QPR
Manager – Neil Warnock
Last Season – 13th
Key Player – Alejandro Faurlin – If Rangers are to have a productive season then the Argentinean playmaker will no doubt play a big part. He’s relatively unknown outside west London but he was the shining light of a catastrophic campaign last year, and his combination of flair and tenacity will no doubt grab him many plaudits in the heart of the R’s midfield.
Verdict – Rangers fans finally got what they had been craving last season, an experienced manager brought in on a long contract and the exit of Flavio Briatore from his role as chairman. Now with people in place behind the scenes that have more patience than the flamboyant toddler, QPR look to have the basis to build a team who have a realistic shot of making the playoffs. The lack of quality in the forward line must be a worry however; and it’s hard to imagine one of Heider Helgusson, Leon Clarke or Jamie Mackie firing 20 goals plus.
Prediction – 7th
Reading
Manager – Brian McDermott
Last Season – 9th
Key Player – Gylfi Sigurdsson - Reading played some outstanding free-flowing attacking football last season, and can boast some outstanding young prospects with the likes of Simon Church, Jem Karacan and the magnificent Sigurdsson. He came into his own under McDermott last season and looks as though he is a Premiership player in the making, definitely one to watch.
Verdict – The 2009/10 campaign was a season of two halves for the Royals. With Reading stuck fast in a relegation battle following a period of unrest under Brendan Rodgers an unlikely hero emerged from the shadows in the form of roly-poly Brian McDermott. “Maccy D” took the mantle from Rodgers and soon the Royals were unstoppable. Their league form paralleled their magnificent achievement of reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals with a meteoric rise up the table, only just missing out on the play-offs. If they fly out the blocks the way they ended last season they will surely be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
Prediction – 4th
Scunthorpe
Manager – Nigel Adkins
Last Season – 20th
Key Player – Joe Murphy – Will be a busy boy this season between the sticks. The fans' favourite has a tough task of playing behind a very leaky defence; he needs to have an injury-free season otherwise new records could be broken for the amount of goals conceded in one season.
Verdict – Nigel Adkins worked a minor miracle to keep Scunthorpe up last season, but the loss of Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes (43 goals between them last term) looks to have squashed any hopes of avoiding the drop this time around. The club have stuck to their morals, doing business on a small budget once again, bringing in two youngsters as replacements for their former stars. Hopefully for football they can defy the odds once again, but being realistic it’s hard to see anything but a season of struggle ahead for the Irons.
Prediction – 24th
Sheffield United
Manager – Kevin Blackwell
Last Season – 8th
Key Player – Leon Britton – Strange signing for a Kevin Blackwell side, Britton is a technically gifted young footballer who loves to make things happen from midfield. Whether he’ll see much of the ball to his feet while the direct approach of Blackwell is enforced it remains to be seen, but if they use Britton in the right way he could be a huge hit with the Bramall Lane faithful.
Verdict – Everything about the club suggests that the Premier League is a feasible target, the squad, the stadium and the finances are all there, but another season of wasted potential waits for the United fans thanks to Kevin Blackwell’s style of play. Expect the Blades to be physical, ugly, direct and nasty – and expect the fans to be calling for the manager’s head within the next few months.
Prediction – 14th
Swansea
Manager – Brendon Rodgers
Last Season – 7th
Key Player – Darren Pratley – Swansea’s most important player in the midfield has been linked with Nottingham Forest in recent weeks but looks as though he will stay on at the Liberty Stadium. Scoring a fair number of goals from midfield and linking the play very cleverly from deep, Pratley will need to continue his good form if Brendon Rodgers has any chance of succeeding in south Wales.
Verdict – Brendan Rodgers was certainly not first choice for the Swansea board - Gary Speed, Graeme Jones, Eddie Howe and many others were unavailable, and the appointment has an air of impatience about it. The former Chelsea coach did a terrible job at Reading and is lucky to bounce straight back to this level so quickly. Swansea don’t have an array of attacking talent, emphasised by their measly figure of 40 goals last season, the lowest in the league; expect them to struggle under the inexperienced Rodgers.
Prediction – 18th
Watford
Last Season – 16th
Manager – Malky Mackay
Key Player - Martin Taylor – In a side that lacks experience, centre-half Taylor will need to play huge role next season. On his day he’s one of the most dominant centre-half’s in the division and has seemed to put the Eduardo leg-break incident behind him. Young talent including Scott Loach, Marvin Sordell and Lee Hodson will also have a big part to play.
Verdict – Malky Mackay played the loan market brilliantly last season, bringing in Tom Cleverly and Henri Lansbury who both played a huge part in keeping the club up. Will Hoskins, Jordan Parkes, Mat Sadler, Jure Travner and Lewis Young have been released, Lansbury, Cleverley and Craig Cathcart’s loans have ended, and the signing of Heidar Helguson from QPR never materialised, so the squad is rather lacking in depth and quality currently. But Mackay has a knack of getting the best out of talented youngsters and the Watford youth system is currently producing some of the best talent in the country, if their given time to shine, the Hornets could fend off another relegation scrap.
Prediction – 16th
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