Sporting Life's Sky Bet Championship team of the 2018/19 season
With the end of the current Sky Bet Championship season fast approaching, we take a look at who makes the Team of the Season.
The EFL announced their official team of the season alongside the nominations for the yearly awards on Tuesday - with a number of the top teams represented.
It has, as expected, caused debate all over social media. Fans asking why certain players have missed out despite being top performers in their eyes.
Official Sky Bet EFL Championship Team of the Season
(4-3-3): Darren Randolph (Middlesbrough), Jamal Lewis (Norwich), Liam Cooper (Leeds), Reece James (Wigan), Max Aarons (Norwich); Oliver Norwood (Sheffield United), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Jarrod Bowen (Hull); Che Adams (Birmingham), Billy Sharp (Sheffield United), Teemu Pukki (Norwich).
Manager: Chris Wilder (Sheffield United)
Player of the Season nominees
Che Adams, Teemu Pukki and Billy Sharp.
Of course, with the sheer number of players currently plying their trade in England's second tier, there are always going to be some names who have to make way for others.
That's been the difficulty for Tom Carnduff as he picks Sporting Life's Sky Bet Championship team of the season. Strikers who have hit the 20-goal mark already having to sit on the sidelines when they would likely walk into most teams.
The same goes for the creative players in the attacking midfield area. There are only a few spots up for grabs yet a significant number of players who could feature in the side.
Opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation, widely used by a lot of teams, our EFL man has picked out the eleven best players from the 2018/19 campaign.
GK - Darren Randolph
The Middlesbrough man made the official EFL team of the season and it's no surprise to see.
He has kept the joint-highest amount of clean sheets alongside posting the best save percentage of any goalkeeper who has played regularly throughout the current campaign.
Middlesbrough are a side who pride themselves on defence and they have a goalkeeper who can step up when called upon.
He's played a big part in the season so far, and will be a key element of this Middlesbrough side if they are to make the play-offs in May.
RB - Max Aarons
A player who has probably not got the wider praise he deserves given the attacking quality of this Norwich side.
Max Aarons has had a very impressive season playing on the right-side of a young Canaries back line. The defensive side of his game is solid, but he can also contribute in an attacking sense which is exactly what Daniel Farke would have wanted.
That's reflected in the five assists he's posted from his current position, alongside an 80% successful pass rate he averages each game. He's also got the second highest number of successful dribbles in this Norwich side too.
At the age of 19, Aarons has enjoyed a wonderful season and has a big future ahead of him.
CB - Jack O'Connell
Sheffield United have been playing attractive, entertaining and attacking football this season which has put them in a prime position for automatic promotion.
Chris Wilder's philosophy means attacks start from the back, with his three centre-backs expected to be comfortable with the ball at their feet.
I could have gone for any of the trio of Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack O'Connell but I'm going to go for the latter here. O'Connell has caught the eye with a number of stand-out performances and has contributed with goals and assists at the other end of the pitch.
That's alongside his involvement in goals at an earlier stage of an attack too. He fits the style that Wilder wants perfectly and there's little doubt that he will have issues with the step-up to Premier League football.
CB - Liam Cooper
It took him some time to adjust to the Championship, but Liam Cooper has established himself as one of the division's best defenders under Marcelo Bielsa's leadership.
The Leeds captain has led by example with a number of top performances throughout the season. Like Wilder, Bielsa expects his players to be able to play out from the back and Cooper has been able to do just that.
The 27-year-old has also enjoyed aerial dominance in multiple games, which has helped them secure victory. A prime example being the header that won possession for Leeds as they scored after just 17 seconds against West Brom.
Cooper has formed a strong partnership with Pontus Jansson at the back and while Jansson is the cult hero in LS11, Cooper just edges the battle between the pair.
LB - Enda Stevens
One of the many players brought to Sheffield United by Wilder from the lower leagues in the EFL, Enda Stevens suits the left wing-back role perfectly.
Stevens has dominated the left-side of the pitch for the Blades and has little issue with attack or defence. You'll often find the 28-year-old at the edge of the opposition area, such is the freedom he's allowed when he plays.
With the likes of Billy Sharp and Ollie Norwood capturing the headlines, Stevens' performances have gone a little under the radar but make no mistake about it, he is key for the Blades.
Like O'Connell, Stevens is a player who should have little problem in moving up to England's top division.
CM - Kalvin Phillips
One of the biggest stories in a season of big stories for Leeds. Kalvin Phillips has found his role at the base of the Whites' midfield and has been exceptional throughout the campaign.
The Elland Road faithful have labelled him the 'Yorkshire Pirlo' and it's not hard to see why. Phillips, a Leeds lad, is now into his fifth season playing for the senior side despite being 23.
Bielsa has found the perfect position for him. He sits back while Mateusz Klich drives forward and, when required, can also drop into centre-back alongside Cooper and Jansson.
Like a few others in the Sky Bet Championship, Phillips is a potential England international in the future.
CM - Ollie Norwood
One of the Championship's best signings of the season has been Ollie Norwood. The Northern Ireland international establishing himself as a key element of the Sheffield United midfield.
Norwood has had direct involvement in 12 goals this season, which shows the impact he has going forward.
It's not just the goals and assists though. His all-round play is solid and he provides some of the creativity needed for a team at the top.
He won the play-off final on-loan at Fulham last season, and the midfielder is in a great position to seal back-to-back promotions with the Blades.
RAM - Joe Lolley
"Ain't nobody, like Joe Lolley" is the chant at the City Ground - the Forest faithful unanimous in their praise of the attacking midfielder.
Lolley's eye-catching style of play has helped to fire Forest into the mix for the play-offs this season and he will be key if they are to reach the Premier League through that route.
The 26-year-old has had direct involvement in 18 of Forest's goals this season, divided equally between goals and assists.
Lolley was a shrewd signing from Huddersfield in January 2018 and his value increases every time he steps out onto the pitch.
CAM - Pablo Hernandez
Bielsa brings an intense style of play and that led to questions about how Pablo Hernandez would cope. However, at the age of 33, the attacking midfielder is enjoying one of his best ever seasons.
He's scored ten and assisted a further eleven in 30 Championship games so far. His link-up play is excellent and he provides the much-needed creativity for this way of playing.
The former Swansea man deserves another spell in the Premier League and would go in with seriously good form behind him should Leeds go up this season.
He's one of those players that is a joy to watch, alongside being a great role model for what is a young Leeds squad.
LAM - Jarrod Bowen
An incredible season for the 22-year-old saw him linked with a move to the Premier League in January, although he stayed put with the Tigers.
Jarrod Bowen has scored a remarkable 21 goals this season - the best campaign of his career - and that comes despite a slow start that saw no return during the opening month.
He has played a key role in helping Hull transform themselves from relegation candidates to promotion outsiders. 16 of his goals have come since December 1 when Nigel Adkins men saw results start to improve.
If Hull fail to make the top-six, he's a player we should still expect to see in the top-flight next season.
ST - Teemu Pukki
This is the hardest position to choose, such is the nature of a striker's job.
Teemu Pukki has been the stand-out forward though and his goals have been crucial to Norwich's title hopes. He's scored a total of 24 in the league, alongside assisting a further nine.
Direct involvement in 33 league goals is more than impressive at this stage in the season - that's alongside the three goals he has scored on international duty for Finland.
He has the luxury of a high influential attacking midfield trio behind him at Norwich, and he has thrived upon the opportunities that have been created. A striker that every team would want.
Manager - Marcelo Bielsa
While Sheffield United and Norwich sit above them in the table, Marcelo Bielsa has to go down as the manager of the season in the Sky Bet Championship.
He has transformed Leeds from a side that finished 13th last season to one that is not only winning games but is also playing attractive football that sometimes dominates the highlight reels.
What makes it all the more impressive is the fact that he has had to do it with a number of first-team players missing at various points throughout the season. At no point has he had a fully fit squad of players to pick from. The Thorp Arch medical department recently saying that they have had to deal with 46 separate injures - although you imagine that figure is now above 50.
The Whites had to go through December with a bench of youngsters, while a number of players from the youth team have been trusted to play a part for Bielsa's side.
That's alongside the glowing references he has received from experienced first-team players who say that they still have a lot to learn from him. Midfielder Adam Forshaw has stated that he feels ready to become a manager after spending less than a season under Bielsa's guidance.
He's treated as a god-like figure in some parts of South America and idolised in West Yorkshire already. The transformation of Leeds over the past nine months has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Sporting Life's Sky Bet Championship Team of the Season
(4-2-3-1): Darren Randolph; Max Aarons, Jack O'Connell, Liam Cooper, Enda Stevens; Kalvin Phillips, Ollie Norwood; Joe Lolley, Pablo Hernandez, Jarrod Bowen; Teemu Pukki.
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
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