# 2016–17 EFL League Two

The 2016–17 EFL League Two (referred to as the Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship reasons) is the 13th season of the Football League Two under its current title and the 24th season under its current league division format. The fixtures were announced on 22 June 2016.

## Team changes
### To League Two

Promoted from National League
* Cheltenham Town
* Grimsby Town
Relegated from League One
* Doncaster Rovers
* Blackpool
* Colchester United
* Crewe Alexandra

### From League Two

Promoted to League One
* Northampton Town
* Oxford United
* Bristol Rovers
* AFC Wimbledon
Relegated to National League
* Dagenham & Redbridge
* York City

## Teams

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Accrington Stanley | Accrington | Crown Ground | 5,057 |
| Barnet | London (Edgware) | The Hive Stadium | 6,418 |
| Blackpool | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 16,750 |
| Cambridge United | Cambridge | Abbey Stadium | 8,127 |
| Carlisle United | Carlisle | Brunton Park | 17,149 |
| Cheltenham Town | Cheltenham | Whaddon Road | 7,066 |
| Colchester United | Colchester | Colchester Community Stadium | 10,105 |
| Crawley Town | Crawley | Broadfield Stadium | 5,996 |
| Crewe Alexandra | Crewe | Gresty Road | 10,180 |
| Doncaster Rovers | Doncaster | Keepmoat Stadium | 15,231 |
| Exeter City | Exeter | St James Park | 8,830 |
| Grimsby Town | Cleethorpes | Blundell Park | 9,052 |
| Hartlepool United | Hartlepool | Victoria Park | 7,833 |
| Leyton Orient | London (Leyton) | Brisbane Road | 9,271 |
| Luton Town | Luton | Kenilworth Road | 10,226 |
| Mansfield Town | Mansfield | Field Mill | 9,846 |
| Morecambe | Morecambe | Globe Arena | 6,476 |
| Newport County | Newport | Rodney Parade | 7,850 |
| Notts County | Nottingham | Meadow Lane | 19,588 |
| Plymouth Argyle | Plymouth | Home Park | 17,441 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 21,100 |
| Stevenage | Stevenage | Broadhall Way | 6,722 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | High Wycombe | Adams Park | 10,300 |
| Yeovil Town | Yeovil | Huish Park | 9,665 |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Blackpool | Neil McDonald | Sacked | 18 May 2016 | Pre-season | Gary Bowyer | 1 June 2016 |
| Leyton Orient | Andy Hessenthaler | Sacked | 26 September 2016 | 14th | Alberto Cavasin | 2 October 2016 |
| Newport County | Warren Feeney | Sacked | 28 September 2016 | 24th | Graham Westley | 10 October 2016 |
| Grimsby Town | Paul Hurst | Hired by Shrewsbury Town | 24 October 2016 | 8th | Marcus Bignot | 7 November 2016 |
| Mansfield Town | Adam Murray | Resigned | 14 November 2016 | 18th | Steve Evans | 16 November 2016 |
| Leyton Orient | Alberto Cavasin | Sacked | 23 November 2016 | 22nd | Andy Edwards | 23 November 2016 |
| Barnet | Martin Allen | Hired by Eastleigh | 1 December 2016 | 8th | Kevin Nugent | 15 February 2017 |
| Notts County | John Sheridan | Sacked | 2 January 2017 | 22nd | Kevin Nolan | 12 January 2017 |
| Crewe Alexandra | Steve Davis | Sacked | 8 January 2017 | 18th | David Artell | 8 January 2017 |
| Hartlepool United | Craig Hignett | Mutual consent | 15 January 2017 | 19th | Dave Jones | 18 January 2017 |
| Leyton Orient | Andy Edwards | Hired by the Football Association | 29 January 2017 | 23rd | Danny Webb | 29 January 2017 |
| Newport County | Graham Westley | Sacked | 9 March 2017 | 24th | Mike Flynn | 9 May 2017 |
| Leyton Orient | Danny Webb | Resigned | 30 March 2017 | 24th | Steve Davis | 10 July 2017 |
| Grimsby Town | Marcus Bignot | Sacked | 10 April 2017 | 14th | Russell Slade | 12 April 2017 |
| Barnet | Kevin Nugent | Sacked | 15 April 2017 | 16th | Rossi Eames | 19 May 2017 |
| Hartlepool United | Dave Jones | Sacked | 24 April 2017 | 23rd | Craig Harrison | 26 May 2017 |
| Crawley Town | Dermot Drummy | Mutual consent | 4 May 2017 | 21st | Harry Kewell | 23 May 2017 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Portsmouth (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 79 | 40 | +39 | 87 | Promotion to EFL League One |
| 2 | Plymouth Argyle (P) | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 71 | 46 | +25 | 87 | Promotion to EFL League One |
| 3 | Doncaster Rovers (P) | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 85 | 55 | +30 | 85 | Promotion to EFL League One |
| 4 | Luton Town | 46 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 70 | 43 | +27 | 77 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 5 | Exeter City | 46 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 75 | 56 | +19 | 71 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 6 | Carlisle United | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 69 | 68 | +1 | 71 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 7 | Blackpool (O, P) | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 69 | 46 | +23 | 70 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 8 | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 57 | +10 | 69 | |
| 9 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 53 | +5 | 69 | |
| 10 | Stevenage | 46 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 67 | 63 | +4 | 67 | |
| 11 | Cambridge United | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 66 | |
| 12 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 66 | |
| 13 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 59 | 56 | +3 | 65 | |
| 14 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 63 | −4 | 62 | |
| 15 | Barnet | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 57 | 64 | −7 | 57 | |
| 16 | Notts County | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 54 | 76 | −22 | 56 | |
| 17 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 55 | |
| 18 | Morecambe | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 53 | 73 | −20 | 52 | |
| 19 | Crawley Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 51 | |
| 20 | Yeovil Town | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 49 | 64 | −15 | 50 | |
| 21 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 50 | |
| 22 | Newport County | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 51 | 73 | −22 | 48 | |
| 23 | Hartlepool United (R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 54 | 75 | −21 | 46 | Relegation to the National League |
| 24 | Leyton Orient (R) | 46 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 47 | 87 | −40 | 36 | Relegation to the National League |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to EFL League One

## Play-offs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 4 | Luton Town | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | |
| 7 | Blackpool | 3 | 3 | 6 | | | |
| 7 | Blackpool | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | Blackpool | 2 |
| | | | | | 5 | Exeter City | 1 |
| 5 | Exeter City | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | Exeter City | 1 |
| 6 | Carlisle United | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ACC | BAR | BLP | CAM | CRL | CHL | COL | CRA | CRE | DON | EXE | GRI | HAR | LEY | LUT | MAN | MOR | NPC | NTC | PLY | POR | STE | WYC | YEO |
| Accrington Stanley | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Barnet | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Blackpool | 0–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Cambridge United | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Carlisle United | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Cheltenham Town | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Colchester United | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | | 2–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Crawley Town | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| Exeter City | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 |
| Grimsby Town | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–3 | | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Hartlepool United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Leyton Orient | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Luton Town | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Mansfield Town | 4–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Morecambe | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Newport County | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Notts County | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Plymouth Argyle | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–1 |
| Portsmouth | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 |
| Stevenage | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 |
| Yeovil Town | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |

## Top goalscorers

Source: BBC Sport Correct as of 28 May 2017
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | John Akinde | Barnet | 26 |
| 1 | John Marquis | Doncaster Rovers | 26 |
| 3 | Danny Hylton | Luton Town | 22 |
| 4 | Matt Godden | Stevenage | 20 |
| 4 | James Collins | Crawley Town | 20 |
| 6 | Omar Bogle | Grimsby Town | 19 |
| 6 | David Wheeler | Exeter City | 19 |
| 8 | Luke Berry | Cambridge United | 17 |
| 9 | Chris Porter | Colchester United | 16 |
| 10 | Ollie Watkins | Exeter City | 15 |

## Monthly Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Reference |
| August | Jim Bentley | Morecambe | James Coppinger | Doncaster Rovers | |
| September | Derek Adams | Plymouth Argyle | Jon Stead | Notts County | |
| October | Keith Curle | Carlisle United | Jason Kennedy | Carlisle United | |
| November | Gareth Ainsworth | Wycombe Wanderers | Omar Bogle | Grimsby Town | |
| December | John McGreal | Colchester United | Scott Kashket | Wycombe Wanderers | |
| January | Darren Ferguson | Doncaster Rovers | Ollie Watkins | Exeter City | |
| February | Darren Sarll | Stevenage | Matt Godden | Stevenage | |
| March | John Coleman | Accrington Stanley | Shay McCartan | Accrington Stanley | |
| April | Paul Cook | Portsmouth | Mickey Demetriou | Newport County | |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Portsmouth FC | 23 | 16,823 |
| 2 | Plymouth Argyle | 23 | 9,652 |
| 3 | Luton Town | 23 | 8,046 |
| 4 | Doncaster Rovers | 23 | 6,021 |
| 5 | Notts County | 23 | 5,970 |
| 6 | Grimsby Town | 23 | 5,259 |
| 7 | Carlisle United | 23 | 5,114 |
| 8 | Cambridge United | 23 | 4,737 |
| 9 | Leyton Orient | 23 | 4,663 |
| 10 | Exeter City | 23 | 4,166 |
| 11 | Colchester United | 23 | 3,973 |
| 12 | Wycombe Wanderers | 23 | 3,917 |
| 13 | Crewe Alexandra | 23 | 3,882 |
| 14 | Hartlepool United | 23 | 3,788 |
| 15 | Mansfield Town | 23 | 3,774 |
| 16 | Yeovil Town | 23 | 3,567 |
| 17 | Blackpool FC | 23 | 3,456 |
| 18 | Cheltenham Town | 23 | 3,323 |
| 19 | Stevenage FC | 23 | 2,899 |
| 20 | Newport County | 23 | 2,861 |
| 21 | Crawley Town | 23 | 2,492 |
| 22 | Barnet FC | 23 | 2,260 |
| 23 | Morecambe FC | 23 | 1,703 |
| 24 | Accrington Stanley | 23 | 1,699 |