Preston North End
Manager: Simon Grayson
Key Player: Kevin Davies
Predicted Finish: 4th Preston have struggled to adapt to life in League One since their relegation 3 years back. Their home form was a fans worst nightmare, with the team failing to win a league game at Deepdale for a total of six months. The arrival late in the season of formers Leeds manager Simon Grayson revitalised the team however and it now looks as though they could finally live up to their potential in this division. The signing of experienced forward Kevin Davies is certainly a statement of intent whilst the acquisition of former Shrewsbury and Motherwell winger Chris Humphrie will have defences quivering in their boots. Expect at the very least a play off push from North-End this year. The experienced head of Simon Grayson should help them find their rhythm and make them a real side to be reckoned with, for once.
Rotherham United
Manager: Steve Evans
Key Player: Craig Morgan
Predicted Finish: 13th Say what you like about Steve Evans but his work in the transfer market showed his intention for the coming campaign. Five new signings were made before the team arrived back for pre-season training and the recent addition of loanee Matt Tubbs is a further statement of intent. The Millers have played at this level before and their fans will be well aware of how competitive a league it is. The strikeforce of Tubbs and Danny Hylton could prove to be the key to their success this year. I fully expect Rotherham to turn a few heads this year; there is never a dull moment when Steve Evans is around and with a new life in their new stadium off to a good start they could prove a tough team to defeat this year. Experienced defender Craig Morgan missed half of last years promotion campaign but many fans fully believe that it was his return that inspired their late comeback and promotion victory.
Sheffield United
Manager: David Weir
Key Player: George Long
Predicted Finish: 7th Sheffield Uniteds continued defeats in the play offs and their ever diminishing budget will mean that optimism amongst the fans drops year by year. The appointment of former Everton centre-back David Weir is certainly interesting. Whilst extremely experienced as a player it is first year as a manager and it could prove to be an incredibly difficult test. Whilst still being one of the bigger teams in the division Sheffield United wont be as feared this season as they were last and the addition of teams like Wolves to the division may make it even harder for The Blades. The signings of players like Febian Brandy and Steve McGinn will no doubt prove useful but I feel last years defeated play off semi-finalists will fall just short this year.