2023 in the EFL: A managerial merry-go-round, famous comebacks and Neil Warnock unretiring

Steven Schumacher swapped Plymouth for Stoke on 20 December, making the Pilgrims the 45th EFL club to change manager this season

Friday's full fixture list brings the curtain down on 2023 in the EFL.

BBC Sport looks back over the past 12 months, including some remarkable comebacks, a few teams who will be glad to welcome a new year and a very unsurprising return from retirement.

From Cowley to Schumacher

The Christmas decorations were still up when Danny Cowley became the first EFL manager to lose his job in 2023 when Portsmouth sacked him on 2 January.

As of 28 December a staggering 46 of the 72 clubs in the EFL have changed manager at least once this year, with Neil Wood becoming the latest managerial casualty after he was sacked by Salford City on Wednesday.

That's presently one down on the 47 who changed manager in 2022... but there's still just about time for that to be equalled.

Eight of the 24 teams in the Championship have had three different managers in the past 12 months.

Former long-serving Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth was one of the many to be chewed up and spat out by a second tier club in 2023.

Ainsworth left the Chairboys after almost 11 years in charge to take over at QPR, where he had had a successful spell as a player, in February but after just three league wins - none of which came at home - he was sacked in October.

No wonder he's now focusing on a much more stable career... as the frontman of rock band Cold Blooded Hearts.

You can call it a comeback

Sheffield Wednesday players celebrate pulling off the greatest comeback in play-off history

Sheffield Wednesday became the first team in EFL history to win 96 points and not secure automatic promotion, as they finished third in League One behind rampant Plymouth and Ipswich in 2022-23.

The Owls had to settle for a play-off place and a first leg trip to sixth-placed Peterborough, who finished 19 points behind them.

Posh made light of the regular season gap between the pair and thumped Wednesday 4-0 to all-but secure their place at Wembley.

With no club having ever overcome more than a two-goal first leg deficit in play-off history it looked like Darren Moore's men faced an impossible task.

They came roaring back at Hillsborough, however, to lead 3-0 with 19 minutes to play and then sent the semi-final to extra time with the most dramatic of late equalisers in the final minute of time added on.

Both teams scored in the additional 30 minutes before Wednesday prevailed from the penalty spot to set up an all-South Yorkshire final with Barnsley, who they beat 1-0 thanks to a Josh Windass goal in the final minute of extra time.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson made another comeback of his own this year.

The experienced gaffer came in for a FOURTH spell in charge of the Cambridgeshire side after Grant McCann, who himself was in his second spell as Peterborough boss, was sacked in January.

It might have escaped your attention that Wrexham and Notts County both made their returns to the Football League after a title battle for the ages in the National League.

The Welsh side eventually won the league with a frankly ludicrous 111 points from 46 games, four more than the 107 accumulated by the Magpies, to end their 14-year spell outside the EFL.

Luke Williams' men, who finished 23 points ahead of third, then came back from 2-0 down to Boreham Wood, a team they finished 35 points in front of, to set up a promotion final at Wembley against Chesterfield.

Once there they required an 87th-minute equaliser to set up extra time and then another leveller with 12 minutes to play before eventually coming out on top in the penalty shoot out.

Talk about doing it the hard way.

'Idiot' Warnock swaps New York for West Yorkshire

Neil Warnock came out of retirement to keep Huddersfield in the Championship

Veteran boss Neil Warnock announced his retirement in April 2022 after a record-breaking 1,603 games in management.

The end? Well, to nobody's genuine surprise, no.

"You look at the fixtures and you'd have to be a bloody idiot to come here, but that's what I am thankfully," he put it succinctly when he came riding to the rescue at Huddersfield in February.

The then 74-year-old had to cut short a holiday in New York to take over at the Championship strugglers.

Things looked bleak after successive 4-0 defeats left them seven points adrift with just 12 games to play but a miraculous run of six wins from their final nine matches saw them stay up with a game to spare.

Despite saying it was just a short-term appointment, and been given a guard of honour, the Yorkshireman signed on for another season in the summer, only to leave by mutual consent in September.

He reaffirmed after his Town exit that he was not retiring so will we see the former Scarborough, Notts County, Plymouth, Oldham, Bury, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, QPR, Rotherham, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough boss back in the dugout in 2024? Almost definitely.

A good year for...

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has enjoyed a brilliant first year in management

There have been some tough years at Ipswich Town in recent times.

The Suffolk side were relegated to the third tier with a whimper in 2018-19 and their first three seasons in League One produced finishes of 11th, 9th and 11th.

A change was needed and it came in the shape of former Manchester United assistant coach Kieran McKenna.

The Northern Irishman led them to promotion back to the Championship with 98 points in his first full season and, after a fantastic start to the current campaign, they're well positioned to secure a return to the Premier League after 22 years away.

Portsmouth are another club firmly looking up after a period in the doldrums.

Rookie boss John Mousinho was unable to guide them to a top six finish in League One in 2022-23 when he took over in January following Cowley's exit.

His team clearly benefited from a pre-season under his tutelage though and didn't suffer a league defeat until 25 November this season.

Heading into 2024 they're top of League One and a return to the Championship after 13 years could be on the cards.

League Two leaders Stockport complete a trio of teams in blue who have enjoyed a stellar 2023.

A 1-0 defeat at Grimsby on New Year's Day left them in the bottom half of the table but they hit form to finish the season in fourth, just one point off automatic promotion.

Although heartache was to follow in the form of play-off final defeat on penalties by Carlisle they shook off the disappointment and went on a club-record run of 12 successive league wins between 9 September and 18 November and are now four points clear at the top.

A bad year for...

At the opposite end of the fourth tier table it's been a 12 months to forget for Forest Green Rovers.

The Gloucestershire side won just one of their 22 matches in League One from 1 January, to finish 19 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table.

Ian Burchnall was sacked in January and Duncan Ferguson's first spell in management brought one win from 18 games before he left in June.

Rovers made a small piece of history when they became the first professional men's team to have a woman as head coach when Hannah Dingley was named caretaker after the Scot's exit.

Ultimately they decided to appoint former Southampton and Watford coach David Horseman as their new boss but he could not reverse their slide and was replaced with veteran striker Troy Deeney on 20 December.

The 35-year-old faces a VERY stern task to stop the Gloucestershire slide slipping to a second successive relegation.

Veteran striker Troy Deeney is starting his managerial career at the bottom of the EFL with Forest Green

Reading are another club who look like they could suffer the ignominy of back-to-back demotions.

The Royals were 14th in the Championship with 44 points, 13 points clear of the bottom three, after a 3-1 win over Blackpool on 25 February.

However, they were hit with a six-point deduction in April for breaching the terms of an agreed business plan with the EFL and the victory over Blackpool proved to be their final success of the campaign as they were relegated with 45 points.

Things have sadly got no better for the beleaguered Berkshire side this campaign as they have been deducted a further four points for failing to pay wages on time amid winding-up petitions, transfer embargoes and protests for owner Dai Younge to sell the club.

Hopefully the new year brings change both on and off the field for them.

And finally, spare a thought for Rotherham's loyal away fans.

The Millers' record on their travels in 2023 reads played 22, lost 14, drawn eight and won zero and they are the first team since QPR in 2012 to go a whole year without an away win in the top four leagues.