The Championship season starts in less than two weeks, and the contenders for promotion include Leeds, Fulham and Cardiff City.
Neil Warnock’s side were relegated from the Premier League last season with 34 points, but they performed much better than Huddersfield or Fulham.
Cardiff had one of the lowest budgets in the league and were always expected to struggle – the fact they threatened Brighton for so long was an achievement in itself.
The Bluebirds have kept Warnock who has a fantastic record in getting teams promoted – having done it eight times with seven different clubs.
Warnock along with Marcelo Bielsa is probably one of the best managers in the Championship and seems to have mastered how to win games at that level – as his win percentage of just under 50% would suggest.
Cardiff have also made some shrewd signings including the acquisition of the giant Aden Flint from Middlesbrough – Flint was one of the best defenders in the league for Bristol City in 2017/18, and he was also a serious goal threat scoring eight.
If Warnock can play to his strengths at set-pieces, then Cardiff may have a defender who can score some valuable goals.
Other signings to come in include Will Vaulks a defensive midfielder from Rotherham who impressed for the Millers last season scoring seven goals and providing eight assists.
A minor negative is the loss of Aron Gunnarsson – the influential Icelandic midfielder will be missed by a lot of fans and by Warnock because of his work rate, the knack of scoring important goals and his leadership from the centre of midfield.
Despite the loss of Gunnarsson, Cardiff managed by Warnock will be contenders – they have a lot of experience and quality in every area as well as a coach who has a reputation for promoting teams.