There isn’t one objectively best EFL club to manage in Football Manager 2024: the right pick depends on whether you want a Championship survival fight, a historic-club revival, or a climb from the lower leagues. Here are eight editorial picks, including five with specific FM24-era story hooks in the available club guide and three additional options to consider. Check your chosen FM24 database for each club’s starting division and squad, since database updates can change those details.
FM24’s licensed EFL scope includes the Championship, League One, League Two, the Carabao Cup, and the EFL Trophy, according to Sports Interactive’s licensing information. That gives an EFL save a broad domestic setting, but your club’s starting point determines the challenge.
Choose your FM24 EFL save by the challenge you want
Think about the first season before you pick a badge. A survival campaign asks you to protect a club’s place in its division; a promotion push makes immediate progress the central goal; a long rebuild asks you to create a route upward over several seasons. Historical identity and local rivalries can make that journey more personal, but they do not make a save easier.
The five clubs below have specific FM24 save hooks in a launch-period guide. The other three are additional editorial picks, not clubs established by that guide. For all eight, confirm the starting division in the database you plan to use rather than relying on a list that may assume a different update.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
Eight EFL clubs to consider
| Club | FM24 save idea | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Plymouth Argyle | Start in the Championship with survival as the first hurdle, then build toward promotion. | A demanding top-two-tier start with room to grow. |
| Preston North End | Use the club’s early Football League prominence as the backdrop for a bid to return to the top division in the Premier League era. | A historic-club revival. |
| Notts County | Build upward from League Two with the story of a historic club back in the EFL after non-league football. | A lower-league climb with a strong historical identity. |
| Tranmere Rovers | Make the ambition of taking a third Merseyside club upward the heart of the save. | A local-rivalry narrative. |
| Port Vale | Turn a long Football League history and a record of financial difficulty into an underdog rebuild. | A patient, resource-conscious project. |
| Bolton Wanderers | Consider a return-to-the-top-flight storyline at a club with a notable past in English football. | A larger-club revival. |
| Wrexham | Take on a climb through the English league system, with the exact starting point depending on your FM24 database. | A multi-season ascent. |
| Bradford City | Build a promotion project around a club with a sizable-city identity and a long climb back toward the top tiers. | A rebuild with room to set your own timetable. |
The final three are additional suggestions rather than recommendations supported by the cited FM24 club guide; their database positions and squads should be checked in-game before you commit. The table is a choice aid, not a ranking.
Plymouth Argyle: survive first, then grow
The launch-period FM24 guide places Plymouth in the Championship and frames the opening task as avoiding relegation before aiming higher. That makes it a natural choice if you want the pressure of managing in a demanding division without beginning at a promotion favourite. The guide also identifies Ryan Hardie as a potential goalscoring asset in its FM24 squad context; treat that as an edition-era observation, not a current squad assessment.
Rank #2
- An advanced strategy board game for 1 to 4 players.
- Become the manager of a soccer club and lead it to victory.
- A Multi-layered business simulation in the world of sport.
- Acquire and train players, hire doctors, trainers, and other sports professionals then develop your stadium, attract sponsors, and play matches against other teams.
- Several paths to victory.
Preston North End: make history the destination
Preston’s appeal is the gap between its early Football League dominance and the ambition of returning to the top division in the Premier League era. The FM24 guide names Will Keane, Ali McCann, and Mads Frøkjær-Jensen in its squad discussion. Those are launch-era roster references, so check the database version you use for the actual squad.
Notts County: take a founder-era club back up
The club guide describes Notts County as formed in 1864, a Football League founder member, and back in League Two after returning from non-league football. In the 2023–24 context, it points to Macauley Langstaff and a potential promotion or play-off challenge. The appeal is a lower-league climb anchored in history, not a claim that promotion is guaranteed or easy.
Tranmere Rovers: build around the Merseyside story
Tranmere offers a local narrative: the guide pitches the prospect of taking a third Merseyside club upward and describes the club as well supported despite being outside the top flight. It also says Tranmere had never played Liverpool or Everton in a league match at the time the guide was published. That is a time-specific historical claim, not a statement about what may happen after publication.
Port Vale: make patience part of the challenge
The guide presents Port Vale as an underdog with an unusually long Football League history and a background of financial difficulties. It claims Vale had spent more seasons in the Football League than any other club without reaching the top flight; that specific record should be treated as the guide’s claim rather than an independently verified ranking. The resulting save idea is a gradual rebuild, where progress may matter more than a quick promotion.
Bolton Wanderers, Wrexham, and Bradford City: three extra editorial picks
These additional options round out the list but are not among the five club profiles specifically supported by the launch-period guide. Their starting divisions, squads, and save difficulty depend on the FM24 database selected, so use the in-game club and competition information to validate your preferred setup. They are best treated as starting points for a save idea, not as a sourced assessment of their budgets or squad quality.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which type of save should you start?
- For an immediate survival test: Plymouth Argyle’s Championship framing makes staying up the first objective.
- For a history-led revival: Preston North End or Notts County gives the save a clear historical destination.
- For a local rivalry narrative: Tranmere Rovers puts the Merseyside angle at the center.
- For a slower underdog rebuild: Port Vale’s profile emphasizes patience and financial context.
- For a longer climb: Consider a lower-division club in your chosen database, then verify its starting tier before setting targets.
Guides to FM24 saves often make the same useful distinction between a compelling story and simply choosing the biggest balance. PCGamesN, for example, frames save ideas around unusual situations and challenges; its Luton Town example is a survival story, though Luton began FM24 in the Premier League and is not an EFL shortlist pick. See PCGamesN’s FM24 team guide for that comparison.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Best Value
- Write your football history as you enter the coach bench of the world's biggest clubs
- Use the most popular and modern approaches of modern football or develop your own winning philosophy
- Make important game-crucial tweaks as you watch your players fight for three points on game days
- Battle in one of the three online modes - Versus, Fantasy Draft and Online Career - to compete against their friends
What the EFL’s FM24 figure does—and doesn’t—tell you
The English Football League said in a partnership announcement dated 24 September 2025 that more than 8.6 million unique careers with EFL sides had been started in FM24, a 473% increase on FM23. This is a count of careers started, not players or game copies sold, and it says nothing about which club makes the best save. Read the EFL announcement for the figure and its context.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
