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  1. Fixture day is almost upon us...

    Your club will soon discover their schedule for the upcoming EFL season. As soon as Thursday, in fact.

    Want to know who your side will face on opening day? The EFL fixtures will be announced at 12:00 BST - but that's not all.

    The day will be rounded off by the first round of Carabao Cup being drawn at 16:30 BST.

    So check back on 26 June to see who your team faces first, last and everything in between.

    An image detailing how to follow your Championship team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.

  2. A factory sits in the centre, with various metal pipes coming out of it and in front of it. It is dusk.

  3. A clean slate for Boro and their new head coach

    Rob Edwards appointed: all the reaction

    "It's a chance for a fresh start, isn't it?

    "A clean slate for the club and for Rob Edwards, an opportunity to get his career back on track after the way it ended with Luton."

    It's been knocking around the rumour mill for a while but now it is confirmed - Rob Edwards is Middlesbrough's new head coach.

    Mark Drury and Neil Maddison join BBC Radio Tees' Rob Law as they discuss what Edwards can bring to Boro as well as hear from the fans on their thoughts towards the new man in charge.

    While Edwards' last two seasons with Luton Town may be a concern for some, others believe his experience as a promotion-winning manager will be an asset for a team seeking a return to the Premier League.

    "With Rob, he's been there, he's done it," Maddison said.

    "He's had his ups and downs, don't get me wrong, but I think he would have learnt a lot from it.

    "I'm certain that he'll want to put things right, he'll want to get back to winning ways and get this club back where things should be."

    The show includes Edwards' first interview as Boro head coach.

    You can listen to the full reaction and more on BBC Sounds.

    Listen on BBC Sounds

  4. Moira looking into the camera. She has dark, long hair with a full fringe and tears in her eyes.

  5. Entrance road leading to Augean at Port Clarence. There is a small white sign with the firm's name on it on the left-hand side of the road. The road is Tarmac and has a 30mph speed limit. It is surrounded by grassed areas and trees.

  6. Billingham Skills Academy. It is a brick and glass single-storey building. A tree is growing at the front next to a path.

  7. Rob Edwards gesturing towards his players on the pitch while manager of Luton

  8. Boro turn to Edwards in search of promotion formula

    Mark Drury
    BBC Radio Tees Middlesbrough commentator

    Rob Edwards holding the play-off final trophy at Wembley after success with Luton in 2023Rex Features

    Rob Edwards has won promotions with Forest Green Rovers and Luton Town

    Middlesbrough's decision to appoint Rob Edwards as Michael Carrick's successor marks a change of direction in the Riverside dugout.

    Carrick was a managerial rookie (three games as Manchester United's caretaker notwithstanding), while 42-year-old Edwards already knows what it takes to win promotion, once to League One with Forest Green Rovers and subsequently to the Premier League with Luton Town.

    His success in reaching the top flight with the Hatters will undoubtedly have been an attraction for Boro, who are still searching for the right formula to return to English football's top table eight years after their relegation to the Championship in 2017.

    Edwards is Boro's seventh permanent manager or head coach in that time, and the list of names in those eight years gives an insight into the varied approaches chairman Steve Gibson has employed as he tries to find the solution to the club's promotion woes.

    We have seen rookie bosses in Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate (who was Carrick's assistant throughout his two and a half years in charge), veterans – Tony Pulis and Championship specialist Neil Warnock – as well as the men of their particular moments, Garry Monk and Chris Wilder.

    What the appointment of Edwards does is fully align Boro's first-team management with the strategic vision of Kieran Scott, the club's head of football.

    The pair have worked together in the past. Edwards was under-23s coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Scott was part of the scouting team.

    When Edwards began his senior managerial career, Scott went on to become head of recruitment at Norwich City before taking over Boro's football operation.

    The pair have kept in touch throughout the intervening years and now have the chance to rekindle their professional partnership at the Riverside.

    Michael Carrick and assistant Jonathan Woodgate in discussions during a Middlesbrough matchRex Features

    Michael Carrick (left) and Jonathan Woodgate are two of the previous seven Boro bosses to have failed to return Middlesbrough to the Premier League

    Edwards is the fourth Boro manager who will work with Scott. Warnock, Wilder and Carrick were the others, and it is fair to say the working model was particularly tested during the Warnock and Wilder years.

    Under Carrick, Boro had some real success in the transfer market – Morgan Rogers, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg to name a few – but a system that had worked well sprang a major leak in January.

    The head coach pushed for signings who proved to be notable failures and Boro's season crumbled after the turn of the year.

    That situation is unlikely to be repeated with Edwards in charge. Recruitment, playing style and an ability to work within Boro's structure will all have played a big role in the interview process.

    Many Boro fans were excited by the potential arrival of Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl, while the fact Steve Cooper was interviewed shows the job remains one of the most desirable outside the top flight.

    What Edwards brings though, is Championship nous and an ability to punch above his weight.

    Competing with 'parachute' clubs

    The Luton squad he led to promotion two years ago was reputed to have a wage bill that would have placed them 20th in the Championship.

    Boro are much more generous payers, but no Championship club without the benefit of parachute payments can afford to turn their nose up at a manager with the ability to improve players and find a way of competing with teams dropping down from the Premier League.

    Concerns have been raised by some Boro fans about the way Luton unravelled on Edwards' watch last season, and there is no doubt that was something that would have been discussed by Boro's hierarchy.

    However, the fact Luton won promotion under him and then made a good fist of trying to stay up should not be forgotten. For the record, the Hatters finished 18th in their Premier League season, ahead of Burnley, whose manager Vincent Kompany subsequently left them for German giants Bayern Munich.

    Edwards may not be the big-name arrival Michael Carrick was, but Boro hope he proves to be the right one.

  9. Lewis Thompson who has short blonde hair and is wearing a green t-shirt is looking at the camera in a police mugshot. Shaun Thompson who has short blonde hair and is wearing a grey zipped jacket. Jack Carlsson has dark hair and is wearing a blue t-shirt.

  10. A scrapbook page with Pauline Murray's name drawn in bold letters down the left side of the page. There are three photos of Pauline Murray on the page, one a black and white portrait on the left, another black and white photo of her on stage singing into a microphone. Another shows her staring into the camera with four men standing behind her.

  11. Will Edwards bring promotion joy to Boro?

    Have Your Say banner

    Middlesbrough have announced former Luton Town boss Rob Edwards as their new head coach.

    Edwards earned promotion to the Premier League with the Hatters via the Championship play-off final in 2023, but he ended up leaving the club in January as they struggled in their return to the second tier last season.

    Can Edwards repeat his promotion heroics with Boro?

    Or is this an appointment you cannot see working out?

    Let us know your thoughts here.

  12. Rob Edwards on the touchline during a Luton match

  14. A light blue Arriva single-decker bus. It is empty and the doors are open.

  15. A stock image of the back of a police officer wearing a yellow hi-vis vest with blue and grey checks running down the sides. 'Police' is written in the middle of the vest in white letters in a blue box. The officer is also wearing a black long-sleeved top underneath.

  16. Billingham Skills Academy. It is a brick and glass single-storey building. A tree is growing at the front next to a path.

  17. Mugshots of the pair. Ford is tanned with short dark hair. Wilson is paler with short dark hair and large ears protruding from his head.

  18. A young man with short brown hair wearing a blue t-shirt with a forest behind him.

  19. Library image of an electricity pylon. The camera is pointed upwards from the base of the structure. It is made of metal and has wires strung across horizontally. Blue sky can be seen in the background.

  20. Mugshot of Chaudrhy. He is clean-shaven and has short black hair.

  21. A delegation of space industry representatives standing in front of a Blue Moon lunar lander. The large craft is white with sections painted gold.

  22. The Durham Miners' Gala. A brass band is walking down the street in red blazers. A red, yellow and blue miners' banner with five men depicted in the middle is being held up behind them. More banners and people can be seen walking behind them with people behind barriers on either side of the street.

  23. Alistair Ralston is wearing a top which says Palm Springs in white letters. He is smiling and standing in a paved area near trees.

  24. A group of smiling children in a pool with their arms outstretched. There are red and yellow noodles in the water and some of the children are wearing googles.