As usual there is no clear-cut favourite and on paper, it seems that any one of eight or nine sides have a realistic chance of taking the top spot next May.
The Index finds it hard to dispute Norwich being tagged favourites by most bookies, although they are on the valueless side of things. Those tempted by Hills’ skinny 9-2 should think again.

Nigel Worthington’s side made a good fist of staying up last season but not to the degree that they should be, in most places, a full point shorter than Crystal Palace, also relegated last term.

In Index terms, the pair are separated by just eight which at this stage of the season amounts to nothing.
The fact that both sides left the Premiership with positive Trend values is of interest, and they could well make the early running if they continue where they left off.
The same could also be said of Wolves who, following an excellent run under Glenn Hoddle at the end of last season, start the year with a strong upward Trend figure.
Like Norwich and Palace, however, their price has suffered through their rapid rise through the ranks and, with it pitched at a similar level around 5-1/11-2, they don’t appeal much either.

I’m much more tempted by some of the prices lower down the Football League.
The first of these is Nottingham Forest’s odds to win League 1. I looked at this some weeks ago and came to the conclusion that, like other fallen giants who have dropped this far down the league - such as Sheffield Wednesday - Forest are a particularly poor bet to bounce straight back up.
While there’s no doubting the poor quality of this competition, backers looking to get on Gary Megson’s side should be under no ifiusions as to how well the former two-time European Cup holders will fit in with their new surroundings.

They won just one of their final 11 games last term, putting an end to their brief rally on Megson’s appointment in January, and it’s hard to see why they should be 4-1 to take the title with so many bookies.
If you want to have a punt on Forest, the call has to be to lay them.

When looking at the clubs to be relegated from last season’s League 1, I got my fingers burned in suggesting that Torquay weren’t as bad as their league position at the time suggested.

Was I chastened by this? Not a bit, I maintain that Leroy Rosenior is onto something down at Plainmoor and, as a consequence, beileve United are an excellent punt at 16-1 with Skybet and the Tote for this year’s title.

Another good angle to take is in Totesport’s Top Seven Finish market which allows you to take Rosenior’s boys at 6-4 for a minimum of a Play-Off finish.