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How to choose a club in FM23
“Best” can mean the strongest squad or biggest budget, but it can also mean a compelling challenge. A separate Gamepur guide used factors such as squad quality, transfer budget, positional strength and youth potential, illustrating why no single list is definitive. These five picks are better read as save archetypes: choose by starting resources, rebuild difficulty, youth-development focus and the competitive ceiling you want to pursue.
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| Club | FM23 transfer budget in PCGamesN’s 2022 guide | Save focus |
|---|---|---|
| Dorking Wanderers | £15,000 | Climb the English tiers with loans and free transfers |
| RB Salzburg | £6,034,912 | Develop and retain talent while pursuing European success |
| Hamburger SV | £2,586,390 | Earn promotion, then restore a major club under financial limits |
| Coventry City | £0 | Build through the youth system and decide whether to sell key players |
| Panathinaikos | £431,065 | Reclaim domestic stature with targeted recruitment |
Budgets are the figures PCGamesN reported for its FM23 launch-era setup; they are not current club finances. The guide’s player references and club circumstances are likewise historical game-state details.
1. Dorking Wanderers: take on the longest climb
Choose Dorking for a save built around steady progress rather than an immediate shot at silverware. In PCGamesN’s FM23 snapshot, the club had a £15,000 transfer budget and £12,950 per week for wages, with £750 per week still available. The route to the Premier League is deliberately long, and the guide’s suggested approach is to lean on loans and free transfers rather than expect a large budget to solve squad needs.
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#1 Best Overall
Why this save works
- Starting resources: A modest budget makes recruitment a constraint from the outset.
- Rebuild difficulty: You must improve the team while climbing the English tiers, where each step forward is part of the challenge.
- Development approach: Loans and free agents are central to the guide’s suggested strategy.
- Competitive ceiling: The long-term ambition is reaching the Premier League.
PCGamesN named striker James McShane as an option in its period-specific squad assessment. Treat that as a reference to the FM23 setup, not a current roster recommendation.
2. RB Salzburg: develop talent and aim for Europe
Salzburg suits managers who want strong domestic prospects but do not want the save to end with domestic success. PCGamesN described the club as a talent factory and listed a £6,034,912 transfer budget in its FM23 guide. The central tension is keeping ambitious players long enough to build toward European success, even as larger clubs and individual career plans pull them away.
Rank #2
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Why this save works
- Starting resources: The guide’s budget gives Salzburg more room to operate than the lower-budget rebuilds on this list.
- Rebuild difficulty: The challenge is less about starting from nothing than managing player departures and sustaining progress.
- Development approach: Build around emerging talent while planning for the possibility that standout players will leave.
- Competitive ceiling: Dominate domestically, then test the team against Europe’s strongest clubs.
The guide highlighted Oumar Solet, Noah Okafor and Roko Simic, and noted that Benjamin Šeško had a move to RB Leipzig arranged for the end of the first season in that game setup. These are FM23-era details, not claims about the players’ present-day clubs or status.
3. Hamburger SV: earn promotion and revive a sleeping giant
Hamburger SV is a good choice if you want a clear first milestone followed by a more open-ended rebuild. In the 2022 guide’s FM23 context, Hamburg were in the 2. Bundesliga; promotion was only the first task, with restoring the club’s standing under tight finances the larger project. PCGamesN listed a £2,586,390 transfer budget and pointed to the club’s large fanbase and stadium as part of its sleeping-giant appeal.
Why this save works
- Starting resources: The budget provides room to work, but the guide frames finances as a constraint rather than a blank cheque.
- Rebuild difficulty: You need to secure promotion before tackling the longer-term restoration.
- Development approach: Make progress within financial limits rather than assuming promotion alone fixes the squad.
- Competitive ceiling: Re-establish Hamburg as a major force after returning to the top flight.
Mario Vuskovic and Robert Glatzel were among the leading players named in PCGamesN’s FM23-era assessment. Their inclusion reflects the game snapshot covered by that guide.
4. Coventry City: make youth development the foundation
Coventry is the most direct youth-first save on this list. PCGamesN reported a zero transfer budget in its FM23 setup and said the board expected the manager to develop players through the club’s youth system. With no transfer funds to begin with, the challenge is deciding how to improve the side while weighing the value of keeping established talents against the money their sales could bring.
Rank #4
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Why this save works
- Starting resources: The guide listed £0 for transfers.
- Rebuild difficulty: You have to build without a transfer budget and make hard choices about the players already in the squad.
- Development approach: The board’s stated expectation makes youth development central to the save.
- Competitive ceiling: Build a stronger team over time, balancing youth progress with the possibility of selling valuable players.
PCGamesN identified Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare and Viktor Gyökeres as key talents in that FM23 setup, and said selling them could provide £25 million or more. That was an estimate for the game-era save described by the guide, not a guaranteed sale value or present-day assessment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Panathinaikos: restore domestic stature
Panathinaikos offers a rebuild at a historically significant club, with the immediate aim of closing the gap to domestic rival Olympiacos. PCGamesN described the club as a giant going through a difficult period. In the guide’s 2022 context, Panathinaikos had finished fourth in the prior season, qualified for the Europa Conference League and had not won the Greek league since 2010. The guide also noted the club’s 1971 European Cup final appearance.
Best Value
Why this save works
- Starting resources: The FM23 snapshot listed a £431,065 transfer budget and a £256,898 weekly wage budget.
- Rebuild difficulty: PCGamesN described an ageing, unbalanced squad, making recruitment choices important.
- Development approach: The proposed route is targeted signings rather than a wholesale rebuild.
- Competitive ceiling: Try to displace Olympiacos and return Panathinaikos to domestic prominence.
The season results, competition qualification, trophy history and squad assessment above are presented in the guide’s 2022 context. They should not be read as statements about the club’s current position.
Which FM23 save should you pick?
Match the club to the kind of problem you want to solve:
- For a steep, long-term climb: Dorking Wanderers, where loans and free transfers support a journey through the English tiers.
- For a talent pipeline and European ambition: RB Salzburg, where keeping players can be as challenging as developing them.
- For promotion followed by restoration: Hamburger SV, with a clear initial target and a bigger rebuild beyond it.
- For a youth-first project: Coventry City, where the transfer budget is zero in the cited FM23 setup.
- For a domestic comeback at a historic club: Panathinaikos, where targeted recruitment is part of the attempt to reclaim stature.
FM23 edition context
Football Manager 2023 was released in multiple editions, so platform features and club availability can vary. In its 2022 announcement, the publisher said FM23 Console launched on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass from November 8 and made its PS5 debut. The announcement described Console features including recruitment focuses, team talks, a dynamic manager timeline and accessibility options, and counted more than 2,000 clubs across 53 nations for that edition: Football Manager 2023 Console – New Features revealed.
For licensing, the publisher’s FM23 page identifies UEFA club competitions introduced for that edition: the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, Super Cup and Youth League. Its licensing information applies to the editions and competitions it lists; it should not be generalized to every club or competition: Football Manager 2023 Licences.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsSources for the club profiles are PCGamesN’s guide, updated November 8, 2022 (The best teams to manage in Football Manager 2023), and Gamepur’s guide, published November 6, 2022 (The best teams to manage in Football Manager 2023). Their budgets and squad references describe the FM23-era game state discussed in those articles.
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