A Tougher Championship Next Season?

Last updated : 20 May 2013 By Forest

The favourites for promotion will inevitably be the sides who have come down from the Premier League, especially as parachute payments are set to increase as a result of a huge new TV deal.

In a well-ordered football world, where each club spent only what it earned then these clubs would automatically bounce straight back up.

Luckily for the rest it doesn't always go like that!

All three of last season's relegated teams made at least one change of manager while other distractions also contributed to the nightmare campaigns endured by Wolves and Blackburn Rovers.

Both Wigan and Reading should avoid that kind of scenario (although the Latics have a Europa League campaign to contend with) 

QPR's future is a little harder to predict and manager Harry Redknapp has been scathing in his verdict of the players who are currently at the club.

"I want to put a team together where I can look forward to coming into work," he said after the final game of the season.

Question marks surround Brighton and Leicester after their play-off defeats while Bolton, although they just missed out on the top six, will be confident given their form over the second-half of the season.

That latter part of the Championship campaign was a strange one as teams near the top struggled to put together a run of form and those at the bottom registered plenty of wins.

Can Billy Davies, with a full pre-season to work with his players and in the transfer market, provide the difference that allows Forest to rise above that mediocrity next year?