It is still very early in the season but already we can see a few clubs that are over-achieving, and others that are not doing as well as expected.
I've answered a couple of questions about Preston and Bournemouth, who are undoubtedly in the first category, and covered a few other topics too, including up-and-coming young Gillingham striker Simeon Jackson.
Also covered this week are Bradford, Charlton, Bristol City and Macclesfield.
If you have a question for Steve, you can submit it through Twitter or use the form on the top right of the page.
Hi Steve, I am a Gillingham fan and, given our start to the season, very optimistic that we can stay up and that we have a good team and manager in place. However, a lot of our success this season and with promotion last season was because of the number of goals from Simeon Jackson. Every week he is linked with a different club. Should the (inevitable) situation happen, and we sell him, what level do you think he could play at and how much would you value him at? Umberto Billo, Gillingham
I watched Simeon a couple of times last year and I was reasonably impressed, not just by his goals, his willingness to work and his all-round forward play - he can chase a ball over the top or come short as well.
What level can he play at? I don't think he's ready for the Premier League yet so, at a push, the Championship.
That's not to say he can't improve further, fulfil his undoubted potential and go all the way - but he's not ready for all that yet and he would probably get lost if he went to a Premier League club. At the moment he is probably better off at Gillingham, playing regularly.
Highlights - Gillingham 1-1 Norwich
His price tag would depend on where he goes - if and when he does of course! If he moves to a Championship club he would probably cost about £1m, but you could double that if he were to go to the top flight.
But it wouldn't be done as a straight fee anyway - it would be done with add-ons for appearances and goals, all on the pretext that he does fulfil that potential.
And there would probably be a sell-on fee for Gillingham too, on top of the initial fee - it is difficult to put an actual price on somebody like that because a lot of the deal will be based on what Simeon does in the future.
Gillingham haven't got much money but they are ticking over quite nicely in League One at the moment which is, realistically, their ceiling division.
Their manager Mark Stimson has benefitted from having a chairman in Paul Scally who has believed in him, because he could easily have sold him when they were relegated in his first season.
You get the feeling that Scally really does like him and had an awful lot of trust and belief in him, and he has been proven correct in that he has got them back to the level they were at. At least he gave him a chance.
Good luck to them. Jackson has got his goals but the chairman and Stimson have played their part too.
I'm a Bradford City fan who is loving life at the moment. last year all the pressure was on us after we spent big in the summer and this year it was time to cut the wage bill. But, while all eyes are on Notts County this season, we are slowly creeping up the table with kids and non-league signings. Big up Stuart McCall, as it would be a brilliant success if we were to be promoted this year with such a young team - is it too early to say that the good times are on their way back? Well, we can dream! Andy Baxter, England
Well, Michael Flynn isn't a kid or a non-league signing is he? I think Andy might just be over-cooking it a bit there.
He wouldn't have had Flynny, who I know from Gillingham, if it had been down to me because I saw him last year and I told him 'if I get a job in the summer you'll be with me' and he said 'yep no problems'.
So it's a good job I wasn't given a job in the summer because Flynny would have been coming with me!
Highlights - Bradford 3-0 Chesterfield
But he's a good player and it is no coincidence their form has picked up since he's gone there, and he has scored a couple of good goals along the way as well.
Bradford should be up there in League Two. When you talk about under-achievement and over-achievement then there was was a massive under-achievement there last season.
They shouldn't necessarily be winning it but they should at least be competitive - McCall knows he has to make the top six, he has something to prove this season - but they at last seem to be heading in the right direction again. It was farcical to do what they did when they were in the Premier League, and they are still paying the price financially.
I have enjoyed reading your column since it arrived, it's nice to see questions about the lower leagues being given answers and attention on the BBC but, as a Preston fan, I can't help but feel a little annoyed whenever you talk about them. While it is good that you've acknowledged what a good job our manager Alan Irvine has been doing, whenever you're asked to comment you can't help but call them over-achievers and say how surprised you are that they've done well so far. While you mentioned last season's play-off games being one sided, they did manage to do well enough in the preceding 46 games to make it there in the first place. Do you see them as inevitably trailing off by the end of the season or do you consider them contenders to make the play-offs for a second season on the run? I was also wondering if you could comment on Sean St Ledger's move to Middlesbrough. There doesn't seem to be much point in a transfer window if a player can just move on loan until the next window opens? Conor, UK
I have been expecting Preston to trail off for five years - and it hasn't happened yet!
The reason I think they have over achieved is that they have got a reasonable budget at best - and the key thing is that they have been blessed with some really good managers in recent years. They haven't got too many wrong, and there aren't too many clubs that can say that.
There is no way in the world you could get that kind of consistency otherwise - but you only need one bad manager and, all of a sudden, a club like Preston could find themselves struggling with relegation. It is that fine a line.
Alan Irvine looks like he has taken it to another level now, especially their away form which is looking very good - on Saturday they beat Leicester, who had been unbeaten at home for a year. That was a great result.
Highlights - Leicester 1-2 Preston
Can they carry it on until the end of the season? From the way they have started, yes. They could be this year's Burnley.
As for the Sean St Ledger deal? Well, there isn't a transfer window outside of the Premier League is there? Let's be honest, you can have 12 'emergency' loans - which is ridiculous as it sounds.
If a player wants to go, he is going to find a way of going isn't he? The rules are there that you can't move but players do. It's an unworkable, or non-functioning rule which is not adhered to at all. Everyone flouts it in the same way, and treats it with the contempt it deserves!
I am a Charlton fan and wouldn't like to see us merge with Crystal Palace or Millwall but, with the budgets of some clubs being stretched to breaking point, are we going to see teams joining forces to stay in business? John Stevens, England
No. No way. Clubs will never merge, and certainly not local rivals. It will never happen.
Unfortunately, not every club can be Manchester United so you have to get it through to people what they can achieve.
Forget mergers, what you need are people who are going to run your club properly, whether you are a small club or a big one
If you're Millwall you're going to get 8,000 to 12,000 fans every week and you can budget according to that. If you're Charlton it is 12,000 to 16,000. If you don't budget correctly, you go into administration and you start again.
All you'll get if you bring two teams like that together is a) a lot of disgruntled fans and b) people who won't go and watch.
You might get another five or six thousand people coming when you amalgamate the two clubs but then your budget will go up so much that if you have still got the wrong people running the club they will put you back in the same position.
It's not how it works. You are who are you are. Cut your financial cloth accordingly and if you don't you are going to be in trouble. Forget mergers, what you need are people who are going to run your club properly, whether you are a small club or a big one.
I am a Bristol City fan and am fed up with our fans constantly getting on our manager Gary Johnson's back. Am I being naive in thinking he has done a fantastic job for the club, turning us from a League One team to a stable Championship club. Our fans seem to think that, after getting to the play-off final in 2008, we have a divine right to be there every year and a lot of them are calling for Johnson's head. I for one am happy with the progress and don't see why people think Gary is doing a bad job, what is you view on this, should he go? John Chilcott, England
No you're not being naive. I think John has summed it up there, he is absolutely spot on.
People's memories are incredibly short. Ask Yeovil fans how they feel because they were saying the same thing about Gary Johnson and that's why he left. Ask them if they want him back now?
Highlights - Derby 1-0 Bristol City
Of course Bristol City haven't got a divine right to be in the play-off final. They over-achieved by doing that. they did brilliantly. Where exactly do City fans think they should be? What do they expect at the start of every season?
A lot of the time you change for the sake of changing, you don't do it for the right reasons. It's because a manager has been at a club for a certain amount of time. It's only when he goes that people think, ah, maybe we were wrong there.
Gary is proven to be a good manager but football fans are never happy, and a lot of the time they don't know what they've got until it's gone.
Hi, I am a Macclesfield supporter for my sins. We have very limited resources and consequently end up being involved in relegation battles season after season and I fully expect this year will be our last in the Football League - but that's not my point. One thing which we at Macclesfield have greatly in our favour is the quality of the playing surface - have you ever visited Macclesfield and seen our pitch. I also wonder if the reason for our lack of success on our own pitch is because of the fact that other clubs can actually play football on it and it has no uneven bounce, thus favouring passing teams. Let's face it - most teams can pass a ball around but you need a good smooth surface to do that effectively and, at Macclesfield, that's exactly what they get. Steve Smith
I have played at Moss Rose - a long, long time ago - but I don't remember the quality of the pitch, I'm afraid.
Highlights - Macclesfield 2-1 Torquay
Has Macclesfield's pitch got anything to do with their struggles? No, it's nothing to do with it. What has got something to do with it is the fact they are are one of the three smallest clubs in League Two and they will probably have one of the three smallest budgets too.
Basically, if they stay up every year then it is a major achievement. But that's it.
They got a great result on Saturday, and every now and again they might have a decent year but then they are simply punching above their weight - it's like a flyweight going in with a middleweight.
So I'm sorry but you can't blame the pitch - it bounces the same way for both teams!
If you were a chairman and to pick a manager from the Championship to take to a Premier League club who would you choose? Neil Hurford, Wales
I'd take Preston boss Alan Irvine, for the work he has done under a tight budget and with financial constraints. He's done it last year and he has done it this year.
Although he has been David Moyes's assistant at Everton he has not had a crack at the Premier League as a manager in his own right. From his time at Everton he knows what it takes, and what level he is batting at.
A lot of the time, being a number two in the Premier League doesn't actually mean anything but it is definitely an advantage if you can manage, which Alan has shown he can do. He has dropped down a division to get a job, and he has proven himself.
Hi Steve, as a Bournemouth season ticket holder I'll support the club through and thick and thin - and I've seen enough of that! However, do you see how the Football League can still keep a transfer embargo on us? We have only been able to fill the subs bench once this season and that was with our assistant manager and youth-team players. Even Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has offered us loans and to pay their wages but that isn't good enough. We are also keeping on top of the debts that were built up by the previous owners. To top it all how did Eddie Howe not get made manager of the month (even though it is cursed)? It appears the Football League have a vendetta against us. Chris Rumbelow, England
I don't know Bournemouth's situation well enough, and why the embargo is still in place. I assume it is because they still have some outstanding debts.
The Football League are not going to make an example out of Bournemouth anymore than they would any other club but it is understandable to feel hard done by when you go through what they have.
Highlights - Bournemouth 1-0 Burton Albion
They've just got to deal with it as best they can and clearly, with them top of League Two, they are doing very nicely.
But there will come a time when Eddie Howe will need players and will need to make some additions. You'd like to think that by the time that need arises they will have their house in order.
If not, then will they see it through and win promotion? I'm not sure they will be able to sustain it right the way through the season.
As I say, they are going to need players at some stage. If Brett Pitman gets injured then they are in trouble, and that's when it makes a difference that they won't be able to bring people in.
Fingers crossed they can continue though but it only takes a couple of injuries and it's a different story - in their situation that would change the complexion of the whole side.
Steve Claridge was talking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan
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