'So many unknowns' - Championship club-by-club preview

Image caption, (Left to right) Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield, Sheffield United midfielder Gustavo Hamer, Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna and Coventry boss Frank LampardWithout considerable fanfare, hype or bluster, the Championship comfortably sells itself each and every season as one of the most thrillingly competitive leagues in all of sport.

Parachute payments do distort the feeling of absolute parity, at the top at least, but the vast majority of the division exists in a state of relative equality that keeps competitiveness consistent and means the difference between success and failure is often paper thin.

That is evidenced by the sheer number of teams fluctuating between the…