The five biggest overachievers in the EFL this season

Football is a results business. It’s about winning, whether that be a league title, a cup final or promotion to a higher division.

But success in football isn’t purely measured by tangible accomplishments. Often, the most impressive achievements are the ones that nobody expects to happen, even if the outcome doesn’t lead to silverware. While Fulham and Wigan Athletic’s respective title wins cannot be ignored, their comparatively vast budgets and strong squads meant that their performances were almost universally expected.

These five clubs were not predicted to hit such heights, yet they all punched well above their weight and deserve significant recognition as a result.

Huddersfield Town – 3rd in the Championship

In reaching the playoffs, both Huddersfield Town and Luton Town have exceeded all expectations, which makes separating them incredibly hard. The Hatters are operating on one of the smallest budgets in the entire division, and their impressive FA Cup run certainly gives them some bonus points. But ultimately, the Terriers did finish three places higher than Nathan Jones’ side, and proceeded to knock them out in the playoff semi-finals.

It means that Huddersfield will make the trip to Wembley on May 29th, competing in the Championship playoff final for the second time in six seasons. In 2016/17, the Terriers beat Reading on penalties to reach the Premier League for the first time in their history. They’ll need to see off Nottingham Forest in the capital if they’re to return to the top flight next season.

Carlos Corberán’s side were listed at 3/1 for relegation at the start of the season, making them the third favourites to drop down into League One. Not only did they avoid that, but Huddersfield went on to accrue an astonishing 82 points, finishing just six behind AFC Bournemouth in the second automatic promotion spot.

A slow start to the campaign had fans worried. The Terriers drew 0-0 with a Derby County side in total disarray in their opening game, before suffering a 5-1 thrashing at the John Smith’s Stadium against eventual champions Fulham. Flash forward to the end of the season, and Huddersfield had suffered the same amount of defeats as Marco Silva’s runaway league leaders.

A disciple of former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, Coberán doesn’t utilise the same high-intensity pressing that the Whites did in their promotion-winning campaign of 2018/19. Instead, Huddersfield are an incredibly resilient side who boast the highest number of set piece goals in the entire division (21). However, like Bielsa, Coberán does deserve immense credit for turning seemingly average footballers into promotion contenders.

The likes of Tom Lees, Duane Holmes, Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes were all considered to be lower mid-table players at best before the start of the campaign, but they are now just 90 minutes away from being able to call themselves Premier League footballers. Even Sorba Thomas, who was playing non-league football with Boreham Wood as recently as January 2021, may be finding himself as one of the key players at a top-flight club in a few weeks time.

Regardless of whether they make it or not, Huddersfield have had a season for the history books.

Derby County – 23rd in the Championship

This one will come as a surprise to many, as Derby County were relegated from the Championship as everyone expected. Ultimately, the manner in which it happened makes them one of the biggest overachievers in the EFL this season.

Wayne Rooney was appointed manager of Derby in November 2020, having finished his career as a player for the Rams that season. He guided them to safety by the skin of their teeth, finishing in 21st place, just one point above Wycombe Wanderers in the relegation zone.

In July 2021, the club were confirmed to be in breach of financial fair play regulations, resulting in a transfer embargo being imposed. It left Rooney with nine contracted senior professionals in his squad, before the EFL relaxed their restrictions in order to allow Derby to sign players on free transfers.

Two months later, the Rams entered administration and were handed a further 12-point deduction, before facing a further nine-point deduction for breaching EFL accounting rules in November 2021. At the time, it left the club on -3, 18 points from safety. Furthermore, their squad was made almost entirely of veterans on the verge of retirement or youngsters from their academy with no experience of men’s football.

Off-field issues threatened the immediate future of the club, but Rooney somehow started to turn around the seemingly insurmountable points deduction. They recorded astonishing wins against both of the top two sides, Fulham and Bournemouth, while beating all three of their relegation rivals: Reading, Peterborough United and Barnsley.

Derby finished the season with 34 points, meaning that without their deductions, the Rams would’ve finished the season in 17th place with 55 points. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as they were relegated in 23rd, albeit that they finished above the Tykes.

The fight that they showed in the face of adversity was simply staggering. A new star was born in academy graduate Luke Plange, who played 26 games and scored four goals in his first season of professional football, earning himself a move to Premier League outfit Crystal Palace as a result. But, despite relegation, every single player in this Derby squad will be remembered for their efforts.

With Chris Kirchner now set to take over as owner of the club, fans are hopeful that next season can be a successful one on the pitch, with Rooney also confirming that he will remain as manager of Derby. An immediate return to the Championship may be a struggle, but is certainly within the realms of possibility.

Plymouth Argyle – 7th in League One

For a campaign that ultimately ended in heart break, Plymouth Argyle fans will feel incredibly proud of what their team has accomplished this season.

The Pilgrims were not amongst the bookies’ relegation favourites, although a number of pundits tipped them to struggle in their pre-season predictions. But after 12 games, Ryan Lowe’s side had risen to the top of the League One table, proving that they were capable of competing for promotion to the second tier.

Then things looked like they were starting to fall apart.

Lowe was targeted by Championship outfit Preston North End, who sacked then-manager Frankie McAvoy at the start of December. A move closer to his boyhood city of Liverpool was too good to turn down, as was the chance to manage a bigger club in a higher division. Lowe departed for Deepdale with Plymouth sitting fourth in League One, but his assistant manager, Steven Schumacher, opted to stay in Devon to take over as manager of the Pilgrims.

While many predicted that their season would soon begin to crumble, Schumacher looked likely to finish what Lowe had started, keeping Plymouth in the playoff places despite fierce competition from the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers. The Pilgrims finished the campaign having spent 182 days in the top six and just 85 days outside of it. Ultimately, their promotion hopes fell agonisingly short at the final hurdle.

A 1-1 draw away to eventual champions Wigan Athletic preceded a midweek win for Sheffield Wednesday at Fleetwood Town, meaning that Plymouth would have to match or better Wycombe Wanderers’ result on the final day. Gareth Ainsworth’s men won away at Burton Albion, while the 10-man Pilgrims collapsed at Home Park as they were thrashed 5-0 by MK Dons.

A seventh place finish is incredibly impressive for a seemingly mid-table side who had their influential manager poached midway through the season, but even more astonishing is that Plymouth ended the season with 80 points. This is the highest number that any League One team outside of the playoffs has collected since 2002/03.

In a top-heavy league that was almost totally dominated by comparative behemoths, the Pilgrims were always the anomaly. They were listed as 12/1 to win promotion, which is the same as Gillingham and higher than Doncaster Rovers (9/1) and Crewe Alexandra (11/1) – all three of whom were relegated to League Two.

Their 3-5-2 formation was incredibly resilient, conceding just 48 goals, fewer than three of the four sides that qualified for the playoffs. But their reputation was built off being a fluid attacking outfit, finishing with more goals than pre-season title favourites Ipswich Town, as well as being an incredibly hard-working side that never knew when to quit.

If they can keep the core of their current squad, there’s no reason why they can’t move a step closer to promotion next season.

Cambridge United – 14th in League One

Like Huddersfield and Luton, it’s nigh-on impossible to split Cambridge United and Cheltenham Town. The two sides have nearly mirrored each other’s progression in the last two seasons, finishing 14th and 15th respectively after winning promotion back to the third tier last season.

Part of the reason for choosing Cambridge, aside from the fact that they finished above the Robins and beat them 5-0 back in December, is because of their incredible FA Cup run that saw them eliminate Premier League outfit Newcastle United in front of a sold-out St James’ Park. The U’s also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s Trophy and secured a comfortable mid-table finish despite being the bookies’s favourites for relegation.

Furthermore, this all took place in what was head coach Mark Bonner’s second season in senior management, having guided his boyhood club to automatic promotion the season before. Cambridge were tipped by fans and pundits alike to finish rock bottom of the third tier, operating with one of the smallest budgets in the division and, on paper, one of the worst teams.

The U’s had also lost top-scorer Paul Mullin (Wrexham) and right-back Kyle Knoyle (Doncaster Rovers) on free transfers, with both featuring in the League Two Team of the Season in Cambridge’s promotion-winning campaign. Yet despite all of the issues that they looked set to face, Bonner proved his doubters wrong yet again, and the U’s seem to be one of the most stable clubs in League One.

Fans will remember games where they bloodied the noses of the big boys, winning away at Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic. But the reason that they didn’t spend a single day in the bottom six was because they beat the teams around and below them.

Many supporters spent much of the campaign calculating the gap to the playoff places rather than the relegation zone, and while they finished nearer to the latter, the ambition for Cambridge will be to improve upon this season and push for a top-half finish in 2022/23.

However, ‘second-season syndrome’ is a real thing, as Crewe Alexandra have proven by finishing 11th in League One after winning promotion and then rock bottom the following season after a tumultuous summer transfer window. If Cambridge are to avoid a similar fate and improve upon their impressive campaign, they’ll need to keep the core of their current squad together and significantly improve their squad depth.

The majority of the U’s squad is tied down for next season, albeit that most are out of contract in 2023, and the club will need to decide whether they cash in on them this summer or let them leave for free next year if they refuse to extend their deals. Replacements will also need to be found for Republic of Ireland legend Wes Hoolahan and Bolton Wanderers-bound Jack Iredale, who have both left The Abbey after their contracts expired.

Sutton United – 8th in League Two

Arguably the biggest overachievers in the EFL this season are Sutton United, who won promotion from the National League in 2020/21.

They did so with a game to spare, becoming a Football League outfit for the first time in their 123-year history. For a club who’s entire existence was as a non-league football club, this was a monumental achievement, especially when considering that they were operating as a semi-professional club when they won the National League title.

While no side that has been promoted to Football League has ever suffered immediate relegation back out of it, Sutton entered the 2021/22 campaign as 7/2 favourites for the drop. Manager Matt Gray did little to strengthen his team, instead relying on his current squad while bringing in the likes of Enzio Boldewijn and the returning Isaac Olaofe.

The Amber and Chocolates spent most of the first half of the season in the playoff places, but celebrated Christmas Day in the automatic promotion spots after a 1-0 win at home to Harrogate Town took them up to third. A 3-0 victory at home to Crawley Town had them in the top seven with two games to go, but a heavy defeat to Bradford City pushed them out of promotion contention, despite beating Harrogate once again on the final day.

While a number of pundits quietly predicted that Sutton would have a successful season, nobody thought that Gray’s side would challenge for a place in League One in their first season of EFL football. Alongside this, they also reached the final of the Papa John’s Trophy, taking the lead twice against League One giants Rotherham United at Wembley, before losing 4-2 in extra time.

The fact that the club were not running on a full-time basis just 12 months prior makes this season’s achievements all the more staggering.

Their greatest test still lies ahead of them, however, with most of their squad out of contract or approaching the age where they might be considering retirement. The likelihood is that this summer will see a lot change at Sutton, which is exactly what the club don’t want. The challenge will be to further improve their recruitment in order to handle the large turnover of players and climb into the playoff places next season.

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