We’ll start by looking at the three clubs relegated at the end of last season. Queens Park Rangers, Reading and Wigan Athletic will all be desperate to make a swift returm to the riches of the Premier League, but will any of them be able to get there?

Now that we know the exact line-up of the 23 other clubs who will be sharing the ‘Championship’ with us next season, it’s time for another Toellandback mini-series to stagger into action, as we run our eyes over the teams likely to be our biggest rivals in 2013/14. I’m going to assume for the purposes of this piece that in the brave new world of Brian McDermott and GFH Leeds United are going to be challenging for at least a place in the play-offs. You never know, it could happen.

As the Premier League’s new TV deal comes into effect next season, the ‘parachute payments’ (which are intended to soften the financial blow of dropping out of the top league) to relegated clubs will be increased to £23 million each, but the three clubs will be desperate to go back up straight away, as this amount falls dramatically after the first season. This payment should give them a massive advantage over most clubs in the Championship, who have to do with a £2.3 million ‘solidarity payment’ from the Premier League, but at least one of the relegated clubs will need to use the money to pay the inflated salaries of the players that nobody wants to take off their hands.

QPR are fast becoming English football’s latest financial basket case, and must now be entirely dependent on the generosity of chairman Tony Fernandes to keep them in business. Otherwise they would be caught in a vicious circle of having to sell their best players and then suffering the inevitable poor results and a further drop in income, etc, possibly dropping down the divisions in the manner of Portsmouth and, er, Leeds.

And just when they thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did, with the arrest of star striker Loic Remy a few weeks ago for his involvement in an alleged rape case. They had been expecting offers of £7 million (the figure that would trigger a release clause in his contract) and that sum would have come in handy, but it’s highly unlikely that any other club will bid for him in the present circumstances. QPR’s debts were estimated at £89 million in March, and with most of their current players showing a distinct lack of commitment I can’t see them building a good enough squad to challenge for promotion.

Wigan will probably get a lot of sympathy from neutral fans after their FA Cup win and the attractive football they played last season, but they now face an uncertain future after the departure of Roberto Martinez. In the coming weeks they will also face tempting offers for a few of their leading players and we may see James McCarthy and Calum McManaman leaving the DW before the start of the new season. They will also have to cope with the distractions of their first ever European campaign, so although I expect them to finish in the top half of the table I won’t put them down as one of my favourites for promotion.

I think Reading will mount the strongest challenge of the three relegated clubs. Nigel Adkins has three promotions on his CV already, so he might be on the way to becoming the Neil Warnock of the next decade, with a playing style well suited to life outside the Premiership. Reading have been something of a yo-yo club in the last few years, but if they can keep hold of their better players (despite the persistent press rumours that most of them will be linking up with Brian McDermott again at Leeds) they will have a good enough squad to finish near the top of the table.

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls