Swansea, undisclosed), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Burnley, undisclosed)
Key man: Albert Adomah
Chances: There is a growing sense of expectation at the Riverside after Boro’s storming finish to last season when they won six of their last eight games. Aitor Karanka hit the ground running when he took over in November last year and if more signings follow, a promising season could unfold under the Spanish manager.
MILLWALL
Manager: Ian Holloway
Position last season: 19th
Nickname: The Lions
Ground: The Den
Capacity: 20,146
Players in: Carlos Edwards (Ipswich, free), Lee Gregory (FC Halifax, undisclosed), Byron Webster (Yeovil, free), Ricardo Fuller (Blackpool, free)
Players out: Tom Beadle, Shane Lowry (both released), Charlie Penny (Welling, free), Liam Trotter (Bolton, free), Liam Feeney (Bolton, free), Andy Keogh (Perth Glory, free), Jack Smith (AFC Wimbledon, free)
Key man: David Forde
Chances: Ian Holloway is, predictably, talking a good game but he has added little quality to a squad which struggled for the majority of last season so the play-offs look a million miles away at the moment. However, there should be at least three teams worse than them again.
NORWICH
Manager: Neil Adams
Position last season: 18th in the Premier League
Nickname: The Canaries
Ground: Carrow Road
Capacity: 27,224
Players in: Lewis Grabban (Bournemouth, undisclosed), Kyle Lafferty (Palermo, undisclosed)
Players out: David Fox, Carlo Nash (both released), Rod Young (Welling, free), Robert Snodgrass (Hull, £7million)
Key man: Lewis Grabban
Chances: Neil Adams will be expected to mount a promotion push in his first full season in charge. Summer signings Lewis Grabban and Kyle Lafferty will be counted on to avoid a repeat of last season’s scoring woes. A play-off spot will be the minimum requirement.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Manager: Stuart Pearce
Position last season: 11th
Nickname: The Reds
Ground: City Ground
Capacity: 30,603
Players in: Danny Fox (Southampton, free), Matty Fryatt (Hull, free), Lars Veldwijk (Excelsior, undisclosed), Louis Laing (Sunderland, free), Roger Riera (Barcelona, free)
Players out: Guy Moussi, Marcus Tudgay, Ishmael Miller, Simon Gillett, Jonathan Greening, Rafik Djebbour (all released), Matt Derbyshire (Rotherham, free), Gonzalo Jara (Mainz, free)
Key man: Matty Fryatt
Chances: Stuart Pearce’s appointment as manager has seen the feelgood factor return to the City Ground. A good start will see that grow and in Matty Fryatt Forest might just have found the man who will score the goals to get them over the line when it comes to the promotion run-in.
READING
Manager: Nigel Adkins
Position last season: 7th
Nickname: The Royals
Ground: The Madejski Stadium
Capacity: 24,161
Players in: Andrija Novakovich (Chicago Magic, free)
Players out: Nick Arnold, Lawson D’Ath, Kaspars Gorkss, Mikele Liegertwood, Jobi McAnuff, Gozie Ugwu (all released), Wayne Bridge, Jason Roberts (both retired), Adam Le Fondre (Cardiff, undisclosed), Stuart Taylor (Leeds, free), Daniel Carrico (Sevilla, undisclosed), Matt Partridge (Dagenham, free)
Key man: Alex Pearce
Chances: Injuries and a lack of investment hindered the Royals last season, but they still only just missed out on the play-offs. The latter has been sorted and if they can steer clear of the former then a top-six spot is theirs for the taking.
ROTHERHAM
Manager: Steve Evans
Position last season: 4th in League One
Nickname: The Millers
Ground: New York Stadium
Capacity: 12,021
Players in: Conor Newton (Newcastle, free), Matt Derbyshire (Nottingham Forest, free), Kirk Broadfoot (Blackpool, free), Jordan Bowery (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Scott Loach (Ipswich, free), Mat Sadler (Crawley, free), Frazer Richardson (Middlesbrough, free), Febian Brandy (Sheff Utd, free), Paul Green (Leeds, free), Richard Wood (Charlton, free), Ryan Hall (MK Dons, free)
Players out: Michael O’Connor, Claude Davis, Danny Schofield, David Noble, Lionel Ainsworth, (all released), Nicky Adams (Bury, undisclosed), Danny Hylton (Oxford, free), Wes Thomas (Birmingham, free), Scott Shearer (Crewe, free), Kayode Odejayi (Tranmere, free)
Key man: Ben Pringle
Chances: Rotherham return to the second tier for the first time since 2005 and after back-to-back promotions, consolidation has to be order of the day. But they have an ambitious chairman willing to spend so manager Steve Evans, one of the busiest managers in the transfer market this summer, will be targeting a mid-table finish.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Manager: Stuart Gray
Position last season: 16th
Nickname: The Owls
Ground: Hillsborough
Capacity: 39,812
Players in: Matt Young (Southampton, free), Ed Sanders (Stoke, free), Paul McElroy (Hull, free), Kieren Westwood (Sunderland, free), Sam Hutchinson (Chelsea, free)
Players out: Jermaine Johnson, Miguel Llera, Arron Jameson, Anthony Gardner, Martin Taylor, David Prutton (all released), Danny Mayor (Bury, undisclosed), Adam Davies (Barnsley, free), Taylor McKenzie (Notts County, free), Reda Johnson (Coventry, free)
Key man: Sam Hutchinson
Chances: Sheffield Wednesday begin a new era under owner Hafiz Mammadov, an Azerbaijani oil and gas magnate, while manager Stuart Gray has earned his chance to take charge for his first full season after replacing Dave Jones last December. A change of ownership has brought with it an air of optimism to Hillsborough.
WATFORD
Manager: Beppe Sannino
Position last season: 13th
Nickname: The Hornets
Ground: Vicarage Road
Capacity: 17,477
Players in: Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham, free); Gabriel Tamas (Doncaster, free), Craig Cathcart (Blackpool, free), Matej Vydra (Udinese, loan), Daniel Tozser (Parma, loan), Juan Carlos Paredes (Granada, undisclosed)
Players out: Manuel Almunia, Marco Cassetti, Ross Jenkins, Nyron Nosworthy, Fitz Hall, Lucas Neill (all released)
Key man: Troy Deeney
Chances: Matej Vydra’s return to partner Troy Deeney up front means Watford should not be short of goals next season and, if they can kick their infuriating habit of conceding late on in games, the Hornets will be play-off contenders again.
WIGAN
Manager: Uwe Rosler
Position last season: 5th
Nickname: Latics
Ground: DW Stadium
Capacity: 25, 133
Players in: Andrew Taylor (Cardiff, undisclosed), Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (Partick, free), James Tavernier (Newcastle, undisclosed), Oriol Riera (Osasuna, undisclosed), Don Cowie (Cardiff, free)
Players out: Jean Beausejour, Stephen Crainey, Markus Holgersson, Jordan Mustoe, Adam Buxton (all released), Jordi Gomez (Sunderland, free), Danny Redmond (Hamilton, free)
Key man: Callum McManaman
Chances: Harry Redknapp labelled Wigan’s squad the strongest in the division last year and such a claim can conceivably be bestowed upon Uwe Rosler’s group again. Ex-Osasuna striker Oriol Riera looks set to spearhead the attack and having a fully-fit Shaun Maloney will aid his cause.
WOLVES
Manager: Kenny Jackett
Position last season: 1st in League One
Nickname: Wolves
Ground: Molineux
Capacity: 31,700
Players in: Tommy Rowe (Peterborough, free) Rajiv van La Parra (Heerenveen, free)
Players out: Jamie Reckord, Tim Jakobsson, Jamie Tank, Jordan Cranston, Robbie Parry, Sam Whittall, Kristian Kostrna, David Moli (all released), Michael Ihiekwe (Tranmere, free)
Key man: Bakary Sako
Chances: Expectation is high among Wolves fans after they romped to the League One title last season. Manager Kenny Jackett has kept the bulk of his squad intact and after strengthening in certain areas will see no reason why the club cannot challenge for a top-six finish in his second season in charge.
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