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The beginning of the new Premier League season is just one day away and while England is a buzz with who will be in the top four this season, what new signing will make the most impact, where will they finish and how will they get there - as the blow of first whistle looms for the three Premier League new boys the excitement they must surely feel can only be matched by the trepidation and fear of taking on the Premier League big guns in what is sure to be another illustrious football season ahead.
Dream come true
So while the thought of taking on the likes of Liverpool at Anfield, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Manchester United at Old Trafford is a dream come true for the fans of former Championship division sides West Bromwich Albion, Hull and Stoke City the recent memory of the humiliation suffered by 11-point Derby in the 07/08 season can only serve to put a dampener on the club pre-season jubilation.
Even though the memories of the Rams four-time, six-goal thrashing are still fresh in the mind it may not be all not doom and gloom for these top-flight new comers.
Throughout the years, many Championship sides have managed to claw their way from the aging stadiums and muddy fields of the lower divisions to the glamorous, money strewn, echelons of their Premier League elite, made their mark and stayed - Bolton is one example, as is last season's 8th placed, FA Cup winning Portsmouth.
But we are not in the 90's anymore where the lower division sides who made it could build on their promotion, and staying Premier League was a reality because in 2008, the multi-million pound business that has over taken the beautiful game has made it harder than ever for the likes of Hull to compete.
Even though ticket prices, television rights and promotion will help bring much needed revenue to each of these sides - not even Bolton, who have managed to stay in the Premier League since finding their way back from relegation in 2001, can compete with the transfer spending seen by the likes of Chelsea.
What is needed, possibly even more so than stamina, clean sheets and goals, is major investment and funding - something that few clubs can afford and even fewer below the top 10 have.
Summer transfer splashing
The splashing out for players in the Premier League has gone beyond ridiculous, and while Hull boss Phil Brown has made a few signings, the fact that the Tigers were unable to pull together enough cash to sign Claudio Pizarro from Chelsea, who they got on a free transfer last season, and has scored just two goals for the Blues - and will no doubt languish in the bench while Deco and Drogba notch-up the goals - shows more than ever the divide between the top and the bottom and doesn't bode well for the taste of Premier League glory one might dare dream of.
But with high hopes and expectations, Hull have taken to the summer transfer season with gusto.
They have completed eight new signing including; Brazilian Geovanni (free from Manchester City) French defender Bernard Mendy (Paris St Germain) George Boateng, former Derby player Craig Fagan and have more recently unveiled Marlon King as their latest summer signing.
Hull have also confirmed that Anthony Gardner has joined in a club record 2.5million pound deal after initially signing on loan from Tottenham
But while the feat of getting Hull into the top division for the first time in their 104-history is a feat in itself - relegation still looms large for the Tigers.
Strong Stoke
Stoke, meanwhile, have returned to the top-flight after a 23-year absence and are a strong competent side.
Decent signings like former Reading goalscorer Dave Kitson and experienced Danish international goalie Thomas Sorensen will all add strength to the team, who have the belief, but not the depth to take this one all the way, and just like Hull, Tony Pulis' Stoke may struggle to stop the humiliation against the big guns.
But there may be one ray of hope in the midst of what is surely turning to panic for the new boys coming in the form of FA Cup semi-finalists West Bromwich Albion.
Above all the aforementioned sides, after a six-year stint out of the Premier League, the Baggies look the most likely to step out of the bottom three and stay there.
The loss of Hungarian winger Zoltan Gera to Fulham, experienced
striker Kevin Phillips to Birmingham and Neil Clement to
injury for the sides Premier League opener against Arsenal may
prove costly but they are also a team who have shown they can hold
their own after reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup only to lose
1-0 to Portsmouth.
Having the chance to see the likes of Ronaldo, Fernando and Deco
in action may numb the pain for Stoke, Hull, West Brom and their
fans, but in a league where money rules, the joy of seeing these
boys at their home grounds may be outweighed by the foreboding
sense that just like Derby and the many that have come and gone
before, they will be going right back to the place they came from -
but at least they can have a laugh along the way.
