The curtain has come down on the regular EFL season and, with the thrills and spills of the play-offs upon us, it's time to wrap up our countdown of the top 72 players in 'The 72' (see what we did there?!).
Those who followed 'The Playmaker 72' last season know the drill: this is less a countdown of the 'best' footballers across the EFL, more a celebration of players who have lit up the Championship, League One and League Two throughout 2022/23.
To once again paraphrase the great Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, these are just, like, our opinions, man - and we will do our utmost to back up them up with facts, stats and analysis.
On the absolute brink of a podium finish we have the hottest shot in League Two this season...
Chiselling out a 'Top 10' for this countdown was no mean feat, Playmaker's quartet of statmongers each with their pet favourites and preferences.
Last season was no different; yours truly ribbed for his boundless enthusiasm for Accrington Stanley centre-back Ross Sykes (who's played Europa League football this term, ahem), and this time round a bunch of players fell victim to Playmaker power struggles (Omar Beckles and Josh Windass spring to mind!).
Getting the order right at the sharp end of the countdown is tricky and to chart above Sam Hoskins, the eventual winner of League Two's 'Player of the Season', you would need to have had a very special season indeed. But Bradford City striker Andy Cook has enjoyed such a season.
Affectionately known as 'Cookie Monster' by Bantams fans, Cook has been in electric form and he enters the League Two play-offs - where Bradford will face Carlisle United in the semis - as the most productive player in the EFL.
With 28 league goals and 8 assists, Cook has led the Bantams' line magnificently...and been involved in a whopping 59% of his team's goals so far this season.
⚽️ Goal of the Month
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) March 10, 2023
🤔 Who should win the February prize from this shortlist...#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo
Cook's shooting stats illustrate that he has been an all-round threat, but he has undoubtedly proved a handful for League Two defences in the air. Eleven of the striker's goals this term have come courtesy of headers and he was won 249 aerial duels in the fourth tier, ranking 7th in the division in this stat category.
On a related note, Cook's ability to attack set-pieces has been outstanding, the 32-year-old scoring more league goals (9) than any player in 'The 92' from free-kicks, throw-ins and corners.
Every good goalscorer needs a sidekick and this season, Bradford midfielder Richard Smallwood has provided Cook with a rich supply of opportunities. Five of Smallwood's six assists in L2 in 2022/23 have been for his prolific striker, and only Barrow's scorer/assister duo of Josh Gordon and Ben Whitfield (who have also combined for five goals) can match the telepathic Bantams for productivity.
After Cook missed out on League Two's Player of the Season award, Bradford manager Mark Hughes said that everyone at the club was "aggrieved" by the decision, but praised his frontman to the hilt.
"He’s an exceptional player and a great character, everyone sees that.
“He’s just a one-off, Andy, both on the pitch and off it."
It certainly has been a special season for Cook - to top it off with a play-off final win at Wembley would make it extra-special.
4. Andy Cook 5: Sam Hoskins 6: Aaron Collins
7: Iliman Ndiaye 8: Barry Bannan 9: Josh Brownhill 10: Jonson Clarke-Harris
11: Lawrence Vigouroux 12: Owen Moxon 13: Nathan Tella 14: Leif Davis
15: Carlton Morris 16: Carl Piergianni 17: Zian Flemming 18: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
19: Alex Scott 20: Oliver Norwood 21: Elliot Watt 22: David McGoldrick 23: Ian Maatsen
24: Michael Cooper25: Bali Mumba 26: Tom Lockyer 27: Ryan Giles 28: Colby Bishop
29: Christian Walton 30: Amad Diallo 31: Mads Andersen 32: Sam Morsy
33: Jack Clarke 34: Eiran Cashin 35: Alfie May 36: Wes Burns 37: Conor Bradley
38: Anel Ahmedhodžić 39: Shaun Rooney 40: Ben Whitfield 41: Adam Phillips
42: Joel Piroe 43: Kristian Dennis 44: Liam Palmer 45: Idris El Mizouni
46: Taylor Harwood-Bellis 47: Ricardo Santos 48: João Pedro 49: Conor Hourihane
50: Anass Zaroury 51: Morgan Whittaker 52: James Trafford 53: Sam Nombe
54: Theo Archibald 55: Hayden Hackney 56: Gabriel Sara 57: Gustavo Hamer
58: Miles Leaburn 59: Jacob Greaves 60: Dion Charles 61: John Swift 62: Luca Connell
63: Jerry Yates 64: Dan Sweeney 65: Tom Ince 66: Dan Kemp 67: Finn Azaz
68: Dan Agyei 69: Freddie Woodman 70: Will Collar 71: Anis Mehmeti 72: Ibou Touray
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NameAndrew Cook Born/Age1990-10-18(33 -yrs-old) Nationality England PositionForward (Striker) | |
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