I fully expect this to be used as a massive stick to hit me with at the end of the season and in fact, as the season goes on. Notoriously difficult to predict – 11th to 20th are probably interchangeable for example but you’ve got to put everybody somewhere.

So here, we go

1. West Ham United — Nuno Espírito Santo

Well they should win it and they should get 100 points.  Anything less is an underachievement.  I hear the arguments that Nuno knows the league and all that but can’t quite shake the feeling that Nuno is a busted flush whose best managerial days are behind him.  It was a spectacular achievement to keep his job after last season’s shitshow and they should never have got relegated with the players that had.  On the positive side, Jarrod Bowen is staying, and for now, so are the likes of Castellanos, Diouf, Todibo, Mavropanos, Walker-Peters and Wan Bissaka. They’ve also managed to bring in ridiculous fees for Fernandes and Summerville, so shouldn’t lose too many players that they don’t want to lose. If the players fancy it and they fancy Nuno, they should win the league easily. A good start will be key and then the momentum should make fans and club united and pretty much unstoppable. There will be entitlement from the fans however, so it’ll be toxic beyond belief if they have a poor run.  It’s disappointing to not be able to make jokes about the Dildo Brothers anymore but it’s not disappointing for West Ham fans who have deserved that joy of getting rid of David Sullivan, at the end of a joyless season.

2. Southampton — Tonda Eckert

Saints to finish second because we never actually win a division.  The players may be making noises about winning it and the four point deduction be damned, but we won’t, because we never do.  A season of ignoring the outside noise and siege mentality awaits as fans of other clubs will ramp up their faux outrage after the Spygate fiasco.  Tonda Eckert is still there as the ownership closed ranks and gave a two-fingered salute up at everyone else telling them what they should do and everyone, be they Saints fans or opposition fans, is just going to have to lump it.  He is going to have a season of uncomfortable press conferences whenever he faces questions from opposition media and he can’t walk out of all of them. As for the squad – the predicted apocalypse of player exits hasn’t happened yet and in fact, last seasons star loan players Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin have signed permanently, along with Preston’s best player last season in Lewis Dobbin.  As I write, last seasons big hitters are still there and if the transfer window closes and Harwood-Bellis, Downes, Jander and Scienza are all still there, we’ll be a force.  A last season with parachute payments, so not going up doesn’t bear thinking about. 

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3. Wolves — César Peixoto

Wolves appoint a Portuguese manager who no one has heard of.  Seems a bit of a mad gamble as they have the squad to do very well, packed full of players who should be well above the level of most of the Championship.  Experienced arrivals Kieran Trippier and Raul Jimenez, though well past 30, will certainly be able to be top level players in the Championship.  They should be finishing in the automatic spots but I just have a feeling that the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, will consign them to the playoffs. An interesting sub plot for the season will be seeing how championship royalty Adam Armstrong gets on. I suspect that he won’t actually play that many minutes now that Rob Edwards has gone.

4. Norwich City — Philippe Clement

Clement turned round an absolute shambles that Liam Manning left him and Norwich ended up as one of the form sides of the league in the second half of the season and will certainly be expecting to be involved in the play-offs at the end of the season.  Clement has turned them into a side that doesn’t take a backwards step and certainly knows how to look after themselves.  Put it this way – you hope that you get a decent referee when you play them because a lenient or incompetent one who doesn’t make decisions, will see you booted all over the park, whilst they’ll pretend it didn’t happen.  The Argentina of the Championship in that regard and like Argentina, they won’t win the big prizes but they will be there or thereabouts.

5. Burnley — Nicky Hayen

Burnley and the Championship is usually a combination that sees them win the league and go back to the Premier League and do nothing and come back down again.  I don’t see the usual service being resumed this season with Scott Parker having been binned in favour of a big punt on Nicky Hayen, who I assume has been brought in to try and liven things up and make it a bit more entertaining at Turf Moor.  The Championship could be a rude awakening for him and a bit different to the Belgian League. Notable departures include Maxime Esteve, who was brilliant in that Championship defence they had when they broke all the defensive records a couple of years back. Former Southampton loanee Lesley Ugochukwu has again declared himself too good for the Championship, despite getting relegated into it two seasons running, and gone off to Galatasaray on loan.

6. Middlesbrough — Kim Hellberg

Hellberg seems to be highly thought of, which is surprising given he masterminded 2 wins (against Sheffield Wednesday and Watford) out of the last 14 games at the end of last season to blow automatic promotion, playoff promotion and reprieve promotion.  The blame was always on the strikers and they’ve spent big (up to £20 million) on Will Lankshear, so the sympathy will be in short supply if Hellberg continues his recent win rate.  As well as Lankshear, Kyle Joseph has joined from Hull but they have of course lost Hayden Hackney and Dael Fry – so there’s some spine work to get done and it was Hackney’s injury that precipitated the downward spiral last season.  Can Hellberg turn things around when they have a bad run, as he failed to do last season? There’s probably no middle ground for Hellberg this season having spent all that money – promotion or bust.  For his sake, I hope his teams are fitter this season and not blowing out of their arses from 60 minutes onwards.  Maybe they need a better training ground. 

7. Millwall — Alex Neil

A stereotypical Championship side one could say, who prioritise power, pace and physicality but it all adds up to a decent side who just ran out of gas in the playoff semi-final against Hull.  Alex Neil probably overachieved last season and as that will be the benchmark for this season, he may soon find himself under pressure if they don’t make a good start and aren’t up near the top of the fledgeling league table.  Expect to face a defence with an average height of 6 foot 5, laying the foundations so that Femi Azeez can do his thing as one of the best wingers in the Championship. He’ll be supplying new signing Lyndon Dykes, so it’s sure to be a frustrating season for him.

8. Birmingham City — Chris Davies

Chris Davies is my favourite to be the first manager to get sacked.  Always seems a bit of a whiny bastard and underachieved last season, given what was hyped at the start of the season.  Expectation will be much higher this season and it will certainly be playoffs or bust.  I think they’ll make it but equally, I wouldn’t be surprised if they needed to replaced Davies to achieve that. Have done very well to get rid of Kyogo.

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9. West Brom — James Morrison

James Morrison got the gig at the tail end of last season and saved the Baggies by making them hard to beat and injected some of the old “Boing, Boing” spirit back into a club that was in serious danger of ending up in League 1.  I can only see an improvement this season as he gets a chance to build his own team (Jimmy-Jay Morgan could be one to watch), without some of the shite players that got them into trouble in the first place.

10. Swansea City — Vítor Matos

In truth, they could finish anywhere between 8^th and 20^th so incredibly hard to predict.  Vitor Matos will be expecting them to improve but with Zan Vipotnik unlikely to be there, you wonder if they are capable of troubling the playoffs.  Losing Ethan Galbraith to Stoke will have come as a big blow, even though they got decent money for him, as he was their best player in the first two-thirds of the season before getting injured.  They have picked up New Zealand World Cup goal hero Elijah Just from Motherwell, and Ross Stewart on a free – if they keep him fit then they have a 20 goal a season striker even if Vipotnik goes. Should do better than last season all things being equal and are my favourites to finish top of the 3 team Welsh division within the division.

11. Wrexham — Phil Parkinson

Hollywood FC will be expecting better this season and I’m not sure they’ll be any better as Rob & Ryan realise the money it takes to finance the players capable of taking a team up.  Phil Parkinson survived missing the playoffs last season but will struggle if the same happens again.  Luckily for him, the playoffs are bigger this season, so they’ll being with a shout of making it but I don’t see the Premier League Hollywood endgame happening at the end of this season. Welsh hatred will be strong for them, with both Cardiff and Swansea to contend with.

12. Bristol City — Michael Skubala

Mid-table, every year – doesn’t matter who the manager is or who the players are.  Michael Skubala arrived having got Lincoln promoted into the Championship and taking the money on offer, rather than wanting to really prove himself and become a legend at Lincoln.  Always a dangerous side for anyone, especially at Ashton Gate but can’t afford to repeat last seasons farce of selling their best players mid-season. The £5m signing of Dom Ballard from Leyton Orient is likely to be followed with interest, particular by Southampton fans, as Will Still’s legacy involved selling him on..

13. Derby County — John Eustace

It was a mystery to me how they finished as high as they did last season but you have to respect it.  With the steady hand of John Eustace still there, there’s no reason to think that they’ll fall away too far into the bottom half. They made themselves hard to beat as the season went on and the manager did a great job making them more than the sum of their parts, which is how a manager should be judged. I don’t think they’ll do quite as well as last season but solid enough. Ownership issues appear set to rumble on into the season so may prove disruptive, especially if not sorted in time for transfer windows.

14. Sheffield United — Chris Wilder

The Cult of Chris Wilder is back for another go.  A man who is divisive, even amongst The Blades own fanbase.  If Patrick Bamford stays fit then they could flirt with the playoff places, but I can’t really see it and we never seem too far away from a Wilder blow-up that’ll see him on his way out of Bramall Lane once more.  Expect them to be right up there regarding having the worst disciplinary record in the league and Matt Doherty’s arrival from Wolves probably won’t help that.

15. Preston North End — Paul Heckingbottom

The Northern Bristol City – mid-table every year.  Paul Heckingbottom will do a decent job, and absolutely nobody outside of Preston will really notice.  They’ll sign a few on loan who will probably go on to be decent players for their parent clubs or for someone else.  Last seasons star loanee Lewis Dobbin is now at Southampton of course though they’ve actually bought Alfie Devine from Spurs after he did well on loan last season.  Still mid-table.

16. Stoke City — Mark Robins

The only club last season who managed to challenge for promotion and then have a stab at getting relegated as well.  Notoriously quick on the trigger with managers and you fear for Mark Robins if they follow last years tailing off with a slow start this season.  Last year when they were good, they were very good and will be hoping to hang on to Sorba Thomas and not have to play him at right back and will be hoping for an injury-free year for Viktor Johansson in goal.  Have spent big and early on Ethan Galbraith from mid-table rivals Swansea, will undoubtedly have expectations a better season this time around.

17. Queens Park Rangers — Julien Stéphan

Hard to see anything other than a nondescript kind of season.  Won’t have the resources to challenge near the top and barring a disaster, will have too much to be seriously close to the relegation battle.  Strange transfer dealings already in that they paid a fee for a goalkeeper in Calum Ward and then signed Pierce Charles on loan for the season from Manchester City.  Glen Kamara on loan from Rennes may be a shrewd acquisition, as he has Leeds and Rangers amongst his previous clubs.

18. Portsmouth — John Mousinho

The turd that won’t flush.  They’ll be down near the bottom and get everyone’s hopes up that they’re going down but they’ll win a few games at Fratton Park and pull clear.   You have to respect it in a way. If they ever moved from Fratton Park they’d be down in a heartbeat but at the moment, the unpleasantness of visiting there, gives them about ten points a season off of teams who just don’t fancy it.  John Mousinho is still there, despite clearly wanting to leave at the end of last season and he’ll have eyes elsewhere as jobs come up as the season progresses.  I guess Bristol City going for Skubala was a bit of a disappointment to him.  Their fans will be wanting a season where there is no threat of relegation, which would be an improvement.  Have spent a bit on a striker in Marko Milovanovic, who will either be a Pompey legend in a few months, or an unmitigated disaster who can’t keep Colby Bishop out of the team. The return of Abu Kamara is a boost if (big if) he can reproduce his League 1 form from his first spell.

19. Watford — Alessio Dionisi

Ridiculous club who I can never be bothered to learn too much about.  Another manager whose name is not worth learning because he’ll be gone by the end of October.  Southampton fans have to be interested in him because they’re playing him first but everyone else should wait and see.  Hopefully they go down as their club model is a complete shit show.  One of their managers last year was Ed Still, bother of Will Still and neither Still is still in their job.  They’ve signed five players from same-ownership club Udinese and in return, one of their best players, Giorgi Chakvetadze, has gone the other way.  I wonder who is getting the best of that deal? With the Georgian having left, even more responsibility falls on Imran Louza and I’m not sure he can do it all on his own. They’ll be ok, treading water.

20. Cardiff City — Brian Barry‑Murphy

They’re back, after falling into League 1 in shambolic fashion a couple of years back, giving us three Welsh clubs in the Championship.  It’ll be hard to know who their fans will hate the most, the traditional South Coast rivals Swansea, or the New Fangled Hollywood Bollockses from the North.  Will they stay up?  Probably. Watch this prediction go very very wrong as they finish in the top 10.

21. Bolton Wanderers — Steven Schumacher

Steven Schumacher forged a decent reputation for himself at Plymouth before voluntarily drinking from the poison chalice of Stoke City.  He has recovered from that though and steered Wanderers back to the Championship.  You would imagine that Wanderers will be trying to put their years of League 1 wilderness behind them and push on at least a bit this season.  It will be tough but I think they’ll manage, which will be a further step in rebuilding the managers reputation again.

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22. Blackburn Rovers — Tony Mowbray

Tony Mowbray returns to Blackburn, which a bit like putting on your favourite pair of old comfortable shoes.  It feels like he’s been manager there about seven times. They’ll try and play football the right way but I wonder if they’ll have the players to do anything else other than be in and around the bottom six and looking over their shoulders. I expect them to really struggle and it could be very touch and go around the relegation line.

23. Charlton Athletic — Nathan Jones

Having flirted with relegation last season, Nathan Jones comes back for another go and hopefully he’ll succeed this time.  He has an Eckert shaped rival in the “Manager that everyone else hates” stakes and he will be nothing if not entertaining with the performative over-celebrating bollocks that is his trademark and usually deflects from every Charlton defeat.  One year too many for Nathan and it will be someone else’s fault. The signings of Karlan Grant, Millenic Alli and Danny McNamara should help, but I can’t see it being enough to avoid an ultimately failed attempt to stay up.

24. Lincoln City — Chris Cohen & Tom Shaw

Lincoln finishing bottom feels harsh, but someone has to. Despite winning League 1 with 103 points and being well clear of Cardiff and Bolton, for some reason they seem the most likely to go straight back down.  It doesn’t make much sense but then the Championship never does and I hope they prove me wrong as it would be a great story given that their manager fucked off.  Maybe it’s that fact that sets the tone – he left for the money so you wonder how much is about for the necessary squad strengthening.