Championship 2009-10: Club by club

Ipswich

Manager: Roy Keane
Position last season: 9th
Players in: Damien Delaney (QPR, undisclosed), Troy Brown (Fulham), Lee Martin (Manchester United, undisclosed), Shane O'Connor (free), Colin Healy (Cork, undisclosed).
Players out: Ivan Campo (released), Tommy Miller (Sheff Wed, free), Billy Clarke (Blackpool, free), Dean Bowditch (released), Chris Casement (Dundee, free), Jai Reason (Cambridge, free), Kurt Robinson (released), Matt Richards (released), Dan Harding (released), Danny Haynes (Bristol City, undisclosed), Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield).

The chances of Roy Keane mutating into the shy, retiring type remain unlikely, but after such a high-profile appointment, Ipswich have had a strangely quiet summer.

The arrivals of one Manchester United old boy (Lee Martin) and several Irishman hardly constitute a surprise and there hasn't been the anticipated spending spree.

If Keane can galvanise a gifted squad who underachieved last season, when they had unusual difficulty in winning at Portman Road, then promotion is a possibility. But Ipswich's prospects would be better with the sorts of signings that Keane produced to help Sunderland win the Championship.

Key Man: Lee Martin - Keane's faith in all things United can be queried and Martin has produced mixed returns from his previous loan spells in the Championship. Vindicating his manager would help propel Ipswich into the Premier League.
One to watch: Colin Healy - Not exactly a youngster, but the midfielder has barely played in England since a terrible injury in 2003. Now back in the Championship after a spell in his native Ireland with Cork, it is to be hoped he is finally fully fit.

Leicester

Manager: Nigel Pearson
Position last season: 1st (League One)
Players in: Robbie Neilson (Hearts, free), Chris Weale (Bristol City, free), Dany N'Guessan (Lincoln, undisclosed), Astrit Ajdarevic (Liverpool, free), Richie Wellens (Doncaster, £1.2 million), Wayne Brown (Hull, undisclosed), Jack Hobbs (Liverpool, undisclosed).
Players out: Joe Cobb (Wycombe, free), Barry Hayles (Cheltenham, free).

Few would support the theory that relegation has benefits, but Leicester City might. After demotion to League One two seasons ago, they appear to have returned to the Championship a stronger side, perhaps ready to emulate Bristol City and Swansea by competing for a second successive promotion.

Nigel Pearson has signed sensibly, bolstering the defence with Wayne Brown's experience and Jack Hobbs' potential and adding Richie Wellens' creativity to a midfield where, with the accomplished Matt Oakley complementing the emerging Andy King, Leicester already have options.

Steve Howard and Matty Fryatt formed the archetypal partnership of target man and poacher last season; if the latter can replicate his prolific form in the higher league, then the top half should beckon.

Key Man: Matty Fryatt - Which Fryatt will it be? The man who scored 27 league goals last season or the one who only mustered 11 in his previous two-and-a-half years at the Walkers Stadium?
One to watch: Andy King - Last season was a breakthrough year for the midfielder, who scored 10 times, established himself in the Leicester side and won his first Wales cap.

Middlesbrough

Manager: Gareth Southgate
Position last season: 19th (Premier League)
Players in: Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed), Danny Coyne (Tranmere, free).
Players out: Stewart Downing (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Ross Turnbull (Chelsea, free), Graeme Owens (Kilmarnock, free).

Steve Gibson has already displayed his faith in Gareth Southgate. Now, surely, is the time for it to be repaid as, for the first time in 12 seasons, Middlesbrough find themselves in the Championship.

Precisely which Boro players line up there is still the subject of conjecture. Stewart Downing is gone, and it is likely Mido and Tuncay will follow. Should Gary O'Neil, Adam Johnson and David Wheater stay, however, and they should still be able to field a side of enviably ability, by Championship standards.

But, besides winning over the crowd, Southgate's biggest problem is remedying a chronic lack of goals. Middlesbrough were the lowest scorers in all four divisions last season and require a dramatic improvement - and, given the form of Afonso Alves and Jeremie Aliadiere, probably a new striker - to have the firepower for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Key Man: Mark Yeates - Charged with replacing Downing and providing the ammunition for Boro's misfiring attack, the former Colchester winger's is a tough task.
One to watch: Rhys Williams - Boro's relegation should provide still more opportunities for the products of their prolific academy. Williams, who helped Burnley's promotion push in a loan spell last season, is a defender who could figure more.

Newcastle

Manager: No one. One might help, though
Position last season: 18th (Premier League)
Players in:
Players out: Michael Owen (Manchester United, free), Mark Viduka (released), Claudio Cacapa (released), Peter Lovenkrands (released), David Edgar (Burnley, tribunal), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, £6 million).

IanHorrocks/GettyImages

Chris Hughton: Remains in charge of the Magpies for now

No new owner, no manager, no summer signings and a 6-1 defeat at Leyton Orient: apart from that, things have gone pretty well for Newcastle. They are in the unfortunate position of being both the prize scalp in the division and utterly unprepared for it.

Sales are required as well as arrivals, to slash a huge wage bill and find players equipped for the attrition of the Championship. Dependable defenders and consistent lower-league scorers would be equally welcome; instead, the overpaid, the overrated and the unfit remain.

Despite those criticisms, Newcastle have the division's most talented team. But without the coherence and sense of purpose a manager provides - and the unity which the Championship's most successful sides invariably possess - can they really return to the Premier League?

Key Man: Nicky Butt - One of the few big names who might have the resilience to prosper in the Championship, and one of the few the club can rely upon.
One to watch: Andy Carroll - With Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins gone, the physical striker from Gateshead could find himself leading the line. A homegrown goalscorer could offer the Newcastle crowd rare solace.

Nottingham Forest

Manager: Billy Davies
Position last season: 19th
Players in: David McGoldrick (Southampton, undisclosed), Dele Adebola (Bristol City, free), Lee Camp (QPR, undisclosed), Paul Anderson (Liverpool, £250,000), Chris Gunter (Tottenham, £1.75 million), Paul McKenna (Preston, £750,000), Dexter Blackstock (QPR, undisclosed), Joel Lynch (Brighton, £200,000).
Players out: Emile Sinclair (Macclesfield, free), Ian Breckin (Chesterfield, free), Richard Tait (released), Hamza Bencherif (Macclesfield, released), Liam Hook (released), Tom Sharpe (released), Ryan Whitehurst (released), Paddy Gamble (released), Adam Newbold (released), Joe Heath (Lincoln, loan), Brendan Moloney (Notts County, loan), Shane Redmond (Burton, loan), James Reid (Rushden, loan).

Survival clearly didn't satisfy Billy Davies. Nottingham Forest will be a much-changed team this season and it is probable the Scot's signings will comprise the majority of the team.

He now has a surfeit of strikers and perming two or even three from Dele Adebola, Dexter Blackstock, David McGoldrick, Nathan Tyson, Rob Earnshaw and Joe Garner promises to be an awkward task. It also suggests Forest's young team have the firepower to progress.

Davies' abrasive persona does not endear him to everyone, but he has an outstanding record at this level and if the newcomers gel, it is possible Forest will become the third club he has led to a play-off finish.

Key Man: Paul McKenna - The Preston captain was a one-club man until his former manager lured him to the East Midlands. One of the Championship's best passing midfielders should help create more chances.
One to watch: Paul Anderson - Brought in from Liverpool, the winger is another part of a reconfigured attack.

Peterborough

Manager: Darren Ferguson
Position last season: 2nd (League 1)
Players in: Lee Frecklington (Lincoln, undisclosed), Tommy Rowe (Stockport, undisclosed), Toumani Diagouraga (Hereford, undisclosed fee), Krystian Pearce (Birmingham, loan), Romone McCrae (Crawley, undisclosed), Danny Mills (Crawley, undisclosed).
Players out: Liam Hatch (Luton, loan), Mark Tyler (released), Alfie Potter (Oxford, loan), Craig Braham-Barrett (released), Chris Westwood (Wycombe, free).

Successive promotions have earned Peterborough just a second spell to the top two divisions in their history. Whereas last summer, it brought interest in their players, now their manager - Darren Ferguson - appears to be coveted more.

Ferguson has maintained his policy of recruiting from the lower leagues but, once again, much of the focus will be on the prolific pairing of Aaron McLean and Craig Mackail-Smith, scorers of a combined total of 100 goals in the last two seasons.

While a third straight promotion would be a miraculous achievement, consolidation in the Championship would also represent success for Peterborough.

Key Man: Craig Mackail-Smith - Overtook McLean to become Posh's top scorer last season.
One to watch: Tommy Bowe - The midfielder was signed when Stockport went into administration.

Plymouth

Manager: Paul Sturrock
Position last season: 21st
Players in: Carl Fletcher (Crystal Palace, free), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Southampton, free), Kari Arnason (free transfer), Reda Johnson (Amiens, undisclosed).
Players out: Jermaine Easter (MK Dons, undisclosed), Emile Mpenza (released), Dan Smith (released).

It does not bode well for Plymouth that, often at their best in Devon, they lost 11 times at Home Park last season, or that arguably their outstanding player, Paul Gallagher, was only borrowed from Blackburn.

Lacking Gallagher, Steve MacLean and Bradley Wright-Phillips will have to shoulder the goalscoring burden in a side who are not particularly creative.

Paul Sturrock's idiosyncratic style of management worked in his first spell at Plymouth; it is has been less effective second time around, but Argyle have defied past predictions of their demise. They may have to surprise a few by staying up again.

Key Man: Carl Fletcher - On loan at Home Park last season, he has been signed on a permanent deal and should have a pivotal part to play at the heart of the midfield.
One to watch: Jamie Mackie - Last season was something of a breakthrough year for Mackie, one of the few to provide goals from midfield.

Preston

Manager: Alan Irvine
Position last season: 6th
Players in: Paul Parry (Cardiff, undisclosed).
Players out: Chris Neal (Shrewsbury, undisclosed), Paul McKenna (Nottingham Forest, £750,000), Simon Whaley (Norwich, £150,000).

Preston confounded plenty of predictions by reaching the play-offs last season. In doing so, however, they illustrated the unfussy excellence of manager Alan Irvine, who was wanted by West Brom, and captain Paul McKenna, who joined Nottingham Forest.

Between them, Richard Chaplow, Darren Carter, Barry Nicholson and new skipper Callum Davidson have to compensate for McKenna's departure.

At least Preston should be strong on the flanks with Paul Parry joining the ever threatening Ross Wallace, and Irvine has a quartet of strikers to rotate. But a second successive May in the play-offs looks unlikely.

Key Man: Richard Chaplow - The Championship's player of the month at the start of last season will need to produce that form again to ensure McKenna isn't missed.
One to watch: Eddie Nolan - The Irishman has proved a useful signing in either full-back position, even making his Republic of Ireland debut.