Throughout the ages, money has been associated with happiness. Whether or not there is a direct link is well, undecided, and it has been discussed in detail more times than any of us care to remember but when relating it to football, can the same be said?

Ask any fan of a Premier League team, outside of Manchester City and Chelsea, and they will moan about the amount of money that their supposed rivals can spend. Is it an unfair playing field? Perhaps. But one thing is for certain, as soon as the money comes in and is spent in a big way, the pressure is certainly on.

The board of Leicester City and of course Sven Goran Eriksson, should probably brace themselves now. With cheques being cashed left, right and centre at the newly-named King Power Stadium, expectations will be understandably high when the season gets underway. With most bookmakers installing the Foxes as their pre-season favourites and stories coming from the club about a five-year plan which includes European football, the ex-England boss will be under as much scrutiny in Leicester, as he was at Eastlands and in head office of the FA.

But is the hype justified? The signings that have come through the door so far would suggest so, and it doesn’t look like they will be ending any time soon. The capture of Kasper Schmeichel from Leeds was an astute piece of business, as he was arguably the star of the season in a team that were challenging for the playoffs for the majority of last term. Elsewhere in the side, John Pantsil and Michael Johnson both provide Premier League experience no matter how limited it may be, while Paul Konchesky has played in the top flight for a number of years. Putting his Liverpool days to one side, he is probably now as dependable a full back as there is in the league. Matt Mills and Sean St Ledger will shore up what is arguably now the strongest defence in the division. Fellow new recruit David Nugent has proved his class at this level in the past and with experienced faces like Matt Oakley and Darius Vassell at the club, along with exciting loan signing Gelson Fernandes, it is easy to see why expectations are so high in Leicester right now. The club’s public chase for Reading hotshot Shane Long, for a fee which will almost certainly exceed £7m, are an indication of the level of commitment that the board have and the faith they are placing in their Swedish manager.

So with the funds-fuelled Foxes looking like the hot favourites to make their way back to the big time, who has the ability to stop them?

With parachute payments in the bank, West Ham United are the bookies’ other tip to go straight back up. Promisingly for them, they have retained the vast majority of the squad that suffered relegation and made some shrewd additions along the way, although it must be said that at time of writing, Scott Parker’s future was very much still up in the air. However, Sam Allardyce is no mug in this game. He has been widely critisised in the past for his style of play but keeping hold of Carlton Cole and Frederic Piquionne was essential, especially with the addition of Matt Taylor from Bolton. The left winger has proved over many years that his delivery is up there with the best and the two big frontmen should prosper with him in the team. However, arguably the signing of the summer in the Championship has to be the £3m signing of Newcastle’s talismanic midfielder, Kevin Nolan. Although it may look like Big Sam is merely trying to recreate his successful Bolton team, Nolan’s goals, assists and work ethic will prove to be priceless to his new club. His influence in the dressing room should be cherished by a club that has always prided itself on the bringing through of young talent. Allardyce is slowly building a team that looks more than capable of getting back out of the division at the first attempt, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to many if the Hammers were up and around the top of the table come the business end of the season.

With Leicester and West Ham being the biggest spenders in the division over the summer, it really will be interesting to see whether a big transfer war chest can bring them success, or whether one manager will be collecting his P45 rather than a promotion bonus at the end of May.

One thing is for sure, the Foxes will be looked upon as the Chelsea or Manchester City of the Championship this season as they snap up players for fees that most clubs in the league wouldn’t even dream of. Ask any Nottingham Forest fan their opinion of their board’s attitude to splashing the cash and you may reduce them to tears, while teams such as Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Crystal Palace will also dream of such riches.

While many teams in the league will be in with a shout for promotion and the playoffs this season, all eyes will be on the Championship’s big spenders to perhaps finally discover whether money really can buy happiness after all.