by Sam Todd

Created on: May 28, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Swansea City were the convincing winners of League One this year, with manager Roberto Martinez tapping into his native Spain to unearth the likes of Guillem Bauz, whilst utilising the best of the club's existing talent such as the Leeds-bound midfielder Andy Robinson. Not a mean feat when you consider that star man Lee Trundle had taken his skills - not to mention image rights - to Bristol City. Averaging two points per game in going up, they should be capable of holding their own in an unremarkable Championship.

Nottingham Forest were most peoples' favourites to win the division outright, but were largely unconvincing under Colin Calderwood despite a miraculous turnaround in the final weeks of the season which elevated them from likely play-off hopefuls to automatic promotion. Their run of six wins out of their last seven games was in contrast to not having won three games or more in row beforehand. The two-time former European Champions should kick on from here, but expectations will be high especially after the achievements of Bristol City, who went close to back-to-back promotions.

Doncaster Rovers' fairytale continued, as they went from the Conference to the Championship in five years, fulfilling the ambition of owner John Ryan, who first followed the club in 1958, when the Yorkshire club were playing in the old Second Division. Not bad when you consider that, in the words of Ryan, "We had a shocking ground half burnt down by the last chairman [Ken Richardson, convicted in 1999 of conspiring to commit arson], we had really no players, we had to build up the club from scratch."

In doing so, Doncaster beat fellow White Rose rivals Leeds United in the play-off final, itself a remarkable turnaround given that the Elland Road outfit were docked 15 points at the beginning of the year for financial irregularities - a dispute not resolved until the final two weeks of the season - and had to deal with the departures of management duo Gus Poyet and Dennis Wise mid-season. Gary McAllister though got them back in contention and restored a passing game to a club who were champions of England as recently as 1992.

But of course, the original "Great Escape" was never completed by Steve McQueen and Co, and the same happened not only to Leeds, but to Bournemouth, who went on a run of six straight wins going into their final match away to Carlisle. Alas, The Cherries could only draw, not enough to preserve their status having been docked ten points earlier in the season. Without this millstone round the club's neck, mid-table obscurity would have been secured. Another team handicapped by going into administration were Luton Town, but The Hatters would have gone down in any event with the ten additional points - their second successive relegation.

Two other teams with recent experience of second tier football also dropped into the basement. Gillingham, in The Championship as recently as 2005, couldn't be saved despite bringing in Mark Stimson from non-league Stevenage Borough as manager, whereas another Conference boss, Farsley Celtic's Lee Sinnott, also failed to preserve Port Vale's League One status, the rot having set in under former boss and Valliant's favourite Martin Foyle. Foyle ended the season at Wrexham, who under Brian Little's stewardship dropped out of the Football League altogether.

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