Claridge is a pundit for The Football League Show and Football Focus
Blackpool take on Cardiff City in the Championship play-off final on Saturday and this week I consider how whoever wins that game at Wembley will fare in the Premier League next season.
I also look at the prospects of one of the losing semi-finalists, Nottingham Forest, and how a change in the play-off rules could benefit teams who, like them, finished third in the regular season.
As well as that, I give my view on Lennie Lawrence's departure as director of football at Bristol Rovers, Karl Robinson's appointment as the new boss of MK Dons and how newly-promoted Oxford United will do in League Two.
If you have a question for me, you can submit it through Twitter at http://twitter.com/AskClaridge or use the form on the top right of the page.
I'm a Cardiff fan, still recovering from our epic Championship play-off semi-final encounter with Leicester. Do you think we will beat Blackpool at Wembley? James, Manchester
Are Blackpool are a better side than Cardiff? How do you think the Seasiders will do if they make it to the Premier League? Sam Parker, UK
If Blackpool are promoted to the Premier League, do you think they would suffer for it in the long run? Given the cost of running a club in the top flight, would they be able to even compete? Sharpdressed1 on Twitter
It's very difficult to choose a winner. Both of them have climbed mountains to get where they are and you would like to send both of them up after the semi-finals. Cardiff have been knocking on the door for a while and Blackpool have been like a breath of fresh air so we are in a no-lose situation with those two.
Saturday is such a good match-up and it is a shame that one of them will not get promoted. After the euphoria of the way in which both of them got through the semis, that's the reality.
For Blackpool, their 6-4 aggregate win over Nottingham Forest was a reward for brave management. To be 2-1 down at the City Ground and still be going for it with three up front showed boss Ian Holloway is not afraid to have a right go for it.
Cardiff benefitted from solid, experienced management from Dave Jones against Leicester. He didn't panic when the game turned one way and another and they got through on penalties because somebody - Leicester's Yann Kermorgant - thought he was better than he is.
You could say both finalists deserve to get promoted but, as they are now, both of them would come straight back down. It will be down to the victorious manager to do his job and buy five or six players to give Saturday's Wembley winners a chance of staying up.
If they need an example of how to do it, they should look no further than Wolves this season. Mick McCarthy's men didn't score many but they were fantastically well organised and tough to score against.
But it was a particularly weak year at the bottom of the Premier League table and the bar is going to be higher for survival next term.
Even if Blackpool or Cardiff do struggle, I still don't believe any club will suffer for being in the top flight, in fact it is quite the opposite as long as they do it the right way. The parachute money that teams get for being relegated allows for long-term planning and going down then trying to bounce straight back up is not a bad way of approaching it for promoted sides.
Steve, as a Nottingham Forest fan I am bound to be a bit disappointed after we missed out, despite finishing third in the Championship after the regular 46-game season. Do you think it is right that qualification for promotion should be decided by having to play a further three games? Andrew, England
I do think the play-offs should recognise how sides did during the regular season. They could tweak the rules so that if it gets to the end of extra-time and teams are then level, instead of going to penalties, the team that finished higher in the league table goes through.
I know the the higher-placed team plays the second leg of the semi-final at home but I don't think that is much of an advantage. In both Championship semi-finals, both teams who went through won their away games.
Forest were unlucky and it might be difficult for them to recover from that next season. When I was at Millwall, we lost against Birmingham in the Championship play-off semi-finals and they went on to beat Norwich in the final.
In the first game of the following season, Birmingham were at Arsenal and we played Rotherham, who beat us 6-0 at home!
So, as exciting as the play-offs can be, you have to remember they are absolutely heartbreaking if you lose, and the after effects can last a while. Forest have a decent squad and will have a much better chance of automatic promotion next season because they won't be up against Newcastle or West Brom but it won't be easy for them to repeat what has been a fantastic season.
Steve, what do you make of Lennie Lawerence's departure as director of fooball at Bristol Rovers? It came as a surprise to most fans but the timing seems to be right. Jamie, England
I've spoken to Lennie since he left the Memorial Stadium and he was quite philosophical about it. He knew he was going because he had been given his six months' notice.
Rovers boss Paul Trollope was always going to be in Lawrence's shadow. But Trollope is the one that is managing the side and it is probably right now that he does step into the limelight.
Trollope was manager in his own right there before so he will be all right now and there were certainly no hard feelings when he left. Lennie and Paul still have a good relationship so it was done the right way.
It's the same wherever you are; sometimes the club needs a different voice.
Steve, what do you think of the new managerial partnership of Karl Robinson and John Gorman at MK Dons? Simon, England
The Dons have promoted from within by giving Robinson the job so I'm not sure if that means they are reining in their spending.
It would seem that way, because things coming out of the club suggest they are cutting their cloth accordingly, and it might be that the play-offs are no longer a target for them.
I'll be interested to see how Robinson gets on. Gorman is a good coach and a lovely man but he will have very little influence over the manager. A manager has got to manage, he's got to stand on his own two feet. There's no point him being there if he doesn't.
How well do you think Stevenage and Oxford will do in League Two next season? Josh, England
The Blue Square Premier is getting better and better, there are so many good ex-league clubs in it. Half the teams are bigger than half the teams in League Two now so there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to come up and hold their own.
Oxford will go into next season with a real chance of making an impression. To be fair their level is League One, and over the next three or four years then I'm sure they will be up there.
Steve Claridge is a BBC Football League pundit who played more than 800 matches for 15 clubs over the course of a 24-year playing career. He was talking to Chris Bevan.
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