The new EFL season gets under way on Friday night when Bournemouth host relegated Premier League side West Brom.

BBC Sport looks at some of the things to watch for in the Football League 2021-2022, including a host of clubs trying to escape the third tier and a 42-year-old winger who spent the summer playing as a trialist.

The return of fans

There's only one place to start isn't there?

After 18 hugely difficult months clubs can finally welcome back full crowds.

Some clubs were briefly allowed limited crowds during last season but for others August will see them play in front of their own supporters in a competitive match for the first time since March, or even February, 2020.

The opening weekends of the season are bound to be emotional for thousands of fans up and down the country as they return to places that mean so much to them.

Bouncebackability

Of the three teams relegated to the Championship from the Premier League in 2019-20 only Bournemouth failed to win promotion straight back to the top flight, as they lost to eventual play-off winners Brentford in the semi-finals.

Fulham, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion will be looking to follow in Watford and Norwich's footsteps this campaign and will all be doing so with a new man in the dugout.

Scott Parker left Fulham to take over at the Cherries, so former Watford and Everton manager Marco Silva will be leading the Whites this season.

Ex-Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic is back in English football with the Sheffield United and Valerien Ismael will be looking to build on his superb spell with Barnsley by leading Albion back to the big time.

Those three could do worse than look to Rotherham for inspiration on recovering from relegation.

The Millers are looking to win promotion back to the Championship this season to continue a sequence that has seen them either promoted to or relegated from the second tier in each of the past five seasons.

Land of the sleeping giants

Rotherham will not be the only League One side with their sights set on a place in the Championship next season.

The third tier has picked up a reputation as a notoriously difficult division for fallen giants to get out of ever since Leeds United spent three seasons there between 2007 and 2010.

Former Premier League mainstays Sunderland can vouch for that as they enter their fourth season at that level with just two unsuccessful play-off campaigns to show for their efforts.

2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth are heading into their fifth season in the third tier, while ex-Pompey boss Paul Cook will hope he can lead Ipswich out at their third attempt.

Charlton, like Pompey, just missed out on a place in the play-offs last season and Nigel Adkins will hope he can build on that this time around, and relegated Sheffield Wednesday will be targeting an immediate return to the Championship after last season's tribulations.

Bolton won promotion back to League One after a single season in the bottom tier and ambitious boss Ian Evatt will be looking for more, while local rivals Wigan are back on an even keel after they battled through 2020-21 in administration.
Looking up

The Wanderers and Latics are not the only clubs in the North West whose fans will be very optimistically looking forward to the new campaign.

Blackpool secured promotion back to the Championship with victory over Lincoln City in the League One play-off final to cap off a superb second half of the season under rookie boss Neil Critchley.

After some challenging years on and off the pitch for the club, the Seasiders have now won two promotions in four seasons.

Another club whose supporters have been put through the wringer in the past few years are Coventry City.

The Sky Blues have spent the past two seasons playing at Birmingham City's St Andrews stadium but will be back in their rightful place for the start of the new campaign.

Down in League Two, Bradford City will be hoping the appointment of fourth-tier promotion specialist Derek Adams after his success with Morecambe can see them return to League One after three seasons.

Steadying the ship

The coronavirus pandemic has caused major problems and disruption for clubs throughout the EFL over the past year and a half and for some fans the arrival of the new season will bring as much trepidation as it does optimism.

Derby County needed a point on the final day to avoid being relegated to League One last season and start the new campaign under a transfer embargo and with their ownership issues still unresolved following two failed takeovers.

It has not been a good summer for rookie boss Wayne Rooney and he will need to make use of all of his experience, not to mention extensive contacts, if they're to stay clear of relegation concerns.

The Rams are not the only EFL club to have been given a summer transfer embargo, with Reading, Hull City, Fleetwood, Gillingham, Oldham, Scunthorpe and Swindon all having sanctions placed on them during the off-season.

Things had looked even bleaker for Swindon prior to a takeover by Australian businessman Clem Morfuni last month and they will now hope to avoid the fate of Southend, who suffered back-to-back relegations to drop out of the EFL last season.
New faces

Sutton United players celebrate

Sutton United will make history on Saturday when they visit Forest Green.

The Gander Green Lane outfit won the National League title last season to secure a first promotion to the Football League in their 123-year history.

Hartlepool secured a dramatic return to the EFL after four years away by beating Torquay on penalties in the National League play-off final in June. Dave Challinor's men will hope they can carry that momentum into the new campaign after a tight turnaround.

Morecambe secured a first-ever promotion to the third tier thanks to their play-off final win over Newport and new boss Stephen Robinson will hope he can build on the excellent work of predecessor Adams to keep them up there.
Call me boss

Three League Two clubs go into the new season with a rookie manager.

Walsall have appointed former Portsmouth, West Ham and Bolton midfielder Matt Taylor as their new boss, Forest Green have turned to ex-Wolves defender Rob Edwards and experienced coach Robbie Stockdale has replaced Brian Barry-Murphy at Rochdale.

There's no such certainty at MK Dons, where veteran defender Dean Lewington starts the campaign in interim charge after boss Russell Martin left for Swansea the day after their first game of the season at Bournemouth in the EFL Cup last week. Ouch.

Back once again...

t just wouldn't feel like an EFL season without Neil Warnock would it?

The veteran boss starts his second full campaign in charge of Middlesbrough looking to claim a ninth promotion in a managerial career that saw him pass 1,500 games as a gaffer last season.

Fellow Yorkshireman Mick McCarthy had a big impact after taking over at Cardiff midway through 2020-21 and the vastly experienced manager will be looking to build on that this time out.

It's not just experienced bosses who are giving it another go this season, Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa has signed on for another campaign with the Chairboys at the age of 39.

However, he's not going to be the oldest player in the EFL in 2021-22 after 42-year-old Kevin Ellison signed a one-year deal with Newport last week after playing as a trialist in their pre-season friendlies, with the club announcing the deal in... an unusual fashion.