Middlesbrough – another club with recent Premiership experience – are current favourites. Manager Gordon Strachan has bought in Kris Boyd from Rangers; if Boyd reproduces his outstanding goalscoring record in the Championship, he could be play a vital part in Boro’s promotion bid.

Although the clubs relegated from the Premiership shouldn’t be entirely written off, Burnley look the best equipped for a serious promotion challenge: Chris Iwelumo’s arrival from Wolves looks like a shrewd investment. Both Hull City and Portsmouth have off field issues that could hinder their efforts to make an immediate return to the top tier.

Two of the teams that reached the play offs last season should challenge for promotion places. Nottingham Forest were outstanding at home last season and Leicester City – where former Swansea City boss Paolo Sousa replaces Nigel Pearson as manager – look capable of maintaining their form from 2009/2010. Cardiff City’s prospects are unclear, but they should still be capable of a top ten finish, a prospect that both Ipswich Town and QPR will be hoping to achieve.

It’ll be interesting to see how the new arrivals from League One will perform. Champions Norwich City return after one season but may have to settle for a mid table finish; Leeds United will probably lead the division in attendance numbers, but their season may depend on how well new signing Billy Paynter adapts to the Championship. Millwall should avoid relegation but may have to be content with a bottom half finish in their first season at this level since 2005/2006.

A number of teams look as if they may struggle. Scunthorpe always seem to be punching above their weight but selling Gary Hooper to Celtic leaves The Iron without a proven goal scorer. Barnsley need to improve at home, Crystal Palace entered administration but eventually owed their survival to an outstanding away record that culminated in a win at Sheffield Wednesday on the last day of the season.

However, every club in the nPower Football League Championship will start on equal terms when the season starts on the evening of Friday August 6th, when Watford travel to Norwich City (7:45pm kick off, live on Sky Sports 3).

Nigel pearson joins Hull City

Nigel Pearson has been confirmed as the new Hull City manager, he will replace caretaker Iain Dowie who was hired short term by Hull but failed to keep the club in the Premier League.

Pearson arrives from Leicester City where he has led the club to the League One title and to the Championship play-offs in his two seasons in charge.

Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric said:

“Nigel’s done a fantastic job. It would have been wrong of us to deny him the chance to speak to another club. We were greatly surprised to receive the initial approach from Hull. The past few years have been a turbulent time for both me and the supporters at Leicester City. We have been striving to get a degree of continuity at the club. After speaking to Nigel, we have reluctantly agreed that if he wished to pursue this opportunity at Hull, we would permit it.

I am deeply grateful to him for everything he has done for the club. He has put together the foundations of a strong squad and it is now up to us to find a manager to build on those foundations.”

Hull City’s head of football operations Adam Pearson added:

“We are delighted to welcome a manager of Nigel’s experience and calibre to the club. We feel it is a real coup for Hull City and that Nigel is the best man to mould the existing squad into a competitive Championship squad. Nigel had two outstanding seasons at Leicester City and I feel sure that this experience and winning formula will ensure the very best chance of bringing success back to the club.”

Iain Dowie was hired by Hull with nine games remaining following the departure of Phil Brown in March, he was always on a hiding to nothing but hoped that he had shown enough to be considered as a long term replacement for Brown.

While I am sure he was given consideration, Hull City appear to have shown patience in finding the right man for the job and on the basis of Pearson’s recent managerial history he has to be the right man.

The game wasn’t a goal fest as I had imagined but was a very open, attacking and entertaining game of football to watch. Hull capitalised on the lion (or should that be tiger!) share of the possession in the first half with a fantastic volley from 39 year old Dean Windass.

Dean Windass started his professional career  with Hull City 17 years ago.  He has played for several teams including Bradford and Middlesborough before returning to is home town team.

In the second half Bristol City battered the Hull defence and had a few chances to take the game into extra time. But Hull held on for a momentus victory.

Unfortunately, the dust hasn’t even settled and the talk is now of whether Hull, West Brom & Stoke will be able to survive more than one season in the Premier League. However, considering that promotion betting didn’t even consider Hull at the beginning of the season – they should just enjoy it!

The stakes are high. with a place in the Premier League reported to be worth an estimated £60 million to the winning team.

Bristol City have not been in the top division since 1980, while Hull City have never played in the top flight of English football. There is no clear avourite and both teams are confident of a win.

Both Bristol City and Hull City play attractive attacking football, so I am expecting a high scoring, high tempoed and exciting game; a 2-1 or 3-2 score line wouldn’t surprise me!

The bookmakers are making Hull City slight favourites. Bluesquare odds, as I write:

Bristol City to win 2/1
Hull City to win 3-2 – 11/8

Bristol City to win 2-1 -12/1
Hull City to win 2-1 – 9/1

I’m going for Hull city to win & Nick Barmby to score at 8/1. What do you think?

With all the television money and global exposure that comes with playing in the Premiership it is fair to say that niether Bristol City or Hull were cited by any football critics at the beginning of the season to be in the play-offs, let alone play-off final.

In fact, many critics suggested Bristol City, who were promoted last season from League One, were contenders for relegation from whence they came! Football league betting certainly didn’t expect them to be in the play-off final!

Both Gary Johnson at Bristol City and Phil Brown at Hull have done remarkable well to get their teams this far.  But without a big investor backing the manager to buy Premiership players in the summer, can you really see either of them remaining in the Premiership for what Reading know only too well can be an awkward second season?

Bristol City will play Hull City at Wembley on Saturday 24th May. The winners will receive a place at the head table of English football as they will start the 2008/09 season in the Premier League. The losers will be the weakest link and leave with nothing. They will have to continue playing English Championship football next season.

After Hull City beat Watford 2-0 on Sunday, Watford needed a quick start tonight; and Darius Henderson after just 12 minutes to give Watford a lifeline.

For most of the first half Watford played well, while Hull City looked nervous. But in the 43rd minute that all changed as Nick Barmby, a schoolboy fan of Hull City scored with a header to make it 1-1 at half-time.

Hull outplayed Watford in the second half and thoroughly deserved to win the tie. But it took until 70 minutes before Hull took the lead through a Caleb Folan header.

Richard Garcia and Nathan Doyle made the score 4-1 on the night and 6-1 on aggreagate.

Phil Brown takes Hull City to Wembley with the chance of The Tigers to play in the top tier of English football for the first time in their history. Everyone in Hull will want to get there hands on these football tickets!

So, who will join West Brom and Stoke City in the Premiership next season, Bristol City or Hull City?

After Bristol City’s rather surprising 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the first leg of the other semi-final play-off game yesaterday at Selhurst Park, today it is the turn of Watford and Hull.

As with yesterday’s game Hull City, like Crystal Palace go into the play-offs as the ‘in form’ team, though they did lose out on automatic promotion in the final game of the season, last Sunday.

Watford, on the other hand only just made it into the play-offs and have lost their way since Christmas after such a great start to the beginning of the season where it looked like they would be crowned Coca-Cola Leaguechampions by some margin.

So, do Hull play the game thinking they missed a chance last week or that they have managed to get to the play-offs with an amazing run of results this year?

Do Watford play the game thinking this is another chance to bounce straight back into the Premiership or that they are only in the play-offs because of the points they gained before Christmas?

Watford are at home, so will be looking to take an advantage to Hull next week. But I think Hull will be too strong for Adie Boothroyd’s Watford.

In terms of play-off betting, I’m sticking with a Crystal Palace v Hull City play-off final.

Hull gatecrash the play-off party by moving up to third, above Watford, and two points above West Brom. Plymouth’s draw with out-of-sorts Watford keeps their play-off chances alive in sixth place.

Hull City are the in-form team as far as Coca Cola Championship football is concerned right now, after a 5-0 drubbing of Southampton last week and comfortably beating relegation contenders Leicester yesterday, with a convincing display.

Leicester held on until the last minute of the first half, before Dean Marney scored from Frazier Campbell’s cross. Substitute Caleb Folan made sure of the win as he raced through the Leicester defence to beatLeicester goalkeeper Paul Henderson; who had been The Foxes hero beforehand by saving a penalty from Marney.

In the post-match interviews, Leicester City manager Ian Holloway was certainly feeling the pressure when he stated:

“We have six games left and all I will say is we will have to do a damn sight better than that.”

While in contrast Hull City’s manager Phil Brown said it was always Hull’s intention to get to sixth place, now they need to stay in sixth position or above. Currently in third on goal difference above Watford, he said:

“It’s a big game for us against Watford next week. These players seem to be totally focused on the job in hand and it’s full credit to them.”

Since Christmas certain pundits have been suggesting Stoke and Bristol City were not going to stay the distance, and Watford and West Brom would rise to the top, come the end of the season. I’m pleased both Stoke and Bristol City have stayed in contention. But neither Stoke, Bristol City, Watford or West Brom have played their best football over the past few weeks.

Too many draws, grinding out results, whether a dip in form or big stage nerves. What is obvious to see is that Hull City have gradually sneaked into contention for automatic promotion, let alone a play-off place; and by beating Watford next week, they will be confirming their place in the top six.

Hull City are currently 7-1 to be Coca-Cola Championship champions with Blue Square. What’s the betting odds for Stoke and Hull for automatic promotion and Bristol City for a play-off victory?

West Brom lost 4-1 to Leicester and with it missed a chance to leap frog Watford into third place, after Watford and Stoke drew 0-0. Even so, Stoke go to the top of the table after Bristol City surprisingly lost 2-1 in a south west derby match with Plymouth.

There is now only 10 points between the top seven teams, after wins for Plymouth and Hull. Hull thrashed Southampton 5-0, who are now surprisingly staring down the barrel of a relegation gun!

Stoke and Bristol City are now joint top with 67 points, though Bristol City have a much inferior goal difference to all the other teams battling for promtion.

In fact, Bristol City, in second place, and Leicester City in 20th position have the same goal difference of two.

It’s amazing to consider that if Watford and West Brom were to lose three games while teams below them were to win three, they could drop out of the play-off places altogether and miss out on any chance of promotion to the Premiership; when only weeks ago it was considered to be Watford and West Brom for automatic promotion and the rest fighting it out for the play-offs.

Sorry to keep going over the same points, but I really am enjoying the topsy turvy unpredictable world of this season’s Coca-Cola Championship race for Premiership promotion.

I only hope which ever three teams eventually gain promotion to the Premiership they are going to fair better than Watford last season, and Derby County this season!