Championship / Mike Norman / 27 July 2009 /

With his beloved Middlesbrough playing in the Coca-Cola Championship this season, "Mystical" Mike Norman has been looking at each of their rivals. Here he names five players who can make a huge impact.

It must be incredibly satisfying to bank £12m for a crocked, overrated, attacking midfielder who can't score a Premier League goal... and not have to shell out a penny for a much better replacement.

That's what Middlesbrough have done by selling Stewart Downing to Aston Villa, allowing the fleet-footed, wizard of dribble, and much sought-after Adam 'Jinky' Johnson an opportunity to terrorise Championship side defences this season. A little unfair on Downing some might argue, but he's gone now so I can be as fickle as I like.

Johnson meanwhile is a player I can't wait to see in action this season. He has the pace and ability to run defences ragged at this level, much like he did when he spent a few months on loan at Watford in 2007. Now more mature, playing with better footballers around him, and with 19 England U21 caps safely tucked away, Johnson is going to be key to 'Boro's chances of returning to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Forty miles up the road, Nicky Butt has the experience and nous to steady Newcastle's rocking ship... on the field at least.

Butt has become a fans favourite during the last few years, not least because of his commitment, leadership, and overall work ethic. The Coca-Cola Championship was made for players like Butt, players that have that touch of class as well as years of experience to draw upon. What happens at boardroom level won't matter to this tenacious midfielder; he will just get on with the job in hand - to lead Newcastle United back to where they belong.

Newcastle can be backed at [6.2] to win the Championship this season, just ahead of Middlesbrough ([8.2]), whilst to be promoted, Newcastle are available to back at [3.0] with Boro just behind at [3.1].

Having Roy Keane as your manager must be like waiting for a volcano to erupt... only you get no warning that it's going to happen. But if there's an Ispwich Town player that will know what to expect then surely it's Alex Bruce, son of Steve Bruce who played with Keane at Manchester United for many years.

Bruce junior is developing into a formidable central defender, one that Keane must build his team around if he arbors any ambitions of being promoted this season. Like his father, Bruce is a player that wears his heart on his sleeve and commits to everything. His whole-hearted displays have seen him become a firm favourite of the fans, and his ability to cancel out the opposition, whilst scoring the odd goal at the other end, is going to be vital to Town's progress this term.

Ipswich can be backed at [9.2] to win the league, and more realistically at [3.6] to be promoted, though if the latter is to happen, then it's likely to be via the play-offs.

At the other end of the table, two players that are going to be crucial to their club's survival chances are Scunthorpe goalkeeper Joe Murphy and Blackpool's young striker Billy Clarke.

Scunthorpe ([2.6] to be relegated) play some attractive football which could well be enough to keep them safe, but in Murphy they have an outstanding goalkeeper who is destined to go onto better things. He was arguably the Iron's player of the season in 2008/09 and made it into the League One Team of the Season - recognition of his superb performances and just a glimpse of what we can expect from him during the next 10 months.

Clarke is a diminutive but speedy forward who came through Ipswich Town's excellent youth academy. He is yet to find his feet at this level, spending part of his career out on loan at lower league clubs, but Blackpool's new 'box office' manager Ian Holloway has a lot of confidence in the youngster's ability... and that confidence is set to be repaid virtue of Clarke's goals.

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