The 51 best players in the Football League this season

You voted. We counted.

Now the Football League season is over, FFT proudly presents 2018/19’s ranking of the finest footballers in tiers two to four, including future stars and a former teacher, all picked by fans.

To identify the best from below England’s top tier, be they League Two stalwarts or Championship loanees, we polled supporters from every Football League club. You each told us five players in your club’s division (but not at your club – yes, we’re onto you) who you think have shone this season, and we gave points according to the rank you gave them, from first to fifth, and the league in which they’re playing.

Perhaps the greatest success of Walker’s season has been to secure a reputation as a master goalscorer, and not simply ‘son of Des’. What impresses most about the loanee is his ability to find space in a crowded box, as well as his composure when finishing with either foot or his head. He’ll return to Nottingham Forest full of confidence after 20-plus goals and potentially a promotion, too, with Mansfield heading into the League Two play-offs.

After breaking into the starting XI two seasons ago, the 23-year-old is now the key creative asset for this Fleetwood outfit and among the top assisters in League One. Hunter is at his most effective on the left side of midfield, where the bulk of his assists have come from inswinging right-footed crosses that are tough to defend against. The ex-Ilkeston man is a clever player with excellent technique.

It’s difficult to think of many players quite as crucial to their team as Henderson is to Dale. He'll be the club’s top goalscorer for a fifth season in succession, and has hit more League One goals than anyone in the division across the past five campaigns. The veteran can play as a deep-lying forward or out wide and still be the team’s most consistent goal threat, and he’s showing no sign of slowing.

Were this The 51 Most Underrated Football League Players, Browne would be No.1. Plucked from Cork City as an 18-year-old, he has just reached 200 Preston appearances and his influence has never been greater. He wears No.8 but plays as a No.10 and has scored 12 times in the Championship this term, while his work without the ball allows Alex Neil’s side to defend from the front to supreme effect.

The man they call The Duke has always been a useful forward at Championship level. But having become a key man under Garry Monk, he’s now enjoying his best campaign yet, thriving alongside Che Adams and reaching double figures for both goals and assists in early February. For any team playing a direct style of football, a willing targetman is essential, and the 30-year-old has won the most aerial duels in the division.

Last season, he won Barnsley’s Player of the Year prize despite joining the club in January; now, back at Swansea, the perfect loan striker is the perfect lone striker. The Scotland international’s fun personality and throwback style (he’s been called a 21st-century Steve Claridge) make him a fan favourite, but he has real talent too, dropping deep to spray the ball wide before receiving a cross.

It’s hard for a full-back to catch the eye, yet James was singled out as the Latics’ Player of the Month for September, October and even November – before getting into the Championship's official team of the year. In fact, he performed so well at right-back that Wigan boss Paul Cook tried him out in central midfield – and he ran the show there, too. He’s linked with a move to Brighton, but could Chelsea’s potential transfer ban make them give an opportunity to teenage talent next season?

The Posh parted with a reported £650,000 to nab the striker from Newcastle and, thanks to regular first-team action, he already looks like following in the footsteps of ex-Peterborough forwards Dwight Gayle and Britt Assombalonga with 21 goals in all competitions this term. A mobile forward, Toney is a threat in the air, can score with both feet and has formed a deadly partnership with assist king Marcus Maddison.

Manager Matt Taylor called Law “a League One player” when bringing him to League Two for free last July, and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. An all-action midfielder, Law can contribute in a number of different positions and offered a goal threat as Exeter chased a play-off spot. His presence in this list speaks to a consistent high level of performance that is recognised across the fourth tier.

The early days of the midfielder’s Oakwell spell weren’t promising. He was sent off 40 minutes into his debut in January 2017, then loaned to Oxford for a season. But since Daniel Stendel’s arrival as manager, Mowatt has made real progress, pulling the strings with a quality of pass rarely seen in the third tier. Barnsley’s star forwards would labour without this former Leeds player in the engine room. Can he do it in the Championship next year?

Webster’s partnership with Tomas Kalas has given the Robins one of the division’s toughest defences. Comfortable engaging aerially and in one-on-one situations, he also has the quality on the ball that's required of a top defender. After his rise through the Football League with Portsmouth, Ipswich and now Bristol City, everything points to Premier League football for Webster in the years to come.

Those who've seen a fair bit of Justin are very excited about his potential. He’s a right-back who has been playing on the left and can surge down the flanks to great effect, contributing goals and assists aplenty. Luton fans are hoping back-to-back promotions will enable them to keep hold of this prodigious asset, but either way this is unlikely to be the last you’ll hear about the 21-year-old.

In Ireland, Egan isn’t even the most famous sportsperson in his family. Mother Mary was a title-winning footballer and his father, also John, was a Gaelic football legend – statue and all. But he’s making his own way as Chris Wilder continues to build brilliance on a budget. The Blades’ innovative use of overlapping centre-backs – old dog Martin Cranie learning new tricks to cross – would fail if the third centre-half lacked Egan’s quality.

It’s sometimes claimed that prolific non-league goalsmiths can struggle with the step up to League Two, but after helping to fire Tranmere back into the 72, Norwood has gone from strength to strength in the Football League’s basement. Despite concerns that he’d miss Andy Cook after the latter's June move to Walsall (the duo shared 50 league goals last season), Norwood has only increased his output.

Clarke’s potential is scary: at just 22 he has already amassed more than 150 Pompey appearances, and he’s consistently been one of their standout performers in that time. He ticks two boxes for elite centre-backs, being defensively rock solid as well as comfortable in possession. While he’s currently in the third tier, his rapid progress to date suggests he may not be eligible for this list much longer.

He’s the ultimate Championship striker. Gayle has become a yo-yo player, always prolific at this level but unable to convince top-flight managers of his ability (not that a Premier League goal every 225 minutes is awful). The Londoner has been his usual second-tier self with the Baggies, converting a decent percentage of chances even when shunted to the wings in order to accommodate Jay Rodriguez in a one-striker setup.

Many were surprised to see Taylor stick around in League One when he left AFC Wimbledon last summer, hopping across south London to The Valley. Taylor's all-round game makes him a special footballer at this level, and he and Karlan Grant had a deadly partnership before the latter moved to Huddersfield in January. Tellingly, Addicks fans were mostly relieved that the club managed to keep hold of Taylor.

While it’s impossible not to be impressed by most of Norwich’s young squad, Buendia has made a particularly rapid emergence as one of the Championship’s best playmakers. The Argentine, 22 – with La Liga experience at Getafe – arrived last summer and didn’t wait to show off his dribbling and passing skills. The Football League is blessed with some fine No.10s right now, and this one has the qualities to play at the very top. He'll get the chance.

After a rampant start, this has been another frustrating season for Brentford, but their 20-goal striker hasn’t let up for a moment. Last term he missed some gilt-edged chances; now, his enviable ability to get into excellent goalscoring positions has been augmented by a newly clinical edge. As ever, Brentford look likely to lose their stars in the summer. Maupay will be on quite a few shopping lists.

Across his two Championship seasons, Bowen has scored 34 goals – a startling return for a wideman, particularly as Hull spent nearly all of that time occupying a berth in the bottom half of the table. He was named December’s Championship Player of the Month and is scoring goals faster than he can think of celebrations (one against Bolton was darts-themed, though sadly not in tribute to his namesake, Bullseye host Jim).

Many assumed that Rodriguez would be moving on following relegation, but his commitment to the cause has shone through – as has his quality as a Premier League striker. Although former Baggies boss Darren Moore often struggled to squeeze both J-Rod and Dwight Gayle into his team, their combined goal haul keeps the Hawthorns outfit dreaming of a swift return to the top flight as they head into the play-offs.

There’s no doubt at all that Grealish would be even higher on this list but for his long injury layoff: when fit, there’s no better player in the Football League. His all-round game has vastly improved, while his ability to drift past players is elite level; defenders are terrified of being humiliated by his trickery. No player in the league has been fouled more than Grealish – in fact, nobody is remotely close – and he’s missed a third of the season.

Dack, arguably the best player in League One last term as Rovers won promotion, settled into life in the Championship with nine goals in his first 17 games at this new level. Generally playing just behind the striker, Dack routinely befuddles defences with constant movement and nifty footwork. Despite a mid-season drop-off in his goalscoring form, he has still provided moments of magic – and took his total for the season to 17 with a goal on the final day against Swansea.

The Chelsea striker’s decision to return to the second tier was a real coup for Aston Villa, and the youngster certainly didn’t disappoint. Picking up where he left off from his fruitful 2016/17 loan at Bristol City, Abraham has plundered plentiful goals thanks to some superb movement and finishing. January attention from Wolves suggests we’re not likely to see him in the Football League again.

Having played a part in previous campaigns for both Brighton and Fulham, the central midfielder has done the unexpected in landing three promotions in a row – and his influence is greater than ever. He has been the Blades’ metronome, managing more passes per game than any other Championship player, but just as crucially Norwood offered Chris Wilder steel in the middle of the park. His wicked set-piece delivery has teed up numerous goals, too.

Welsh wizard Wilson has done enough on loan with the Rams – after last year’s heroics at Hull – to earn the chance to prove himself in Liverpool’s first team. His goals from distance and dead-ball flair have got Derby (and Wales) out of several awkward scrapes, and the youngster’s ability to manipulate a football with that hammer of a left foot has made him something of a sensation on social media.

If anyone deserves a crack at the Premier League, it’s Sharp. Since making his Championship bow at Sheffield United 15 years ago, he has surpassed 300 appearances in the division, netting 114 goals and showing immense strength of character during personal tragedy – yet he’s played just 20 top-flight minutes. Few would begrudge the Blades’ talisman – 33 and scoring more than ever – another shot next season.

This season has produced 12 goals and 12 assists for the 34-year-old Spaniard, as Leeds excruciatingly missed out on automatic promotion. Hernandez has played for nine clubs throughout his career but has rarely hit the form he has shown at Elland Road, telling FFT that it's down to boss Marcelo Bielsa’s eye for detail. Rather than the Argentine’s difficult reputation, he says the manager is “just loco for football”.

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