i think:
1 - West Bromwich Albion - they seem to have kept their squad together and have some strong players in various positions.
2 - Birmingham City - another strong team, have replaced heskey with jerome, pennant may have gone but they have other players who can fill this role, if forsell can find form who knows and they have made some good defensive signings in bruno n gotty and radi jaidi and after seeing how sheff united succeded with big strong defenders, this could be an advantage to birmingham.
3 - Southampton - George Burley has started to get stability from the team, last season loads of players went, but george has steady the ship, and made some great signings, kelvin davis is a good champ goalie, pele in defence adds to a strong line of lundekvam, baird, bale and svennson. scakel is a good buy and with the andrew surman and nathan dyer making an emergence, the midfield attack looks good, meanwhile david prutton and jermaine wright adds a bit of dogidness. up front bradley wright - phillips has been added and gregorz rasiak signed permanently and to go along with ricardo fuller who ended the season as champ player of the month, the team looks solid. will they improve their away form?? this remains to be seen.
4 - derby county - i think they will be the surprise package of the season, billy davies is a proven championship manager and they seem to have alot of attacking prowess with the likes of inigo idiakez, tommy smith, and youngster gilnes barnes who looks to be the next big thing. seth johnson is also a fanstastic player, though the derby defence could do with an extra bit of strength and maybe a striker to partner howard. i think they will play with spirit and if keep a good home record will be stronger than many people think.
5 - Leeds United - will last season unfortunate play off lose be on their minds?? losing rob hulse may be a blow but they have other attacking options in blake, healy and cresswell. the midfield has been strengthened with nicholls and westlake and despite nicholls being out for a shirt period he will be strong on his return, and along with players such as lewis and bakke the midfield looks decent. maybe a defender could be added to further strengthen the team.
6 - Leicester City - another surprise package in my opinion, rob kelly seems to have brought spirit to the club and with matty fryatt making great strides, he could bag quite a few goals, as will ian hume, i think this is what they may rely on. the midfield has been added with andy johnson who is experienced and the defence looks decent, away form will need to be strong though if they are to fullfill this position.
7- Norwich City - i think there may be a negative vibe around carrow road at the moment and this could be bad. rob earnshaw is sure to bag lots and lots of goals and they have quality in darren huckerby and robert green. maybe a few players could be added and f this happens they could make a push but i think they will just miss out.
8 - coventry city - started to show a glimpse of fantastic form at the end of the season, but away form must be improved. ward in defence is an excellent signing, and with the signing of pacy winger jay tabb they could be a force. gary mcsheffery is the main threat and with the powerhouse dele adebola and good home form they could also be close to the play offs.
9 - crystal palace - the loss of ian dowie as manager, emerson boyce and fitz hall in defence will not help, and the biggest loss is prolifiic striker andy johnson. peter taylor has bought well in cort in defence and i think darren ward is also a good defender at this level. they have quality in ben watson and tom soares who both have bright futures, and with clinton morrison they are sure to get goals. i think the losses of key people around the club will not help but they are still a very decent team and could quite easily make the play offs.
10 - sunderland - a poor season in the premiership wont effect them, but i think their attacking options are limited and i can see this being a problem, nial quinn has filled the fans with optimism but he is inexperienced and just missing out on the play offs could be a possibilty.
11- cardiff city - losing top goalscorer cameron jerome is an obvious loss but the signing of michael chopra is fantastic and if his pre season form is anything to go by, he will have a good season. some other decent signings have been made but they dont seem to be strong enough to make the playoffs, but still a positive season for the team in wales.
12 - wolverhampton wanderers - the loss of manager could be seen as a down side but many fans are happy with mick mccarthy as a replacement and being dark horses for the season could work in their favour but the loss of kenny miller, seol, lescott etc will be a big loss and this is likely to show. they still have some decent squad and if they get some stability, could make a push the season after.
13. preston north enf - losing claude davis and mears dosent help their case and with mawene out injured for a long while, the team who known for excellent defensive ability could be troubled. david nugent is a top striker but may struggle with all the pressure on him to fire preston to the play ofss i think
14 - plymouth argyle - an underestimated team by most and with the new manager holloway, enthusiam will not be a problem at all. they have a good backline with a mixture of speed and strength and david norris in midfield is a hard worker. hard work will be the basis of plymouths good season and they could be improving in great strides and with the signing of a man united youngster upfront they have a few goals in them perhaps to finish a positive mid table position.
15 - hull city - new manager, new optimism, new players, a good season awaits for hull city fans.
16 - ipswich town - they have a great set up and lots of positives will be achieved from this season, stabiliy will be the main aim under new boss jim magilton and if this is achieved they could be very stong with their good crop of youngsters in the season after this.
17 - stoke city - they are likely to go unnoticed but ultimately the signings of danny higginbotham and vincent pericard will help their cause and free them any relegation problems
18 - sheff wed - they will be comfortably safe and like ipswich and wolves could be the stong the season after this. they have a very decent midfiled and lunt, folly and small are great signings, but i cant see where the goal threat is, i could be quite easly proved wrong here though
19 - luton town - the loss of key players will prove pivital to the team, but they still have some quality and should easily beat the drop
20 - southend - alot will rely on freddy eastwood to suceed and this pressure may be too big for him, however i think he will score goals and consequently keep southend up.
21 - burnley - who???
22 - qpr - things seem to be going downhill for them, which is quite unfortunate, i cant really see them being any higher than 19th and will struggle and just go down, sorry guys
23 - barnsley - team spirit will be high and there will be high points in the season and im sure a few yorkshire derby wins will be the highlight of a difficult season, sorry guys
24 - colchester - i think the only hope they had was their manager but he has gone to hull and geraint whats his name will have a huge task. greg halford and jonnie jackson will show glimpses of quality and probably move on when they been relegated, sorry guys
is this pretty accurate, what do people think of my predicitions?