The trio promoted from the Championship are always among the favourites to go straight back down again, but last summer the opinion appeared almost universal that all three would be stopping over in the top-flight for one season only.

Certainly TEAMtalk's 'Seven Samurai' of journalists stuck the knife in when making their pre-season predictions. Four of us tipped West Brom, Stoke and Hull for the drop - myself included - while my colleagues Simon Wilkes and Mark Holmes only left out the Baggies and Potters respectively due to reasons which may not have been entirely unbiased.

James Marshment fancied Stoke to survive at the expense of Blackburn; but although it is very early days, with just seven rounds of fixtures having been played to date, only their goal differences match so far.

So is it too soon to reassess the chances of any of the fresh intake finishing 17th or higher in the table come May 24? Maybe so, but we can learn a lot from the style each team has displayed in the Premier League to date, and the personnel available to them following the closure of the transfer window just over a month ago.

Much was made in the summer of West Brom's 'expansive' approach and how successful it would be among the elite. Albion netted 88 times en route to the Championship title but conceded more goals than most teams in the top half of the table.

Yet we enter the international break with Albion having tightened up considerably on the road - witness their smash-and-grab victory at Middlesbrough - while they have only managed to score more than one goal in a match on one occasion, the 3-2 home win over West Ham.

Tony Mowbray has been focusing on fortitude rather then flair, a tactic that has paid off so far with the Baggies looking competitive in every fixture and only narrowly losing to Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton.

Scott Carson has been a solid presence in goal and if Roman Bednar can show the same predatory instincts which helped him notch the winner against Fulham, the Baggies can continue to hover around in mid-table.

As for Hull, only the 5-0 defeat by Wigan at the KC Stadium and the squandering of a two-goal lead at home to Everton blemishes their hugely impressive start.

Phil Brown's greatest achievement has been keeping spirits high in the Tigers camp after those setbacks, for their unity and camaraderie have contributed massively to their surprise run of away-day results.

But take nothing away from Brown's tactical nous, and his faith in his squad - his system has unlocked the talent of Geovanni (something Sven-Goran Eriksson could not achieve at Manchester City last season), while he will never fail to use all three substitutes in the second half of games in order to freshen up the team.

In actual fact, the Wigan result taught Hull a valuable lesson early on in their season - anything less than your very best in the Premier League, and a drubbing awaits you.

There will no doubt be a repeat of that at some stage - perhaps in the upcoming fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United - but Hull's solid spine of Boaz Myhill, Michael Turner and Ian Ashbee, combined with the flair of Geovanni and Marlon King, will encourage Tigers fans to be confident of survival.

And finally to Stoke. Credit where it's due for keeping Liverpool at bay at Anfield, and for upsetting Villa in a thrilling clash at the Britannia Stadium. But from a neutral point of view, it's difficult to wax lyrical about the Potters so far.

Tony Pulis' side have only mustered two goals from open play, with the other six coming via a mixture of long throws, own goals and penalties.

Ricardo Fuller is a class act on his day, and Liam Lawrence - currently injured after failing to successfully hurdle his dog Cujo - is another talented performer.

You may also find something to admire in the missile silo that is Rory Delap, but that weapon is secret no longer, and what the Potters really need is an explosion of creativity.

Ammunition at set pieces and throw-ins is all well and good, but we have not seen enough of Stoke's footballing qualities - the likes of which led to a blitz of goals at Molineux, Selhurst Park and Bramall Lane last season - to suggest anything other than a sturdy and disciplined rearguard action can keep them out.

To be fair, Stoke have had a tough start fixtures-wise and will not be disillusioned by their position of 19th in the table, especially with a winnable match looming at home to struggling Tottenham.

But should Spurs buck the trend with a gritty away victory a week on Sunday and dump the Potters onto the foot of the table, their confidence could be sorely affected - particularly if they fail to add some extra dimensions to their football.