I've got to imagine that Brian Howard would have options to join a Championship, probably Millwall (although they have a number of good central midfielders at the moment). At the moment it's hard to speculate without guarantees about finances on who we could sign. If there were good indications then Jacob Mellis would be a great signing for League 1 (although he's already had a trial at Q.P.R., so clearly has the ability to play and get a contract at a higher level than League 1) he had a good spell on loan at Barnsley last season, was sacked for setting off a smoke grenade at Chelsea so maybe a temperament issue but could play at the tip of the diamond or wide or in central midfield.
I think we'll have to adjust our expectations for next season's signings, if we make any, probably be mostly old players who can't make it at Championship level hopefully the club will go for up-and-coming players from League 1 and below but even that's dependant on the money we have to spend.