League 1 preview

It's going to give me great pleasure to know that Leeds United will be sitting bottom of the league for at least a month or so. I've tipped them for relegation - a move probably motivated more by wishful thinking rather than rational thought. A locat TV news preview said - and I quote:

"And with Leeds starting the season fifteen points adrift, the best they can hope for is the play-offs."

Credit to them if they achieve that, although it's difficult to give a cheating team with an ignorant cheating bastard as manager any credit whatsoever. But I'm going to rescue this preview by quickly turning my attention to the other 23 teams in the division. And I'll start at the bottom again.

Both Cheltenham and Leyton Orient did well to stay up last season, but I fear that they might get dragged into a relegation scrap this time around. Who joins them (apart from Leeds) is difficult to guess, and League 1 as a whole has given me a bit of a prediction headache, so it is with this in mind that I plucked the name of Bournemouth out of thin air and threw into the relegation zone. They've been a little bit of a yo-yo club between Leagues 1 and 2 in recent memory.

That means I'm tipping all four promoted clubs from League 2 to stay up. Walsall, Hartlepool, Swindon and Bristol Rovers deserved their promotions last season. The top three showed real consistency and Bristol Rovers finished as the form team, so the momentum might carry them through to the comforts of mid-table. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the other three secured a second successive promotion, you know.

As for the teams that came down from the Championship last season, well, we've already covered one of them substantially, and as for Southend and Luton it's anyone's guess. Naturally, both have been tentatively tipped for an immeditate return but I have to say that both clubs would have seen League 1 averageness as a good achievement two or three years ago, so possibly a play-off spot for both. I wouldn't discount them from the promotion race but I think it's more likely to be a top ten finish.

League 1 contains a number of under-achievers, most notably Huddersfield Town and Notts Forest. I'm guessing that Forest will make it this time around, whereas Huddersfield - under the guidance of Andy Ritchie - could make the play-offs. Ritchie's not a bad man to have in charge as he took Barnsley up from this division in 2005/6. He's a good young manager and we'll learn whether he's one for bigger things if he satisfies the Terriers' hunger for Championship football.

However, I've tipped Brighton to accompany Forest in the top two. Actually, I was undecided between them and Swansea. Lee 'Fat Ronaldo' Trundle may have left for pastures new (he's 31-years old so it's not that much of a loss considering he'll only get fatter and slower) but I fully expect the Swans to be challenging for promotion.

Just a few other clubs to mention: Doncaster could be potential play-off candidates, as could Millwall, Oldham and Tranmere. It'll be interesting to see how Oldham get on this season after falling away at the end of the last. Of course, we could see one of Walsall, Hartlepool or Swindon sneak a play-off place, as I've mooted earlier, but I'll be surprised if 'nothing' clubs like Port Vale, Northampton or Crewe get much of a sniff of anything.

In fact, Crewe's an interesting subject - I'm not sure what Dario Gradi's position is at the club any more, because I thought he left or retired, yet online sources say he's still manager at Gresty Road. Anyway, although he's weaved plenty of magic in the past I can't see them competing much this season and could possibly slip into trouble in the last few weeks.

Gillingham need to pull their finger out and start doing something interesting for a change.

Carlisle and Yeovil are the only two teams left that I haven't yet mentioned, so it's mid-table for you boys. I don't mind either team. They're plucky; I like that in a team!