The Championship has gained a reputation over the last few years for being a devilishly difficult division to get out of. If relegated teams don’t bounce back at the first attempt, the loss of key players can cause often terminal problems, and as the money dries up, so does the opportunity to reach the promised land of the Premier League.

Infact, a quick look at the teams currently residing in League One only serves as a reminder as to how difficult, without proper management, both on the field and from above, a step down from the Premiership can be as Charlton, and both Sheffield teams, are all currently plying their trade there.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom in the second tier of English football, it is far from it. There is a new trend a-coming in the Championship, inspired recently by a shout of “let’s be ‘avin ya”, and currently being practised across the south coast of British football.

It is intriguing to see how Norwich will do in the Premier League this season, and is perhaps even more interesting that, out of the promoted clubs, they are the team that have been widely tipped for survival by pundits across the land. If any Canaries fans are reading, you may wish to turn away now, as history doesn’t bode well for your chances this term.

In recent years, both Watford and Manchester City did what Norwich have this season, and were promoted from the third tier in English football to the top tier in successive seasons. I am loathe to refer to the Championship at this point, as I’m fairly certain that Watford did it back in the good old days, when we still had Division 1 to call our own (my generation’s Division 1, older readers may of course have their own ideas on this point). Unfortunately for both, the Premier League was a step too far for a squad that didn’t have enough time to evolve and, even a team with a support base and infastructure such as Manchester City, found themselves relegated at the first time of asking.

So, is worth pondering whether a double promotion, although providing fans with a hell of a journey, can prove to be detrimental to a football club on the whole?

That is something that fans of Southampton and Brighton fans must have at the very, very back of their minds right now. It seems unlikely that the table topping Saints and Seagulls will be thinking of anything other than their excellent starts at the moment, and the bright lights of the top flight will be invading the dreams of many a young football fan.

I asked David Hartrick, editor of the magnificent In Bed with Maradona, and huge Brighton fan, whether he would like to see his team promoted this season.

“No. It’s way to soon, two seasons in the Championship allows you to build an experienced squad, and swell the coffers, then push for it.

“As it stands, we’d go up, make some friends, but just get peppered week in, week out. Basically, the key thing is, I don’t want to go up until we will be able to compete.”

The Championship has thrown up a number of surprises so far. While Southampton and Derby lead the way with unbeaten starts, the supposed big teams such as Leicester and Nottingham Forest currently sit outside the playoff places, although it is, of course, early days.

It is, however, interesting to see that both of the south coast clubs have already been installed among the favourites with the bookies to actually win the Championship. Only West Ham are fancied to win the league more than the Saints, while Brighton can count themselves as the fourth favourite to hit the highest heights of the English second tier. Whether this reflects a fair presumption, or just a flurry of early bets following positive starts to the season is beyond my knowledge when it comes to betting. It is telling though, that Derby, a team who have been in this division for a number of seasons, aren’t backed anywhere near as handsomly as their Championship rivals.

While Brighton and Southampton will hope to be pushing for promotion at the end of the season, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to maintain their fantastic starts this term. It will also be interesting to see how Norwich fare in the top flight, and if they can perform more admirably than the teams that achieved successive promotions before them.

All we can say for sure, for now, is that Saints, it wasn’t supposed to be so easy.

I’d like to thank David Hartrick for taking the time to talk to me about Brighton, if you aren’t familiar with it, get over to In Bed with Maradona now, you won’t regret it.