EFL: Championship, League One & League Two standout moments from 2022-23

Vincent Kompany, Josh Windass and Neil Warnock (left to right) all had something to celebrate this season

Josh Windass' goal to send Sheffield Wednesday up to the Championship against Barnsley - with the final kick of the English Football League season - drew an emphatic line under an epic campaign.

It had all started in Huddersfield on the last Friday in July.

A new-look Burnley, fresh from being relegated from the Premier League and under the management of Vincent Kompany for the first time, claimed a 1-0 win over the Terriers to raise the curtain on the new season.

The following 10 months saw dozens of managerial changes, record-breaking comebacks and, somewhat inevitably, a 74-year-old Neil Warnock coming out of retirement.

As the dust - not to mention confetti - settles on the play-off finals, which, for the first time ever all went to extra time, BBC Sport takes a look back at the 2022-23 EFL campaign.

Unexpected champions in room 101

Burnley endured a summer of major upheaval after their eight-season spell in the top-flight came to an end. With Manchester City legend Kompany stepping into the second tier of English football for the first time, there was uncertainty about how the Clarets would get on.

Talk about confounding expectations.

Kompany's shrewd signings gelled together in double-quick time and they romped to the Championship title with 101 points.

The title race in League One was an altogether tighter affair, with three teams breaking the 95-point barrier.

Plymouth, who had lost 5-0 at home to MK Dons on the final day of last season to miss out on a play-off place, eventually prevailed to take the crown, ahead of Ipswich, and finishing with a points total of 101.

Down in League Two, Leyton Orient claimed promotion to League One for the first time since 2015.

The O's made a superb start and, despite dropping off in the second half of the campaign, claimed the title with something to spare. Not bad for a team who had finished 13th in 2021-22.

All three champions upset the majority of the pre-season odds and predictions, with none of them really fancied to be in the automatic promotion conversation.

That's why we love the EFL.

You say goodbye and I say hello - and possibly goodbye again

Exactly half of the 72 clubs in the EFL changed manager at least once during the season.

Rochdale boss Robbie Stockdale became the first managerial casualty of the season when he was relieved of his duties by the League Two side on 18 August.

He was the first, but very much not the last.

QPR brought in Neil Critchley when Mick Beale - who had only joined himself in the summer - left to take the Rangers job in December. Critchley, though, won just one of his 11 matches in charge and was sacked in February.

Dale and QPR were two of the teams to change managers twice during the season. Also in that category were Watford, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Blackpool, Wigan, Swindon, Crawley and Hartlepool.

A penny for Nathan Jones' thoughts. The Welshman left Luton in November to take over at Premier League strugglers Southampton.

He was unable to replicate the kind of success he had with the Hatters and found himself out of a job in February.

Replacement Rob Edwards, who had himself been sacked by Luton's fierce rivals Watford in October, then stepped in and led them to the top flight for the first time since 1992.

The EFL will be saying goodbye to Burnley, Sheffield United and play-off winners Luton - who have all been promoted to the Premier League

As for the trigger-happy Hornets, they brought in Slaven Bilic to replace Edwards and then sacked him to appoint Chris Wilder in March for the run-in. He had been sacked by Middlesbrough at the start of the season and Watford have now installed Valerien Ismael for next season.

Still one of the hottest hot-seats in management.

New kids on the block

As ever, a host of young players caught the eye across the EFL in their breakthrough seasons.

Manchester City sent midfielder James McAtee on loan to Sheffield United and he excelled as they won automatic promotion and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.

In League One, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was so impressed by Conor Bradley's form at Bolton that he has suggested the Northern Ireland international will be involved in his first-team squad next season.

Another player who could be featuring in the top flight in 2023-24 - having starred in the third tier this time out - is Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi. The 20-year-old scored 15 goals on loan with Charlton.

It wasn't just Premier League loanees who enjoyed stellar first seasons in the EFL.

Carlisle picked up midfielder Owen Moxon from Scottish League Two side Annan last summer and the 25-year-old claimed 15 assists and six goals as they won promotion via the play-offs.

Moxon helped ensure Carlisle gained promotion from League Two, alongside Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Northampton

In the dugout, some former Premier League stars took their first steps in management in the EFL.

Michael Carrick replaced Wilder at Boro with the side floundering near the bottom of the league.

The former Manchester United and England man then oversaw a complete turnaround, as they finished fourth before losing to Coventry in the play-off semi-final. Hopes will be high on Teesside that they can finish a couple of places higher next season.

Another Premier League winner endured a far tougher start to life in management.

Kolo Toure won none of his nine games in charge of Wigan before being sacked in February. Sadly the Latics once again face an uncertain future after being relegated to League One and being hit with an eight-point deduction for failing to meet an EFL funding deadline.

Ex-Everton striker Duncan Ferguson will hope to have his Forest Green side challenging at the top end of their division next season after a chastening first few months as a manager.

To be fair to the Scot, Rovers looked doomed at the foot of League One when he took over in January but he still would have hoped for more than a solitary win in his 18 matches in charge as they finished 19 points adrift of safety.

Things went no better for Jody Morris in his first managerial appointment at Swindon. Appointed in January the former Chelsea coach was sacked by the League Two side before the final game of the season after losing 10 of his 19 matches.

Do call it a comeback

If we're talking comebacks on the pitch then nothing tops Sheffield Wednesday's miraculous League One play-off semi-final win over Peterborough.

The Owls, who had finished third on 96 points, were hammered 4-0 in the first leg by Darren Ferguson's men to leave their promotion hopes in tatters.

No club had ever overcome more than a two-goal first-leg deficit before but, roared on by a packed Hillsborough crowd, they made it 4-4 on aggregate with the final kick of the 90 minutes and eventually won on penalties after it ended 5-5.

Wednesday then won the play-off final with Windass' header - the last action of extra time against Barnsley - to cap off what boss Darren Moore called "a fairytale".

On the sidelines a very familiar face came out of retirement to come riding to his former side's rescue.

Neil Warnock cut short a holiday in America to try to save Huddersfield from relegation and, despite losing three of his first five games, save them he did.

The veteran gaffer said he had no interest in taking the job full-time but didn't rule out returning to the game next February or March to try to pull off another great escape. See you next spring then, Neil.

In League Two, Northampton conquered their final-day demons from 2021-22 to win automatic promotion.

Jon Brady's men had missed out on third place last season on goals scored, after Bristol Rovers thumped relegated Scunthorpe 7-0, but there were no such concerns this time out as their 1-0 win at Tranmere was enough to send them to League One.

Comeback kid of the year must be Boro striker - and Championship golden boot winner - Chuba Akpom.

The 27-year-old spent the previous season on loan in Greece and started the campaign without a squad number, but forced his way into the starting XI and went on to bag a whopping 29 goals in all competitions and claim the division's player of the season award.

Akpom went from forgotten man to Championship player of the season at Boro

And finally, a couple of teams coming back up to the EFL after spells in non-league have made the odd headline here or there.

Wrexham finally won promotion to League Two - but only after a titanic title tussle with Notts County.

Phil Parkinson's men, backed of course by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, claimed the title with a staggering 111 points, four ahead of Notts.

The Magpies then came back from 2-0 to win their play-off semi-final in extra time and twice came back from a goal down to win the promotion final over Chesterfield on penalties.

Both teams will hope to do what Stockport - beaten by Carlisle in the League Two play-off final - fell just short of this season and secure back-to-back promotions from non-league to League One.

Will they do it? It all starts again on Friday, 4 August.