IT is the fourth most watched league in Europe, and over the course of the next nine months, should also live up to its billing as comfortably the most competitive.

The Championship returns tomorrow with its usual blend of thrills, spills and results that defy convention. While the skill level might not be commensurate with the Premier League, the degree of competitiveness and unpredictability arguably makes England’s second tier a more compelling competition.

Making hard and fast predictions about the outcome of the Championship promotion race has been a route to the poor house in recent seasons, but somebody has to do it, and the nation’s bookmakers are united in their view that QPR deserve to kick off the new campaign as favourites.

It is easy to see why they have to come to such a verdict given the squad list that Harry Redknapp has at his disposal as he attempts to engineer an instant response to last season’s humiliating relegation.

Even if, as looks likely, Julio Cesar, Loic Remy, Adel Taarabt, Joey Barton and Jermaine Jenas all leave before the end of the transfer window, joining a list of confirmed departures that already includes the names of Chris Samba, Djibril Cisse, Jay Bothroyd and Jamie Mackie, Redknapp will still be left with the likes of Robert Green, Alejandro Faurlin, Park Ji-sung, Bobby Zamora and Shaun Wright-Phillips, not to mention Danny Simpson, Richard Dunne, Karl Henry and Charlie Austin, who he has recruited over the summer.

With the full effect of the Football League’s new Financial Fair Play regulations due to be felt in 2014, it is clearly imperative that QPR bounce back at the first attempt if they are to avoid a financial implosion on the scale of the one experienced by Portsmouth, another club to have experienced Redknapp’s whirlwind model of recruitment.

Perhaps QPR will mirror Newcastle United, who romped to the Championship title in 2010 with the core of the squad that had been relegated 12 months earlier? An alternative narrative, however, is that they more closely resemble Wolves, who were unable to shake off the negative effects of relegation and plunged straight through the Championship last season.

There will be plenty of QPR players believing they are much too good for the Football League, and modifying that mindset will be one of the biggest challenges of Redknapp’s career.

The other two relegated clubs appear in better shape, and it will be a surprise if Reading and Wigan are not challenging in the top half of the table next spring.

Reading’s side bears a strong resemblance to the unit that won promotion two seasons ago, and the recruitment of Nigel Adkins towards the end of last season was an astute move. Adkins knows what it takes to get out of this league, and the purchase of Dutch winger Royston Drenthe and former England full-back Wayne Bridge proves there is still a sense of ambition at the Madejski Stadium.

Roberto Martinez’s departure has turned life at the DW Stadium upside down, with Arouna Kone and Antolin Alcaraz following the Spaniard to Goodison Park.

Owen Coyle is an experienced replacement though, and the in the newly-arrived Grant Holt and Marc-Antoine Fortune, Wigan boast a pair of strikers capable of scoring 20 goals apiece at Championship level.

There will inevitably be something of a hangover, and it remains to be seen how the Latics attempt to combine the demands of life in the Championship with the bright lights of the Europa League. A complete implosion, however, is unlikely.

Of the sides that were in the second tier last season, Watford, Bolton and Nottingham Forest look best placed to mount a sustained promotion push.

Watford were a game away from the top-flight in May, but while they ultimately lost out to Crystal Palace in the play-off final, they would surely have finished in the top two had they not lost seven of their opening 13 matches as they attempted to bed in a completely new side.

They shouldn’t have that problem this time around, having signed six of last season’s loan contingent on a permanent basis, and while the loss of leading scorer Matej Vydra is clearly a blow, the arrival of attacking midfielder Diego Fabbrini, a full Italy international, underlines the continued influence of wealthy owner Giampaolo Pozzo.

Bolton finished last season like a train under Dougie Freedman, and now boast the goals of Jermaine Beckford and the defensive solidity of Alex Baptiste, while Nottingham Forest have splashed out more than £2.5m to sign Mackie from QPR and highly-rated Algerian midfielder Djamel Abdoun from Olympiacos.

Leicester should also be in the promotion mix despite failing to live up to their billing last season, Brighton should still be strong despite the departure of Gus Poyet and Ipswich could emerge as dark horses having made a host of signings under the wily Mick McCarthy.

Middlesbrough? It’s hard to know at this stage with almost a month of the transfer window still to go, but as things stand, the squad is surely too shallow to mount a sustained promotion challenge.

At the other end of the table, newly-promoted duo Yeovil and Doncaster are favourites to go straight back down, and while the latter won the League One title on a dramatic final day three months ago, they could well struggle under new boss Paul Dickov.

Yeovil have picked up loan players from Chelsea, Liverpool and Swansea and may be better than many expect, while the other promoted side, Bournemouth, boast financial clout, as evidenced by the purchase of Senegalese winger Mohamed Coulibaly from Grasshoppers Zurich.

Surprise strugglers? Blackpool have lost a number of experienced names, and if Tom Ince follows them out of the exit door before the end of the month, his father, Paul, could face a season of strife.

The same could be true of Sean Dyche at Burnley now that Austin has been sold with little prospect of being replaced, while Barnsley do not look any better than they were last season as they narrowly avoided League One.

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CHAMP OF THE WEEK

USAIN BOLT

The Jamaican is single-handedly attempting to restore sprinting’s reputation after a series of drug scandals, and overcame a slow start to comprehensively win the 100m at last weekend’s Anniversary Games in a time of 9.85sec, his fastest of the season.

CHUMPS OF THE WEEK

ORGANISERS OF THE BARCLAYS ASIA TROPHY

It is billed as the Premier League’s showpiece event in Asia, but the Asia Trophy turned into a farce last weekend as incessant rain resulted in Sunderland taking on Manchester City on a pitch that wasn’t fit to host a Sunday League game. So much for meticulously-planned pre-season preparations.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

RUTA MEILUTYTE BREAKS THE 100m BREASTSTROKE WORLD RECORD

Sixteen-year-old Meilutyte, who represents Lithuania but is based in Plymouth, was one of the stars of last year’s Olympic swimming meet, and she produced the performance of her life as she shattered the world record en route to another gold at this week’s World Championships in Barcelona.

TIP OF THE WEEK

With the Football League beginning this weekend, take Brentford (10-1) to win the League One title and Fleetwood (8-1) to triumph in League Two. Watford (12-1) are a more tentative pick in the Championship.