Playmaker's countdown of the EFL's star men has blasted into the stratosphere of its 'Top 10', as we profile the best performers from across 'The 72' this season.
It's certainly been no easy task, but - just to clarify - our '72' is less a roll call of the best footballers in the EFL and more a tribute to those players who have enjoyed the most memorable seasons while racking up the most impressive stats.
Whatever the criteria, we're confident in our selections of the most outstanding players through the Championship, League One, and League Two and welcome any debate on the subject!
After hammering out our provisional list of '72' candidates, Playmaker's hardy quartet of writers had heated debates regarding who was assigned who! However, there was no discussion when it came to number #8...as Dan Oliveira simply had to be allocated his League Two Player of the Season: Elliot Lee!
One of only a handful of active players to have played across each of the top five tiers of English football, Elliot Lee has previous when it comes to winning back-to-back promotions - having been part of the Luton Town side that rampaged from League Two to the Championship between 2017 and 2019.
When Wrexham missed out on promotion from the National League back in 2021/22, the Red Dragons squad was more than good enough to hold its own in League Two, but it lacked a certain something.
Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds must have felt the same, as in the summer of 2022 they snapped up Lee following the expiry of his contract with Championship side Luton.
The son of former England international Rob Lee, Elliot surely goes down as one of Wrexham's most astute and effective signings and he has been nothing short of sensational since joining the club from North Wales.
Racecourse Rocking! 🔊🤩🐉⚽️❤️ pic.twitter.com/AfoaWBPuQK
— Elliot Lee (@ElliotLee9) September 10, 2023
Instrumental in both of Wrexham's consecutive promotions, Lee has been the Red Dragons' most important and influential player this season.
The only Wrexham player to play every League Two game this term, Lee has scored 16 goals and supplied six assists in League Two and he provides the vital spark in games that was sometimes lacking prior to his arrival.
Given licence to roam by manager Phil Parkinson's tactical set-up, Lee has terrorised defences all season in the fourth tier and the 29-year-old has shown the kind of guile and quality that belongs at a higher level.
Lee's game intelligence is evident in the positions he chooses to take up, his ability to receive the ball between the lines and drive at the opposition balanced by his tendency to drift wide and cause problems on either flank.
Ranking top among Wrexham players for key passes this season with 75, he has attracted his fair share of illegal treatment and only four players in the entire division were fouled on more occasions this season than Lee (73 free-kicks won).
Perhaps what has stood out the most this season regarding Lee's contributions, however, has been his ability to deliver when it really matters.
Late winners against Doncaster and Sutton (twice), not to mention his last gasp equaliser in a manic 5-5 draw against Swindon, have all shown that Lee can be relied upon to rise to the big occasion.
On that note, here's a fantastic stat that Lee tops across 'The 92'. Since the start of this season, NO player across the top four tiers has scored more late league goals between 76-90+' minutes than Elliot Lee (7). Impressive!
📊Most goals scored between 76-90+' mins in 23/24 (top 4 tiers):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) April 17, 2024
7⚽️: CHRIS MARTIN, Elliot Lee
6⚽️: Jamie Vardy, Colby Bishop, Danilo Orsi, Isaac Olaofe, Klaidi Lolos#UTG pic.twitter.com/6zNb3p646Z
One of the three nominees for League Two's Player of the Season award, Lee was also included in the fourth tier's Team of the Season...and we would back him to shine once more as Wrexham target three straight promotions next season.
10: Davis Keillor-Dunn 11: Georginio Rutter 12: Gabriel Sara
13: Marlon Pack 14: Macaulay Langstaff 15: Ephron Mason-Clark
16: Dan Kemp 17: Joe Taylor 18: Eiran Cashin 19: Ali Al-Hamadi
20: Jack Clarke 21: Isaac Olaofe 22: Carl Piergiani 23: Jaden Philogene
24: Alfie May 25: Will Evans 26: Jamie Reid 27: Morgan Whittaker
28: Conor Chaplin 29: George Thomason 30: Mickey Demetriou
31: Stephy Mavididi 32: Marc Leonard 33: Josh Sheehan
34: Matt Smith 35: Kwame Poku 36: Illan Meslier 37: Aden Flint
38: Ronnie Edwards 39: Josh Sargent 40: Alex Gilbey 41: Ben Sheaf
42: Jobe Bellingham 43: Devante Cole 44: Jacob Greaves 45: Paddy Lane
46: Herbie Kane 47: Dan James 48: Archie Collins 49: Karamoko Dembele
50: Haji Wright 51: Dan Crowley 52: Cameron Brannagan 53: Aaron Collins
54: Andy Cook 55: Connor Shaughnessy 56: Jannik Vestergaard
57: Willy Gnonto 58: Ellis Simms 59: Charlie Hughes 60: Fatawu Isshaku
61: Sam Hoskins 62: Paul Mullin 63: Chris Martin 64: Omari Hutchinson
65: Isaac Hutchinson 66: Sam Tickle 67: Ben Hinchcliffe 68: Michał Helik
69: Lewis Wing 70: Rob Apter 71: Kyle Walker-Peters 72: Alex Palmer
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NameElliot Robert Lee Born/Age1994-12-16(29 -yrs-old) Nationality England PositionMidfielder (Attacking Midfielder) | |
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