The annual LoftforWords Championship Preview features detailed profiles and hopeless predictions for all 24 teams in the division in 2009/10 ahead of the big kick off this Saturday.

Here we are again faithful reader. Just 12 months on from me sitting in this very same chair and writing the very same words I find myself saying “I’m definitely not writing that bloody thing again next year”. Midnight oil burnt, restocked, and burnt again the super duper, bumper, annual, LFW Championship Preview is here again.

It is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge for me this because having started writing it three weeks ago the teams I did first of all, Nottingham Forest and Peterborough in case you were interested, have added still further to their squads since so their write ups may be dated compared to say Palace and Ipswich who I did last. It’s been ready to go for a day or two now but I’ve been fiddling looking for errors and this morning you see the culmination of three weeks’ hard work and me uttering the time honoured male phrase often trotted out when shopping for birthday presents “agh, that’ll do.” What normally happens now is people glance down at the league table, disagree with a couple of my predictions, and never darken the door of this page again. The occasional visiting supporter will drop by to tell me Stuart Elliott kicks with his left foot not his right (or was it the other way round?) and commenters will start various posts with “How can you possibly think….”

Football is a game of opinions and this preview represents mine. If you don’t agree, I look forward to debating the ins and outs of that on the message board and using the commenting facility below. My predictions of match scores are notoriously rank but I did get a fair bit right on this preview last year as you may care to remind yourself link. If you’ll allow me to get my defence in early though, in formulating the predictions I have looked for two things above all others – goal scorers and good managers.

Cardiff City is a pretty unhappy place to be at the moment with Ross McCormack and Joe Ledley both wanting away and concerns about Dave Jones’ tenure following last season’s dramatic collapse right at the end. However they have bought Michael Chopra and will therefore score goals.

Sheffield United look a solid but pretty uninspiring bunch when looked at with a critical eye. They have missed a number of crucial targets in the transfer market but have nailed down Ched Evans from Man City and again that means goals – almost guaranteed as long as he is fit.

If you had shown me Ipswich Town’s summer transfer activity as it stands three months ago I’d have laughed at you. They’ve bought nobody and let some talent go – but they have the Roy Keane factor.

The first question for me is will Jim Magilton be a good enough manager to push QPR on into that top six? Regular readers will know I do not think he will be although the players we have at our disposal should really suit his style of play and if he can keep people like Buzsaky fit, a luxury not afforded to any of our bosses last season, we have a great chance. The second question is will QPR score enough goal this season to trouble the top six? Again it won’t surprise you to hear that I don’t think they will – we have a talented squad no doubt, but as it stands I would not back one of our players to make double figures this season and that puts enormous pressure on us to share the goals around. I’m more optimistic than I was, I think we will exceed last season’s points tally and final position, but I just think we need a better top man than Agyemang, Helguson and Vine to really push on and trouble the six. I hope I’m wrong.

Anyway for what it’s worth, i.e. not much, here is my stab at a prediction for the final league table. Click on the individual teams for reams of nonsense about each of them. Don't forget to sign up for the LoftforWords Prediction League that returns this weekend, or our Fantasy League run through the Texaco Site - access code for the LFW league is 1208. Thanks for reading as ever.

1st – Sheffield United
2nd – West Brom
3rd – Middlesbrough
4th – Ipswich Town
5th – Cardiff City
6th – Nottingham Forest
7th - QPR
8th – Reading
9th – Bristol City
10th - Leicester City
11th – Preston
12th – Swansea
13th – Newcastle
14th – Peterborough
15th – Derby County
16th – Crystal Palace
17th – Blackpool
18th – Sheffield Wednesday
19th – Coventry City
20th – Watford
21st – Plymouth Argyle
22nd – Scunthorpe United
23rd – Doncaster Rovers
24th – Barnsley

Photo: Action Images

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