BACK SHREWD ALBION; Boing Boing Baggies have retained enough players to bounce straight back to top tier.

THE Championship has a reputation as an extremely tough league to predict and this season's scramble for Premier League places promises to be another extremely open affair.

Five of the last seven secondtier winners were available at pre-season odds of 10-1 or greater and it is nine years since an ante-post market leader finished top of the pile.

Those statistics make grim reading for West Bros m - this season's 13-2 favourites - but punters should not be too quick to rule the Baggies out of their calculations.

At least one of the top flight drop-outs has bounced back in five of the last eight seasons and of the three relegated clubs competing in this season's Championship - West Brom, Middlesbrough and Newcastle - the Baggies look the best equipped to handle the demands of a gruelling 46-match campaign.

The term 'yo-yo club' could have been invented for Albion, who have experienced three relegations and three promotions in the last eight seasons.

Their latest failure to cope with the lofty demands of topflight football can be partially attributed to a cautious approach in the transfer market. It would be easy to criticise the West Brom board for a lack of ambition, but their policies have left the club in an enviable position.

Financial security is a key factor in ensuring a high level of continuity and that has been evident at the Baggies, who have managed to retain the majority of last season's squad.

The departures of manager Tony Mowbray and left-back Paul Robinson were a blow but there are still plenty of decent players for the club's new manager, Roberto Di Matteo, to work with.

Albion were regularly let down by their defenders last season but some of the worst culprits should be good enough to compete at a lower level. Aerial strength is much more important than pace at this level and that has to be good news for towering Swedish centre-back Jonas Olsson, who endured a torrid Premier League campaign.

Olsson has the makings of a decent Championship defender and the same can be said of centre-back Abdouleye Meite and right-back Gianni Zuiverloon, who are both experiencing their first taste of football at this level.

There will be no concerns about the Albion midfield, which won numerous admirers throughout last season.

And their attack could benefit hugely from the return to full fitness of striker Ishmael Miller and the signing of highly rated youngster Simon Cox from Swindon.

Miller's absence for most of last season was a huge blow, but his return will complement an attack which also features the pace of Luke Moore, the unpredictable skill of Juan Menseguez and the power of Roman Bednar.

One of the downsides to backing the Baggies is the uncertainty surrounding the future of key midfielder Jonathan Greening.

However, while Albion have concerns over one of their key players, their fellow relegated clubs - Middlesbrough and Newcastle - are in the process of losing a number of important players.

Newcastle have already lost Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins from last season's forward line and, with further departures almost certain to follow, their preparations for the new campaign appear to be in a state of disarray.

At the time of writing, there are still lots of good players on the club's books, but it would take an enormous leap of faith to back the Geordies to bounce back at the first attempt.

While change is in the air at St James's Park, their north-east neighbours Boro are hoping that continuity will deliver a rich dividend.

However, chairman Steve Gibson's faith in manager Gareth Southgate has produced mixed results over the last three years and, while the coaching staff remain the same, there has been a considerable leakage of talent in terms of players.

The departures of Stewart Downing and Mido and the almost certain loss of Tuncay will come as no surprise, but Boro fans might have expected better quality replacements than has been the case.

They have agreed modest deals for ex-Colchester winger Mark Yeates and former Tranmere goalkeeper Danny Coyne, but their arrivals are unlikely to lift a club who picked up only two wins from their last 26 matches in the Premier League.

Of the other market leaders, support for 12-1 fourth favourites Ipswich appears to be overly influenced by the club's decision to appoint Roy Keane.

And 2008-09 play-off final losers Sheffield United may pay the price for failing to make the most of their Carlos Tevez windfall. The Blades have been one of the more active clubs in the transfer window, but the arrivals of Lee Williamson, Kyel Reid, Ryan France and Ched Evans may not be enough to improve on last season's third-place finish.

There is much better value on offer further down the list and the 28-1 about Cardiff in particular appeals.

In Dave Jones, the Bluebirds have one of the best managers in the division and he has assembled a talented, well-balanced squad.

The summer sale of star defender Roger Johnson to Birmingham is a blow, but Jones has bolstered his rearguard with the acquisitions of Mark Hudson, Anthony Gerrard and Paul Quinn.

And he has splashed out a club record pounds 4m to secure the transfer of Michael Chopra.

The 25-year-old joins Jay Bothroyd and Ross McCormack in a high-quality attack. And, with classy midfielders Joe Ledley and Stephen McPhail still on the books, there should be plenty of chances created. Recommendations West Brom 3pts 13-2 Ladbrokes Cardiff 2pts each-way 28-1 Ladbokes

FATE OF THE FAVOURITES

Season Favourite Best Fin price pstn 2008-09 Birmingham 13-2 2nd 2007-08 Charlton 7-1 11th 2006-07 Birmingham 5-1 2nd 2005-06 Norwich 11-2 9th 2004-05 Wolves 7-1 9th 2003-04 West Ham 7-2 4th 2002-03 Wolves 5-1 5th Ipswich 5-1 7th 2001-02 Man City 7-2 1st 2000-01 Blackburn 10-3 2nd 1999-00 Blackburn 9-4 11th

CAPTION(S):

Chris Brunt has made a habit of scoring lots of goals for Albion and could play a key role