With the transfer window open for business and several signings having been made by Championship clubs already, we are assessing how each club in the second tier is performing to this point.
In the first of our four-part series, we look at the fortunes of the first six clubs - Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bournemouth and Brentford - as the 2014/2015 season inches closer.
Birmingham City:
In: Jonathan Grounds (Oldham Athletic - Free), Grant Hall (Tottenham Hotspur - Loan), Stephen Gleeson (MK Dons - Free), Wes Thomas (Rotherham United - Free), Gavin Gunning (Dundee United - Free), David Edgar (Burnley - Free), Mark Duffy (Doncaster Rovers - Undisclosed), David Cotterill (Doncaster Rovers - Free), Clayton Donaldson (Brentford - Free).
Out: Aaron Martin (Yeovil Town - Free), Hayden Mullins (Notts County - Free), Wade Elliott (Bristol City - Free), Peter Lovenkrands, Brian Howard, Aaron Martin, Darren Ambrose, Nikola Zigic, Chris Burke (All released).
Plan: Former Huddersfield Town manager Lee Clark is famed for bringing in hoards of players after his spell in charge at the Terriers and certainly on this year's evidence, he appears to be following a similar strategy by getting the bulk of his summer business done early.
Clark is working on a shoestring budget and has done exceptionally well to bring in talented League One players such as Stephen Gleeson and Clayton Donaldson, as well as promising youngsters such as Grant Hall and Gavin Gunning.
Reported targets: Vangelis Platellas - Sources in the West Midlands believe Clark has dropped his interest but he has made clear he wants a winger, where the AEK Athens man plies his trade.
Prospects: Clark will be delighted with the bodies he has drafted in. He now has time on his side in his pursuit of a winger, allowing the club to identify their chief targets.
Blackburn Rovers:
In: Chris Brown (Doncaster Rovers - Free), Luke Varney (Leeds United - Free).
Out: Ryan Edwards (Morecambe - Free), Alan Judge (Brentford - Undisclosed), Dickson Etuhu, David Goodwillie, David Dunn, Marcus Olsson, Ryan Edwards, Tim Payne, William Beesley, Robbie Cotton, Huge Fernandez Molina, Deniz Pero, Aaron Tumwa, Matthew Unwin, and scholars Jordan Anderson, Thomas Brown, William Butterwick, Callum Harris, Thomas Paul, Yeray Torres Martinez, Ian Vicars, Brice Wassi (All released).
Plan: Retaining Jordan Rhodes is the first step. Should Rovers lose their star striker, it could work one of two ways. It would free up a considerable amount for Gary Bowyer to use in the transfer market, but it would be difficult to replace the goal tally Rhodes automatically brings season on season.
Reported targets: Stephen Henderson, Max Clayton - Both appear unlikely at this stage, particularly the latter given the embarrassment of riches Bowyer has at his disposal up front. Rovers' main priority will be in defence, where they look slightly light on numbers.
Prospects: Rovers are awaiting the outcomes of talks with both David Dunn and Markus Olsson and Rhodes' future will also impact heavily on just how they play the market this summer.
Blackpool:
In: Sergei Zenjov (FC Karpaty Lviv - Free).
Out: Mark Halstead (Shrewsbury Town - Free), Chris Basham (Sheffield United - Free), Kirk Broadfoot (Rotherham United - Free), James Caton (Shrewsbury Town - Free), Chris Kettings (Crystal Palace - Free), Neal Bishop (Scunthorpe United - Free), Craig Cathcart (Watford - Free), Matt Gilks (Burnley - Free), Barry Ferguson, Michael Chopra, Robert Earnshaw, Elliot Grandin, Nathan Tyson, Tony Warner, Louis Almond, Anderson Banvo, Jake Caprice, Adam Dodd, Nathan Eccleston, Faris Haroun, Liam Tomsett (All released).
Plan: What plan? Even with a new manager finally on board at Bloomfield Road, there have been murmurs of discontent behind the scenes as Pool's chaotic descent threatens to bring an end to their Championship status before it has even begun.
Joe Riga has been appointed to neutralise financial wreckage of recent times but is said to be unhappy at how chairman Karl Oyston has gone about bringing in new playing staff as well as finalising deals for his backroom entourage.
Reported targets: Very few at the moment. With so few players officially on their books (just nine) and Tom Ince set to depart for Hull City, a mass overhaul must be conducted by Riga but he wants to bring in quality as much as he does quantity.
Prospects: No wonder the Seasiders are ranked relegation favourites ahead of the new campaign. If they do not draft in a host of players who can cut it at this level before the season kicks off, they will be in trouble.
Bolton Wanderers:
In: Neil Danns (Leicester City - Free), Liam Trotter (Millwall - Free), Liam Feeney (Millwall - Free), Andy Robinson (Southampton - Free), Dorian Dervite (Charlton Athletic - Free), Ross Fitzsimons (Crystal Palace - Free), Dean Moxey (Crystal Palace - Free).
Out: Marvin Sordell (Burnley - Undisclosed), Zat Knight, Chris Eagles, Tyrone Mears, Jay Lynch, Andre Moritz, Arran Lee-Barrett (All released).
Plan: All seems to be going according to plan at the Reebok Stadium, with manager Dougie Freedman able to snap up some of last season's promising loanees on permanent deals, adding to the development squad roster and attracting Dean Moxey to the club in what is being regarded as something of a coup.
Dorian Dervite's arrival allows Freedman to replace the outgoing Zat Knight more or less immediately but strikers are now the main priority for the Scot, with Jermaine Beckford the only recognised frontman on the Trotters' books. Another midfielder may also be useful given the long-term fitness concerns over Stuart Holden and the doubts hanging over Chung Yong-Lee, Keith Andrews and Darren Pratley's respective futures.
Reported targets: Lukas Jutkiewicz, Joe Mason, Craig Dawson - There can be no doubting that the former is Freedman's top target to relieve the goalscoring burden on Beckford's shoulders.
Prospects: Jutkiewicz's preference is to return to the newly-renamed Macron Stadium but competition from both Derby County and Wolves could blow Wanderers out the water.
Bournemouth:
In: Dan Gosling (Newcastle United - Free), Junior Stanislas (Burnley - Free), Callum Wilson (Coventry - Undisclosed).
Out: Shwan Jalal (Bury - Free), Lewis Grabban (Norwich City - Undisclosed), Matt Tubbs (AFC Wimbledon - Loan), Mohamed Coulibaly (Coventry City - Loan), Ryan Allsopp (Coventry City - Loan).
Plan: Boss Eddie Howe's plans for this window were scuppered almost from the outset when last year's star man Lewis Grabban decided to join Championship new boys Norwich City, boosted by parachute payments after their relegation from the Premier League.
But Howe quickly targeted Coventry City striker Callum Wilson as his replacement and concluded a deal for the talented forward by paying a fee of a reported £2m, just £1m less than the figure they received from Grabban's sale. Bosman deals for both Dan Gosling and Junior Stanislas look to be shrewd pieces of business by Howe.
Reported targets: No names currently, but central midfielders and another striker - given the doubts surrounding Brett Pitman's future - seem sure to be on the agenda for Howe. Last season's loan midfield general Andrew Surman could come under consideration.
Prospects: Howe recently admitted to wanting three more "elite" signings and, with Wilson already confirmed, he can concentrate his efforts on bringing in two more although he may have to fend off interest from Derby in right-back Simon Francis.
Brentford:
In: Alan Judge (Blackburn Rovers - Undisclosed), Marcos Tebar Ramiro (UD Almeria - Free), Moses Odubajo (Leyton Orient - £1m), Andre Gray (Luton Town - Undisclosed).
Out: Aaron Pierre (Wycombe - Undisclosed), Shaleum Logan (Aberdeen - Free), Liam O'Brien (Dagenham & Redbridge - Free), Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City - Free), Luke Norris (Gillingham - Free), Farid El Alagui, Scott Barron (All released).
Plan: Bringing in Alan Judge, one of last season's loan stars, was a smart move and the addition of Moses Odubajo for a confirmed £1m fee shows Mark Warburton and his side mean business for their assault on the Championship.
He hopes to add one or two more and is entrusting his faith in the top performers who got the Bees into the second tier. The club are targeting European signings after already adding former Real Madrid starlet Marcos Tebar Ramiro this summer.
Reported targets: A striker. Warburton has already made it known that is his primary objective for the remainder of the window, but he has been dealt two successive blows with Everton's Conor McAleny opting to stay at Goodison Park and new Bournemouth signing Wilson rejecting the Bees for a move to the South Coast instead.
Prospects: Given how candid the manager has been regarding transfer talks, a deal for a new frontman appears nailed on. With only new signing Gray and Will Grigg to call on following Donaldson's departure, another forward is a must. The Bees may also require some experienced defensive cover, but former Arsenal youngster Nico Yennaris can operate there if necessary.
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