This time next week, we’ll know which one of Watford or Crystal Palace will be filling the last Premier League spot for the 2013/14 season. We’ll either being congratulating the Udinese B Team on getting promoted in a different country, or we’ll all be realising that Ian Holloway just isn’t as funny second time around. Either way, as soon as the ticker tape hits the floor and Wembley stop playing whatever the current feel good hit of the summer is in celebration, thoughts will turn towards August and the beginning of next season. So with the summer and next season in mind, here are my “5 players who may or may not be plying their trade in the Championship next season but were there this season so are worth watching” list (titles aren’t my strong suit).

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Let’s just get straight to the point: 9 out of 10 Wolves fans will probably say “sacking Mick McCarthy” was where it went wrong. After this weekend’s home loss to Burnley and subsequent “scenes”, Wolves are on the brink of back-to-back relegations. Should they achieve it, they’ll be the first team since Swindon to manage this outstanding feat. They need three points away at fortress Brighton on the final day of the season, plus losses for two teams above them and a four-goal swing in goal difference.

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1. Cardiff are almost there

A season that started so poorly for fans of Cardiff is very close to finishing very well. The kit change and the badge change annoyed a lot of fans and rightly so. However, Malkay Mackay has galvanised his side, and it appears he will take them over the line. A 3-0 home win over Forest this weekend was only their second win in the last five and it had a bit of fortune about it. Darius Henderson was sent off at 1-0 for raising an arm, and replays showed it to be a pretty harsh decision. However, Cardiff have been the best team in the league this season and will be worthy champions. Their blips have been covered by the fact that everyone from second place down have been unable to build any kind of consistency. For the last two months or so, Cardiff have been underwhelming at best, but it looks like they are there now and could have promotion secured by the weekend. The work will then begin for the Welsh club – after this long trying to get into the big time, they simply must stay there. Read the rest of this entry →

 After Monday’s results, I prefer not to look at the bottom half of the Championship table because it fills me with dread, so instead I’m going to concentrate today on two teams moving in opposite directions at the top end of the table. Leicester, for all their money spent, are dropping like the proverbial stone, and Brighton – pre-season playoff hopefuls – have snuck past them into the final playoff spot. After Monday’s results, Brighton have a game in hand over Leicester, and alarm bells are now probably ringing throughout the boardroom of the King Power Stadium, and the chairman’s finger is getting incredibly itchy.

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