Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic was crowned as the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Season as the EFL celebrated the 2021-22 season at a huge awards ceremony in London.
Mitrovic has been prolific for Fulham this season as he scored 41 league goals and provided seven assists, which has seen him earn the Player of the Season award following a series of strong performances to fire the Cottagers to promotion.
The Serbian saw off competition from his Fulham teammate, Harry Wilson plus Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke to clinch the gong to seal what he described as “an amazing season on a personal level,” after also guiding Serbia to qualification for 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Reflecting on the impact that Fulham manager, Marco Silva has had on his game, Mitrovic commented: “Since the new manager’s come in, we’ve created our style of place and it’s perfectly suited for me and every player in our squad. He gets the best out of his players.”
Fulham meanwhile enjoyed a strong evening as Mitrovic, Wilson, Antonee Robinson and Tosin Adarabioyo were all selected in the 2021-22 Championship Team of the Season
Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson was voted as the 2021-22 Sky Bet Championship’s Young Player of the Season, after the Wales international produced 15 goals and 10 assists to propel Forest from relegation battlers to play-off contenders.
MK Dons’ Scott Twine was voted League One’s Player of the Season and named in the third-tier’s team of the season, whilst Fleetwood Town’s Paddy Lane was declared League One’s Young Player of the Season.
Forest Green’s Kane Wilson was crowned League Two’s Player of the Season, whilst Newport’s Finn Azaz took home the Young Player of the Season gong as both players were named in League Two Team of the Season.
Speaking about his win, Wilson described his successful season as “surreal” having clinched promotion with Forest Green just 30 hours earlier.
Wilson also paid tribute to his fellow nominees who play as strikers unlike him as a wing-back as he added: “There’s two very good strikers out there in Dom Telford and Matty Stevens. With the season they’ve had, I didn’t think I’d deserve it, but they’ve chose me and I appreciate it.”
Coventry City’s Ryan Howley was crowned Championship Apprentice of the 2021-22 season after impressing for the Sky Blues in first-team training, as well as playing for their Under-23s team.
Charlton’s Ayodeji Elerewe and Colchester’s Junior Tchamadeu won League One and League Two’s Apprentice of 2021-22 season gongs respectively.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Barry Bannan collected the 2021-22 Goal of the Season award for his strike in a 3-2 win at MK Dons on Easter Saturday earlier this month.
EFL officials also recognised the efforts of players within their local communities across all three divisions, with one winner across each division;
- Championship – Billy Mitchell (Millwall)
- League One – Ryan Inniss (Charlton Athletic)
- League Two – Omar Beckles (Leyton Orient)
Inniss however was crowned the overall winner of the PFA Player in the Community category at the awards ceremony.
Blackburn Rovers picked up the award for their excellence in equality, diversity and inclusion through their ‘Ewood Express’ scheme, as they saw off competition from tomorrow’s match opponents – Preston as well as League Two’s Exeter City.
Burton Albion picked up two awards after the club won the 2021-22 Community Project award for their work to support their local NHS with vaccinations during the pandemic, whilst Chairman – Ben Robinson was handed the Contribution to Football award for his work across four decades on and off the pitch.
AFC Wimbledon are currently battling relegation in League One but the club were declared as the Community Club of the 2021-22 season.
League One’s Ipswich Town were crowned as Family Club of 2021-22 season after seeing off competition from MK Dons and Sheffield United for the honour.
Jobi McAnuff was the recipient of this year’s Sir Tom Finney Award which recognised his outstanding career within the EFL, in which he scored 57 goals in 576 appearances across all three divisions within the EFL before he retired at the end of last season.
McAnuff described the achievement of winning the award after he retired from football as “a massive honour and privilege” for himself.
The 40 year-old went on to state that his playing career was “a dream” which kept him motivated across two decades as a player.
Cambridge United took home the award for Environmental Sustainability for their environmental based campaign known as ‘Help U’s’
Swansea City’s Cath Dyer was crowned the EFL Supporter of the Season for her hard work to promote the club’s disabled supporter association across the campaign.
Winners of each category are highlighted in bold except categories where there is just one shortlisted winner.
2021-22 Championship Player of Season
- Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
- Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
- Harry Wilson (Fulham)
2021-22 League One Player of Season
- Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday)
- Michael Smith (Rotherham United)
- Scott Twine (MK Dons)
2021-22 League Two Player of Season
- Matty Stevens (Forest Green Rovers)
- Dominic Telford (Newport County)
- Kane Wilson (Forest Green Rovers)
2021-22 Championship Young Player of Season
- Fabio Carvalho (Fulham)
- Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)
- Djed Spence (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Middlesbrough)
2021-22 League One Young Player of Season
- Gavin Bazunu (Portsmouth)
- Paddy Lane (Fleetwood Town)
- Dan Neil (Sunderland)
2021-22 League Two Young Player of Season
- Finn Azaz (Newport County)
- Shadrach Ogie (Leyton Orient)
- Connor Taylor (Bristol Rovers)
LFE Apprentice of 2021-22 Season – Championship
- Ryan Howley (Coventry City)
- Jordan James (Birmingham City)
- Jevon Mills (Hull City)
LFE Apprentice of 2021-22 Season – League One
- Freddie Draper (Lincoln City)
- Ayodeji Elerewe (Charlton Athletic)
- Michael Williams (Crewe Alexandra)
LFE Apprentice of 2021-22 Season – League Two
- Alex Aitken (Stevenage)
- Junior Tchamadeu (Colchester United)
- Ethan Brierley (Rochdale)
Your Move Community Club of 2021-22 Season
- Middlesbrough
- Blackpool
- Derby County
- AFC Wimbledon
- Plymouth Argyle
- MK Dons
Community Project of 2021-22 Season
- Preston North End
- Burton Albion
- Swindon Town
PFA Player in the Community
- Billy Mitchell (Millwall)
- Ryan Inniss (Charlton Athletic)
- Omar Beckles (Leyton Orient)
Family Club of 2021-22 Season
- Ipswich Town
- MK Dons
- Sheffield United
Diversity Award
- Blackburn Rovers
- Exeter City
- Preston North End
Supporter of 2021-22 Season
- Mark Crowther (Luton Town)
- Cath Dyer (Swansea City)
- Sue Taylor (Burton Albion)
Contribution to League Football
Ben Robinson (Burton Albion)
Sir Tom Finney Award
Jobi McAnuff
Environmental Sustainability Award
Cambridge United
2021-22 Sky Bet League Championship Team of Season
Lee Nicholls (Huddersfield Town), Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest), Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth), Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham), Djed Spence (Nottingham Forest), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Philip Billing (Bournemouth), Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
Manager – Nathan Jones (Luton)
2021-22 Sky Bet League One Team of Season
Mike Cooper (Plymouth Argyle), Jack Whatmough (Wigan), Michael Ihiekwe (Rotherham), Harry Darling (MK Dons), James McClean (Wigan), Wes Burns (Ipswich), Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday), Daniel Barlaser (Rotherham), Scott Twine (MK Dons), Michael Smith (Rotherham), Ross Stewart (Sunderland)
Manager – Leam Richardson (Wigan)
2021-22 Sky Bet League Two Team of Season
Joe Wollacott (Swindon Town), Jon Guthrie (Northampton Town), Peter Clarke (Tranmere Rovers), Jordan Turnbull (Salford City), Kane Wilson (Forest Green Rovers), Nicky Cadden (Forest Green Rovers), Timothee Dieng (Exeter City), Finn Azaz (Newport County), Harry McKirdy (Swindon Town), Dominic Telford (Newport County), Matthew Stevens (Forest Green)
Manager – Rob Edwards
Goal of 2021-22 Season
Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday)