The Yo-Yo begins

Congratulations to Sunderland and Birmingham who thanks to Derby's defeat at Palace today have bounced back to the Premiership at the first attempt.

Both teams had a sticky start to their campaigns, with Steve Bruce almost sacked in October as The Blues slipped to 9th in the table, and Niall Quinn's short lived managerial craeer taking the Mackems to the bottom of the table.

With WBA looking to secure a play off berth, we could see all the teams relegated last term getting back in at the first attempt.

The parcahute payments that they receive dwarf the income of the other Championship sides, and with the TV money escalating next season the gap between the haves and the have-nots is going to grow further.

Expect the teams that come down this year to have a good shot at promotion next term as we will start to see a succession Yo-Yo teams.

Both promoted clubs have the infrastructure in place to consolidate in the top flight next term and both are promising significant investment, it promises to be a massive scrap in the lower reaches of the Premiership next season.