Doncaster

I know how much of a trek it is from Devon to Doncaster. I used to go to school within hailing distance of Town Moor and most years our annual holiday consisted of an 11-hour drive down to the west country to spend two weeks in a static caravan, usually to stare at puddles in Ilfracombe. Nowadays, of course, a much-improved road network means you can cut that journey time in half but it still represents a significant undertaking transporting a horse those 270 miles and not one that a trainer like Victor Dartnall would consider without good reason. Therefore, I’d ask you to mull over carefully the reasons why the aptly-named Exmoor Ranger is in South Yorkshire this weekend. For starters, this is a chaser very much on the upgrade judged on his comfortable win at Newbury in late November. That didn’t look a great race at first glance but third Victorias Groom has won twice since to boost the form and, going on previous runnings, Exmoor Ranger slots nicely into the ideal weight/age range for this week’s Skybet Chase and should be suited by the easy 3m. With his jumping problems apparently behind him now and top Irish jockey Davy Russell booked, the general 9-1 is well worth the gamble. Theatrical Moment steps out of novice company and onto a reasonable mark for his handicap debut over fences but his best price (Coral‘s 9-1) reflects this, while layers are being similarly avaricious with the prolific Seven Is My Number (a general 7-1). My worries about the latter would be that he is too high in the weights considering he was effectively handed his two most recent wins on a plate and is up against far more experienced rivals here. Allied to that, David Pipe‘s gelding may struggle to confirm Bangor form with Khachaturian on 8lbs worse terms and I certainly wouldn’t put anyone off backing the latter, who looks well treated, at Paddy Power‘s 12-1. Soft ground would bring Gone To Lunch (a general 25-1) into the equation, providing he’s fully recovered from his Welsh National exertions, but those conditions wouldn’t suit last month’s C&D winner Calgary Bay (11-1 with bet365), who is 11lbs higher today, while Killyglen (widely available at 11-1) has questions to answer after a shocking effort in the Hennessy at Newbury in November. General 12-1 chance Trabolgan looks a light of former days so we are sticking with Exmoor Ranger to bring home the spoils.

Here’s a story. Once upon a time, long before the words fibresand and polytrack had entered the racing psyche, the English Flat season used to have a proper beginning and end. The Lincolnshire Handicap would kick off proceedings at Carholme, on the outskirts of Lincoln, while the Manchester November Handicap brought the curtain down. The latter, staged at Castle Irwell arguably the country’s foggiest track, was run on a site which now forms part of the University of Salford campus. Carholme, by contrast, still exists. Unfortunately the stands are now separated from the track they once served by the A57. Defunct racecourses are more common in this country than one would imagine. Who remembers Hurst Park, Alexandra Palace, Lanark or Stockton? How about Plumstead, Well Hall or Great Leighs (just kidding)? The fact remains that these tracks would attract punters in their thousands, which is more than you can say about much of the mediocre, round-the clock meetings we’re subjected to nowadays. Doncaster is arguably one of the exceptions, and the ultimate beneficiary when Carholme and Castle Irwell fell by the wayside. Much hype still surrounds the William Hill Lincoln Handicap, with everyone remotely connected to this annual cavalry charge asked for their opinion on the effect of the draw (televised for added publicity). It’s no coincidence this race is sponsored by a bookmaker but it’s also fair to say that maybe it isn’t as much a lottery as it once was. Supporters of Expresso Star certainly haven’t been put off by the possibility of an unadvantageous berth with John Gosden’s colt, winner of his last three races as a three-year-old, backed into as low as 7-2 (5-1 with Coral) to make a winning reappearance. But the one I like the look of is Huzzah, who came to hand early last year, has form on Town Moor and represents a yard with an excellent strike rate at this meeting. Coral‘s 12-1 is unlikely to be bettered on the day.

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Arsenal vs Manchester United

12.45 Saturday 8^th November

One of the biggest fixtures in the English calendar takes places this weekend at the Emirates Stadium. The home side are coming off the back of several poor results including a defeat to newly promoted Stoke last weekend. The defeat was made even worse with strikers Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor being sent off and injured respectively meaning both are absent this weekend. They also may be missing captain William Gallas and winger Theo Walcott, both of whom are rated 50/50.

United had the luxury of leaving £100m worth of talent on their bench in their Champions League match away to Scottish Champions Celtic on Wednesday night with this match in mind. That alone signals Manager, Alex Ferguson’s intentions which could spell bad news for the home side. Man U have been in excellent form of late having won 6 of their last 7 EPL matches scoring aplenty.

Having already lost to Liverpool and drawn at Chelsea, United have to stamp their authority on this title race and make a mark against another of the top 4. To do this, they must win at the Emirates for the first time. A last minute equalizer from Gallas prevented them taking all 3 points in this fixture last season but that was when Arsenal were going exceptionally well.

The loss of midfield anchor Flamini cannot be under-estimated. Cesc Fabregas does not look the same player he was last year and their defence and goalkeeper looks extremely vulnerable, especially against a physical approach. United’s strikers, Rooney and Berbatov can mix it up with the best of them and when you add Vidic, Ferdinand and Ronaldo to the mix, set pieces could pose a major problem for them tomorrow.

My selection: Manchester United to beat Arsenal

The best price available for a United win is 7/5 which is 7/5 with willhill.com

Sheffield Wednesday vs Doncaster Rovers

15.00 Saturday 8^th November

Both sides come into this match looking for the win for very different reasons. The away side are rock bottom of the Championship having only won 2 matches all season and are desperate for victory in order to halt a run of 11 games without a win, whilst Wednesday have stuttered of late having beaten arch rivals United at home. Since then they have drew 1 and lost 3.

Saturday gives the home side a chance to add to their impressive home record. They have lost only one of their seven home games this term which see’s them 5 points out the play-off places. Manager Brian Laws can call upon a near full strength squad with only two absentees compared to 9 players missing only a couple of weeks ago.

Doncaster, by all accounts, have playing good football since their promotion but just lack the cutting edge at this level which is why they are where they are.  Good football is all well and good but you can only win matches by scoring goals and with only 7 scored in the league all season, it’s clear to see Doncaster do not have the required quality for the Championship. Their strikers will not get it any easier this weekend with Sheffield Wednesday having the joint second best home defensive record in the league.

Wednesday also have the edge in the head to head, in two previous matches they have won both with Donny failing to even register a solitary goal.

My selection: Sheffield Wednesday to beat Doncaster Rovers

The best price available for Sheffield Wednesday to win is 5/6 which you can get at StanJames and betdirect

Hamilton vs Falkirk

15.00 Saturday 8^th November

Hamilton started the season with two wins out of two, since then they have only registered a single success which see’s them propping up the SPL after the first round of games. Falkirk on the other hand started really slowly, failing to win in the league until the 5^th time of asking. Since then they have collect another 8 points from a possible 18. It’s not excellent form by any stretch of the imagination but in that time they have only lost twice and both could easily have ended up in a Falkirk victory.

The two sides have already met this season, Falkirk ran out easy 4-1 winners at the Falkirk Stadium. That match was less than two months ago and since then, it’s not got much better for Hamilton, they have lost their following 5 fixtures scoring only twice and conceding 13.

Falkirk have proven quality at this level in the shape of Steve Lovell, Neil McCann, Burton O’Brien and Jackie McNamara added with excellent young players with the likes of Patrick Cregg, Darren Barr and Scott Arfield all impressing this season. Hamilton could welcome back captain Mark McLaughlin this weekend which should help bolster a porous defence, whether it will be enough to help them pick up anything is a different matter.

Falkirk manager, John Hughes has been quoted this week as saying he is pleased with his players and they way they have been both training and playing in recent weeks. This is a guide in itself as Hughes is famous for coming out and lambasting his players when he thinks they are not putting the effort in.

The away side were being tipped to challenge for a top 6 place this season and they can certainly still achieve that. However, if they wish to do so they have to start picking up more points away from home and they will not get a better opportunity than this match. In 5 previous away meetings at Hamilton, Falkirk have won 3 and drew 1.

My Selection:  Falkirk to beat Hamilton

The best price available for a Falkirk win is 8/5 with several bookmakers, including Ladbrokes.

Bet on this Weekend’s Sport

One of the biggest matches of the season kicks off the action this weekend when Manchester United visit the Emirates on Saturday. Later that day joint leaders Liverpool host West Brom, while the other team at the top, Chelsea, visit Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. Newcastle’s visit to Fulham rounds out the weekends football action, while the big race of the weekend comes from Doncaster on Saturday with the November Handicap at 3.10pm.

Weekend Football

Arsenal v Manchester United, Saturday, Sky Sports 1, 12:45pm

Arsenal face Manchester United as one of the biggest rivalries in English football is ignited again. Unusually for this fixture, neither of the two sides are at the top of the Premiership, and are already chasing early leaders Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal are in a relatively poor run of form, having been beaten in their last Premiership outing to Stoke, and only drawing their midweek Champions League game to Fenerbache. United are into top gear following a slow start, although they were also disappointed with a draw at Celtic in midweek. It could have been a lot worse for United though, as their equaliser came in the closing moments.

Arsenal are 9/5 with BGbet to overturn their poor form, while Man Utd are 5/4 with Pagebet to build on their recent success.

If Nani scores at anytime during Arsenal v Manchester United, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

Liverpool v West Bromich Albion, Saturday, Setanta Sports 1, 5:30pm

Joint league leaders Liverpool will be aiming to take sole possession of the lead of the Premiership when they host West Brom at Anfield. They left it late in midweek in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, an injury time Steven Gerrard penalty gaining a draw. West Brom will be looking to build on last weeks draw with Blackburn Rovers, which was so close to a win. An 89th minute goal from Rovers new boy Andrews sealed a point for Blackburn in what was a fiery match littered with poor refereeing decisions.

Liverpool are the 2/9 favourites with BGbet to go top of the Premiership outright, while West Brom are 14/1 underdogs with Centrebet to win for the first time in six games.

If Dirk Kuyt scores at anytime during Liverpool v West Brom, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea, Sunday, Sky Sports 1, 1:30pm

Chelsea meet Blackburn on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, and could be chasing Liverpool by that time. They will be glad to get back to Premiership action following their defeat in midweek, when they were beaten 3-1 by Roma. They were in superb form before that defeat, with 5-0 and 3-0 wins over Sunderland and Hull consecutively in the run up to that game. Blackburn will feel confident if they go into the last five minutes only a goal behind, as they have scored in the last five minutes of their previous three Premiership games.

Blackburn are 11/2 with BGbet to upset Scolari’s men, with Chelsea 1/2 at VCBet to maintain their position at the top of the Premiership.

If Joe Cole scores at anytime during Blackburn v Chelsea, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

Fulham v Newcastle United, Sunday, Sky Sports 1, 4:00pm

Fulham welcome a rejuvenated Newcastle side on Sunday, looking for its third straight win under Joe Kinnear. Consecutive wins over West Brom and Aston Villa have the Magpies looking up the Premiership, rather than down, and Obafemi Martins in particular is in a rich vein of form. He has three goals in the last two games, and Fulham will look to stop him. Fulham will be looking for some consistency following recent reults, and will be glad they are back at Craven Cottage following last weeks defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday
Fulham are 13/10 favourites with Centrebet to claim a second successive home win, while VCBet make Newcastle 11/5 outsiders to extend their winning streak.

If Shola Ameobi scores at anytime during Fulham v Newcastle, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

If Fulham v Newcastle finishes 0-0 BGbet will refund all losing correct score bets on that game.¹

Place a correct score bet on any of the above matches this week, and if it gets beat by an injury time goal BGbet will refund all losing correct score stakes on that match.¹

1st SCORER 2nd CHANCE

Applies to all Premier League matches this weekend

Place a First Goal scorer bet and if your player fails to score the first goal but scores at any other time in the match we’ll refund your stake as a free bet on any future match.2

Weekend Horse Racing

This weekends racing takes us to Doncaster where the Manchester November Handicap at 3:10pm on Saturday is the headline race.

Last years winning jockey Ryan Moore is onboard the favourite Presvis, a 4/1 shot with Pagebet. Behind him the market is very competitive, with Electrolyser 6/1 at BGbet, and The Betchworth Kid coming into 9/1 after heavy support.

If your horse finishes in 2nd place to Presvis, Pagebet will refund all win bets on your selection. They are also paying out on 5 places for all each way bets on this race.3

If your horse gets beat by a Short Head or Nose in the Manchester November Handicap at Doncaster at 3:10pm on Saturday, BGbet will refund your win stakes in the form of free bets.4

Open an account with any of the following bookmakers and receive a free bet:

Pagebet £25 Free Bet VCBet £100 in Free Bets
Centrebet £20 Free Bet BGbet £100 Free Bet

——————————————————————————–

Odds subject to fluctuation – Odds taken at 1.00pm on 07/11/2008

1. Refunds will be in the form of free bets. Maximum Stake £50. Singles Only. Web Customers Only.

2. Maximum refund £100 per person per match. Applies to singles only, placed via telephone, internet or mobile. Does not apply to in-running bets. Free bets credited within 24 hours. Applies to all Premier League matches this weekend.

3. Offer applies to win bets only and does not apply to the win part of an each way bet.

4. Min Stake £5 Max Stake £50, Bets must be placed after 10am Saturday, Singles Only, Win or Each Way, Web Customers Only, Free bets will be available from Monday 10am.

Bet on this Weekend’s Sport

Following England’s sensational win in Zagreb during the week there is sure to be a feel good factor at many Premiership grounds this weekend as the League returns after the International break. The atmosphere at Anfield is sure to be electric as Manchester United travel to old rivals Liverpool, while on the blue side of Manchester there is the clash of the cash as City‘s new Arabian owners welcome Roman Abramovich and Chelsea. On Sunday Stoke City host their first live Premiership game against Everton, and on Monday night Spurs take on Villa in the race to break into the Champions league.

Liverpool v Manchester United, Saturday, Sky Sports 1, 12:45pm

United go into this game in an unfamiliar position below Liverpool in the league, and would love to beat their old enemies in their own back yard. Following a disappointing first day draw, United got their title campaign back on track with a hard fought 1-0 away win at Portsmouth last time out. They are boosted this weekend as Dimitar Berbatov is set to start for the first time, as strike partner to Rooney and Tevez. In contrast to United’s attacking addition, Liverpool are set to be without their two most influential players, Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Both were injured in Liverpool’s 0-0 draw at Villa Park just before the international break, and join the defensive pair of Sami Hyppia and summer signing Philipp Degenin in the Anfield treatment room. Liverpool will be hoping their influential skipper is back for what is sure to be a close game.

Liverpool are 2/1 with Centrebet to continue their good start, while Man Utd. are 11/8 with BGbet to celebrate Berbatov’s first game with a victory.

If Nani scores at anytime during Manchester United v Liverpool, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

Place a correct score bet on Manchester United v Liverpool, and if your bet is beaten by an injury time goal, BGbet will refund your losing stake on that game.¹

Manchester City v Chelsea, Saturday, Setanta Sports 1, 5:30pm

Following the dramatic events of transfer deadline day this fixture at the City of Manchester stadium has taken on a new edge as the two richest clubs in English football meet. City fans who welcomed the arrival of the Abu Dhabi United Group and its billions will see this as the beginning of a new era of success at City. The new owners signalled their intent by stealing Robinho from under the noses of Saturday’s opponents Chelsea, perhaps the first time Chelsea have been outbid in the Abramovich era. As well as Robinho, City will have Shaun Wright Phillips lining up against his former team following his brace against Sunderland a fortnight ago. Chelsea, however, will welcome back striker Didier Drogba for his first game of the season, while Joe Cole is expected to start despite the injury he sustained in England’s mid week victory over Croatia.

BetWithRed have City as the 4/1 underdogs despite Robinho’s presence, and Chelsea are the 10/11 favourites at VCbet to win the "Clash of the Cash".

If Shaun Wright Phillips scores at anytime during Manchester City v Chelsea, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

Stoke City v Everton, Sunday, Sky Sports 1, 1:30pm

Stoke will be confident as they prepare to play in front of the Premiership camera’s for the first time, following their thrilling 3-2 win over Aston Villa in their last game at the Britannia. Mamady Sidibe’s injury time winner three weeks ago was the end to a exciting contest that saw Villa twice come from behind to draw level. Following that City travelled to the Riverside where they were victims of a late winner as Tuncay took advantage of Boro’s one man advantage to fire home an 85th minute winner. The fans at the Britannia can expect to see a hatful of goals if Everton’s early season form is anything to go by, with a 2-1 win over West Brom being sandwiched by 3-2 and 3-0 home defeats to Blackburn and Portsmouth respectively.

Stoke are considered outsiders with Centrebet at 12/5, as BetWithRed make Everton 11/10 favourites.

If Richard Cresswell scores at anytime during Stoke City v Everton, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹
If Stoke City v Everton finishes 0-0 BGbet will refund all losing correct score bets on that game.¹

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa, Monday, Setanta Sports 1, 8:00pm

White Hart Lane is the venue for this weeks Monday Night Football as Spurs look for their first win of the season against Aston Villa. Successive 2-1 defeats to Boro and Sunderland left Spurs fans with familiar feelings as pre season hopes were replaced with despair again. However, a battling 1-1 draw against London neighbours Chelsea two weeks ago will have lifted spirits amongst Juande Ramos’ men, and they will come out all guns blazing to secure their first win of the new campaign. Villa will be hoping new boy James Milner can provide the fresh spark that was evidently lacking in their drab 0-0 draw with Liverpool last time. That followed the thrilling 3-2 lose to Stoke in their last game away from Villa Park. They will be aiming to reproduce the form that saw them overwhelm Man City 4-2 on the opening day, as Gabby Agbonlahor hit a hat trick to seal the victory.

VCbet think the 11/10 favourites Tottenham can get their first Premiership victory here, while BGbet are 9/4 about Villa getting back to winning ways.

If James Milner scores at anytime during Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa, BGbet will refund all losing first goalscorer stakes on the match.¹

1st SCORER 2nd CHANCE
Applies to all Premier League matches this weekend-Saturday, Sunday AND Monday
Place a First Goal scorer bet and if your player fails to score the first goal but scores at any other time in the match VCbet will refund your stake as a free bet on any future match.²

Weekend Racing from Doncaster, Live on Channel 4, Saturday, 2:00pm

As part of this weekend’s St. Leger festival at Doncaster, one of the feature races is the Portland Handicap at 2:05pm in the build up to the St Leger itself at 3:10pm.
Cheveton is the clear favourite ahead of a packed field of 22 expected to line up for this year’s race. Following five victories in a row, four of which Saturday’s jockey Jim Crowley was aboard for, Cheveton is clearly the one to beat, and the 8/1 on offer at VCbet is sure to drop before the off.
The rest of the field is quite closely matched, and it will be up to the likes of Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori to push their rides out of this chasing pack. Moore saddles Strike Up The Band, a 12/1 chance with BGbet, while Dettori’s ride Even and Odds is as big as 20/1 with VCbet, despite his victory here in 2003 on 11/1 Halmahera.

Both BGbet and VCbet are running great refund offers at Doncaster this weekend.
If your horse gets beaten by a short-head or nose in The Portland Handicap at Doncaster on Saturday (2.05pm), BGbet will refund your stake in the form of free bets.3
FROZEN OUT…

3.10 Doncaster, Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes, Live on Ch4 & VCbet
If your selection finishes second to FROZEN FIRE in the St.Leger Stakes at Doncaster, VCbet will refund all losing win stake as a free bet!4
Racing fans, get better odds than the SP every time guaranteed with Centrebet. SP+ offers you one roll over the official SP and is available on every meeting from the UK and South Africa, round the clock, 7 days a week.
Open an account with any of the following bookmakers and receive a free bet:

Odds subject to fluctuation – Odds taken at 12.00pm on 12/09/2008

1. Refunds will be in the form of free bets. Maximum Stake £50. Singles Only. Web Customers Only.

2. Maximum refund £100 per person per match. Applies to singles only, placed via telephone, internet or mobile. Does not apply to in-running bets. Free bets credited within 48 hours.

3. T&C’s

• Min Stake £5 Max Stake £50
• Bets must be placed after 10am Saturday
• Singles only
• Win Or Each Way
• Web Customers only
• Free bets will be available from Monday 10am

4. Max free bet £100 (€120) per person. Applies to win only bets. Singles only. Internet and telephone bets only. Ante-Post bets do not apply. Free bets available from 11am Monday morning

by Matthew Chapple

With the championship season just four games old, there has already been a few surprise results with both Derby and Crystal palace occupying two of the relegation places. The biggest shock of the season so far came on the opening day with new boys Doncaster defeating Derby at Pride Park. Derby, who are widely tipped by several to be serious promotion contenders, have already given themselves a mountain to climb under Paul Jewell and are without a win after their first 4 league fixtures.

Crystal Palace are the other side who have made a dreadful start to the season. Two draws and two defeats see them lye in 22nd in the league and are also without a win from their first 4 fixtures.

Several have made undefeated starts to the season with Wolves, Preston, Birmingham, and Bristol City all yet to taste defeat. Wolves currently occupy top spot on goal difference which was largely down to their two terrific home victorys over Sheffield Wednesday which finished 4-1 and their 5-1 rout over Nottingham Forest.

Another surprise is that none of the three new clubs occupy any of the relegation places with Nottingham Forest the lowest out of three in the league in 16th. After Doncasters opening victory at Derby they went on to get 4 points from their next 3 matches.

Outright Betting: With Birmingham winning 3 out of the first 4 fixtures they are justified 10/3 favourties to win the league and judging by their early performances, they should go close. Wolves look good value at 11/2. They eased past their first few league games especially at home and look the team to beat in my opinion. Reading will be thereabouts come the end of the season and the bookies think so too and have priced reading up as third favourties at 7/1 while the new rich boys, QPR are currently 9/1 to win the Championship outright.

Relegation Odds: With both Blackpool and Barnsley not getting particularly good starts the bookies have priced them up as favourites for the drop with Blackpool 5/4 and Barnsley 11/8. The value looks to be with Derby County at 7/1. They are winless in 4 games and have just 1 point to their name. Their performances have been poor and haven’t really looked like winning any of the first 4 fixtures. Burnley lack quality and at 11/4 they look a fair bet for relegation and they should be around the foot of the table come the end of the season.

How we rate each team chances individually.

Barnsley
Players In: Luke Steele, Iain Hume, Roberto Colace, Mounir El Haimour, Darren Moore
Players Out: Paul Reid, Sam Togwell
Key player: Iain Hume
Prediction: 21st Despite making it all the way to the semi-final of the Fa Cup last season they struggled in their domestic campaign and finished 18th. They have a distinct lack of quality especially up front and they will struggle for fire-power in front of goal. We expect them to be around the bottom again this season.

Birmingham
Players In: Lee Carsley, Kevin Phillips, Marcus Bent, Kemy Agustien, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Players Out: Adam Lezgdins, Fabrice Muamba, Daniel de Ridder, Olivier Kapo, Sone Aluko
Key Player: Kevin Phillips
Prediction: 2nd They were unfortunate to be relegated last season as they got some decent results in the Premiership. They have kept the basic structure of the team while adding the likes of Everton’s Lee Carsley and West Brom’s Kevin Phillips. They have made a decent start to the season and they should be challenging for the automatic spots this season.

Blackpool
Players In: Matt Gilks, Joe Martin, Alex Babtiste, Steve Kabba, Jermaine Wright, Adam Hammill, David Vaughan, Marlon Broomes, Rob Edwards, Sone Aluko, Alan Gow
Players Out: Marcus Bean, Keigan Parker, Michael Jackson, Wes Hoolahan, Kaspars Gorkss
Key Player: Daniel Nardiello
Prediction: 23rd They did extremely well to avoid any sort of relegation battle come the end of the season but with a lack of quality, we fancy them to have a difficult season this time around. With just 4 points from the first 4 fixtures it doesn’t look too good.

Bristol City
Players In: Nicky Maynard, Gavin Williams, John Akinde
Players Out: Alex Russell, Nick Carle, Darren Byfield, Richard Keogh
Key Player: Nicky Maynard
Prediction: 9th They had a fantastic season last year and were unfortunate in the play-off’s. Once again they have made a great satrt to the season and with 8 points from the first 4 games they currently lye in 4th position and look on course for another good season. They were the surprise team last season but we doubt they will beat that and we fancy them to settle in the top half of the table this time around.

Burnley
Players In:Martin Paterson, Kevin McDonald, Christian Kalvenes, Diego Penny, Remco van der Schaaf, Chris Eagles, Russell Anderson, Steven Thompson
Players Out: John Spicer, Kyle Lafferty, James O’Connor, Jon Harley, Djemba-Djemba, David Unsworth
Key Player: Martin Paterson
Prediction: 22nd Burnley finished in mid-table last term and will be lucky to surive this season in our opinion. Chris Eagles should provide them with creativity while fan will be looking towards Martin paterson for goals this season after they let Kyle Lafferty go to Rangers. With just a single points form the opening fixtures the writing looks on the cards already. They lack quality and look set to face a relegation fight this season.

Cardiff
Players In: Darren Dennehy, Ross McCormack, Mark Kennedy, Jay Bothroyd, Eddie Johnson, Peter Encklemen
Players Out: Aaron Ramsey, David Forde, Warren Feeney, Robbie Fowler, Steven Thompson, Jimmy Flyod-Hasselbaink, Trevor Sinclair
Key Player: Joe Ledley
Prediction: 7th Cardiff somewhat sacrificed their league campaign for a great cup run in the FA Cup which seen them lose 1-0 to Portsmouth in the final. They will be disappointed with the departure of Aaron Ramsey who had a lot of potential and doesn’t seem as if Cardiff have found a replacement. Joe Ledley will be key if they are to push for the play-off’s this season but we think they will just come up short.

Charlton
Players In: Stuart Fleetwood, Martin Cranie, Hameur Bouazza
Players Out: Patrick McCarthy, Darren Randolph, Chris Iwelumo, Marcus Bent, Madjid Bougherra, Osei Sankofa, Sam Sodje, Ben Thatcher, Jerome Thomas, Amdy Faye,
Key Player: Marcus Bent
Prediction: 8th We’re not impressed with their lack of incoming transfers but they do posses some decent players in the final third. I think their season will rely heavily on a good start. If they hit a win less streak then they could start struggling. 6 points from 4 games isn’t the ideal start they would have hoped for and we doubt they will make a claim for one of the play-off spots.

Coventry
Players In: Guillaume Beuzelin, Aron Gunnarsson, Keiren Westwood, Freddy Eastwood, Steven Wright, Clinton Morrison
Players Out: Liam Davis, Julian Gray, Donovan Simmonds
Key Player: Freddy Eastwood
Prediction: 10th They had a poor season last year and were lucky not to go down. A new manager at the helm in Chris Coleman and their new signing Freddy Eastwood could one of the buys of the season. The welsh international is a proven goalscorer at this level and his goals this season will be crucial for Coventry’s ambitions. I don’t think they have the credentials to push for promotion and might have to settle for a mid-table finish.

Crystal palace
Players In: Patrick McCarthy, Johannes Ertl, Darryl Flahavan, Jos Van Nieuwstadt, Jose Fonte, Simon Thomas, Nick Carle, John Oster, Leandre Griffit, Alan Lee
Players Out: Jeff Hughes, Lewis Spencer, Mark Kennedy, John Bostock, Tony Craig, Clinton Morrison, Tom Soares, Dougie Freedman
Key Player: Nick Carle
Prediction: 6th Crystal palace made it to play-off’s last season and we fancy a repeat this season despite their poor start to the season. Neil Warnock has built a decent side at Palace and his side have the ability to push for promotion back to the top flight once again. One negative for me was them letting go of Clinton Morrison to league rivals Coventry. The forward bagged 16 goals in the championship last season and will be missed.

Derby
Players In: Kris Commons, Steve Davies, Nathan Ellington, Paul Connolly, Ruben Zadkovich, Paul Green, Jordan Stewart, Martin Albrechtsen, Liam Dickinson, Przemyslaw Kazmierczak, Rob Hulse
Players Out: Robert Earnshaw, Kenny Miller, Michael Johnson, Lee Holmes, David Jones, Darren Moore, Jason Beardsley, Craig Fagan, Tyron Mears, Eddie Lewis
Key Player: Rob Hulse
Prediction: 12th Despite them dropping down from the premiership we reckon they will have a difficult season. They were the worst ever team to play in the Premiership last season and they haven’t strengthen enough for us to think they will bounce straight back up. Add that to their poor start to the season we reckon they will find things tougher then they first expected in the Championship. Kris Commons and Rob Hulse look decent signings but we’re not too confident of their defence. A tough season ahead predicted which could see the end of Paul Jewell.

Doncaster
Players In:John Spicer, Darren Byfield, Tomi Ameobi, Matthew Mills, Jos van Niewstadt, James Chambers
Players Out: Paul Green, Stephen Roberts, Mark McCammon
Key Player: Darren Byfield
Prediction:19th Doncaster made it into the championship via the play-offs from League one and although they didn’t go up through automatic promotion, we fancy them to do well this season. They have a solid look about them and they could give some of the bigger sides in the league a surprise when they play them. Derby have already found this out when they lsot at home to Doncaster 1-0. Going by their first few performances they should have enough to stay up.

Ipswich
Players In: Pim Balkestein, Gareth McAuley, Kevin Lisbie, Richard Wright, Ivan Campo, Ben Thatcher, Moritz Volz, Johnathan Stead
Players Out: Gavin Williams, Gary Roberts, Nick Colgan
Key Player: Johnathan Walters
Prediction: 3rd Ipswich are a team with a great home record. They were the best home side of last season with just the on defeat at Portman Road. We didn’t think many would beat them at Portman Road this season but with two straight home defeats it has certainly made us concentrate harder. Although they have made apoor start to the season by their own standards, we still fancy them to at least get one of the 4 play-off positions. A distinct lack of transfers into the club is a slight concern but we fancy them to go well and possibly sneak automatic promotion.

Norwich
Players In: Sammy Clingan, Wes Hoolahan, Ryan Bertrand, Dejan Stefanovic, Elliot Omozusi, Arturo Lupoli, David Bell, Stuart Nelson
Players Out: Matt Gliks, Andrew Cave-Brown
Key Player: Arturo Lupoli
Prediction: 14th Norwich finished 17th last season which is unacceptable for a club with their recent history. They lacked goals last season and have brought in some strikers wit h the aim of putting it right this season. However they still lack quality in the midfield and there is a lack of quality creative players in their squad. If they can provide the former Arsenal youngster, Lupoli with regular service then they may go well but they are very incocnsistent and we fancy them to have another poor season.

Nottingham Forest
Players In: Robert Earnshaw, Guy Moussi, Andy Cole, Joe Garner, Paul Anderson, Mickael Darnet, Lee Martin
Players Out: Kris Commons, Matt Lockwood, Alan Power, Sammy Clingan, Grant Holt, Junior Agogo
Key Player: Robert Earnshaw
Prediction: 17th Last seasons League two runners-up Nottingham Forest look to have enough to see off relegation for one season at least. The signing of Robert Earnshaw from Derby County is a massive positive. The welsh international has bags of pace and can score at this level. If Nottingham are to survive then his goals will play a key part. A 5-1 hammering against Wolves won;t go down too nciely with the players but their other 3 performances look good enough for us to think they should settle nicely in the bottom half of table.

Plymouth Argyle
Players In: Jason Puncheon, Karl Duguid, Yala Bolsaie, Graham Stack, Emlie Mpenza, Nicolas Marin, paul Gallagher, Chris Barker, Simon Walton
Players Out: Paul Connolly, Paul Wotton, Najim Abdou, Peter Halmosi
Key Player: Emile Mpenza
Prediction: 15th I live near Plymouth and the fans are not too optimistic about the season ahead. Plymouth have let several of their best players go over the past year with the likes of Ebanks-Blake going to Wolves in January and their most high profile of them all in Peter Halmosi who couldn’t resist the lure of the premiership with Hull City. Emile Mpenza is a fantastic signing for Sturrock and he could be crucial for Plymouth this season. After a decent season last year we fancy them to finish in mid-table this term.

Preston
Players In: Barry Nicholsen, Ross Wallace, Jon Parkin, Stephen Elliott
Players Out: Tamas Priskin
Key Player: Neil Mellor
Prediction: 13th Preston struggled for the majority of last season and spent a lot of the time near the foot of the table. The eventually finished in 15th and with the lack of activity in the transfer market this summer they won’t be too far away from where they finished last season. They have made a great start to the new season though and have 10 points from their first 4 games beating some of the favourites for promotion. Their start to the season is very good but they are a inconsistent side and we doubt they can keep it up throughout the season.

Queens Park Rangers
Players In: Radek Cerny, Peter Ramage, Emmanuel Ledesma, Kaspars Gorkss, Dani Parejo, Samuel Di Carmine
Players Out: Stefan Bailey, Jake Cole, Daniel Nardiello, Zesh Rehman. Simon Walton, Chris Barker
Key Player: Emmanuel Ledesma
Prediction: 4th QPR fans are confident they can win the title this season. With new investors from the world of Formula 1 they have the cash to push for promotion and a minimum of a play-off spot will be expected from the fans. They have brought in a decent keeper in former spurs shot stopper Radek Cerny and Ledesma is a classy winger who can deliver a good ball. The board have already expressed that they aim to be in the premiership within the next couple of season and we think this could be their year but it will take a lot of work.

Reading
Players In: Noel Hunt, Chris Armstrong
Players Out: Adam Bygrave, Ben Hamer, Glenn Little, Dave Kitson, Scott Davies, Ibrahima Sonko
Key Player: Kevin Doyle
Prediction: 5th Despite Reading being relegated from the Premiership they have managed to keep the majority of their best players. Leroy Lite, Steven Hunt and Kevin Doyle have all stayed at the club with their only big departure being Glen little to Portsmouth. They have started fairly well and are in 6th position after 4 games. They have enough quality to regain their premiership status and we expect them to be in the play-off’s come the end of the season.

Sheffield United
Players In: Greg Halford, Sun Jihai, Darius Henderson, Justin Haber, David Cotterill
Players Out: Chris Lucketti, Rob Hulse, Ben Starosta, Luton Shelton, Johnathan Stead, Michael Tonge, Chris Armstrong,
Key Player: James Beattie
Prediction: 11th A disappointing season last term saw them finish in 9th. They are a club expected to push for promotion each season but are very inconsistent. They did well to keep hold of James Beattie who scored 21 league goals last season. Even with Kevin Blackwell at the helm i can’t see them mounting a promotion challenge this season and will have to settle for another average campaign in mid-table.

Sheffield Wednesday
Players In: James O’Connor, Tony McMahon, Jimmy Smith
Players Out: Burten O’brien
Key Player: James O’Connor
Prediction: 24th Sheffield Wednesday seem to struggle each season and were tipped for relegation last season. They do lack fire-power in front of goal and with no recognised signings they will be in for another difficult campaign and a dogfight at the foot of the table looks inevitable.

Southampton
Players In: Chris Perry, Lee Holmes, Paul Wotton, Tommy Forecast, Morgan Schneiderlin, Anthony Pulis, Jack Cork
Players Out: Cedric Baseya, Andrew Davis
Key Player: Bradley Wright-Phillips
Prediction: 20th Another former Premiership club on the decline. After their stint in the top flight they have seriously struggled for results in the championships and were very fortunate not to go down last season and their survival went down to the last day of the season which saw Leicester take their place in the last relegation spot. A team who lack goals and confidence and if they get off to a bad start, their could be no way back for the Saints.

Swansea
Players In: Ashley Williams, Mark Gower, Federico Bessone, Albert Serran, Fabien Brandy, Stefan Morrision
Players Out: Kevin Austin, Kevin Amankwaah, Darryl Duffy, Darren Way
Key Player: Jason Scotland
Prediction: 18th Last season League one champions will be hoping to avoid a relegation fight but with a lack of depth within the squad they could have one on their hands. Despite manager Martinez making some signings over the summer they do lack a potent striker and could struggle somewhat for goals. Going on their first couple of performances they should have enough to pull off survival though.

Watford
Players In: Jon Harley
Players Out: Nathan Ellington, Jordan Stewart, Toumani Diagoura, Steve Kabba, Darius Henderson, Moses Ashikodi, Danni Shittu
Key Player: Tommy Smith
Prediction: 16th After a great start to last season which seen them top of the league at Christmas, they fell off the pace and only just managed to get the last play-off spot. They went out at the first hurdle to eventual play-off winners Hull City. Their does seem to be cash problems at the club also with Boothroyd being forced to sell several key players with Nathan Ellington, Steve Kabba and Darius Henderson all departing the club. With very little coming into the club they look in trouble. They are widely tipped to struggle this season and we reckon they will finish 10 places behind their position last season in 16th.

Wolves
Players In: Sam Vokes, Richard Stearman, David Jones, Chris Iwelumo, Matthew Hill
Players Out: Freddy Eastwood, Matt Bailey, Seyi Olofinjana, Elliott Bennett, Lee Collins, Jay Bothroyd, Charles Mulgrew
Key Player: Michael Kightly
Prediction: 1st Manager Mick McCarthy has made some decent signings over the summer in a bid to improve on last seasons finish of 7th. Wolves had a disappointing season last term and were fancied to at least get a play-off spot. Welsh international Sam Vokes looks a decent proposition for the future while Chris Iwelumo should be what they need to get the goals to push them higher up the league. They have made the best start to the season out of any of the championship clubs and with them currently in first place, we fancy them to remain their aslong as they keep up the good performances.