Football Manager 2024: What EFL Or Non-League Clubs Should You Manage?

With the release of Football Manager 2024, the latest edition of the football management game/lifestyle, many players old and new will be looking for clubs to lead to glory.

But where to start? There are so many! In England alone, there are 164 playable teams from the Premier League down to the Vanarama National League North/South.

To help make your decision, I’ve rounded up a few teams from the football league pyramid that might make for an interesting save.

How many can you bring to the top of English football, and maybe even Europe?

Championship: Sunderland

Is it time for Sunderland to reach the promised land of the Premier League once again? We’ve all seen Sunderland ‘Till I Die, we know it won’t be easy.

FM24 predicts Sunderland to finish 7th in the Championship this season so the play-offs are a possibility, could you do it better? With a starting transfer budget of £7m, you’ve certainly been backed well by the owners.

While Jude Bellingham is off lighting up La Liga, you’ll have the chance to mould his brother, Jobe, into a true Sunderland legend.

This isn’t one of the hardest save ideas on this list, but the demands of the club and fans have seen many capable managers fail before. Can you break the cycle and deliver Premier League football at the Stadium of Light for the first time since 2017?

League One: Wigan

This could be the hardest save idea on this list…mainly because you immediately have to overcome a deficit of -8 points due to the ‘financial mismanagement’ of the club in recent years.

Because of the financial issues at the club, you’ll only have a transfer budget of £50k to improve the diminished squad. Will you choose to cash in on some youth prospects to increase your budget or is it a case of ‘trust the kids’?

Use your wage budget wisely, get in some experienced free agents and you might be in for a good season, FM24 predicts you could make it as high as 17th. But how far can you take The Latics? Will Premier League football return to the DW Stadium, or does League Two beckon?

League Two: Bradford City

You might be tempted by the money of Wrexham, or the potential of MK Dons, but the true challenge of League Two is finally getting Bradford out of the division.

The club has been in the league since 2019 and hasn’t played Championship football since 2004. Similarly to Sunderland, so many experienced managers have tried (and failed) to bring the glory days back to Valley Parade (aka The University of Bradford Stadium), but unlike Sunderland, Bradford have made little progress in improving.

FM24 thinks this year could be the year as it predicts Bradford to finish 5th, easily in the play-off spots, can you take the final step and get them promoted?

You’ll have to do it on a shoestring budget as, despite attendances being around 25,000, you’ll only have £10k to spend (less than Accrington Stanley, Walsall and Colchester). Good luck!

Vanarama National League: Oldham Athletic

Maybe an easier save for the Vanarama National League. Oldham!

While they have had a lot of trouble in recent years, they’ve basically been in a downward spiral for 20 years, a VNL reset might be just the tonic.

They have the second biggest budget in the league with a whopping £150k (behind only Chesterfield on £200k) and a big squad to work with. Will you ship out some older players and hunt down ex-Premier League youth players? Or will you rely on experience to see you back into the EFL?

Either way, should you get promotion (FM24 thinks you’ll finish 2nd) there will be nothing more satisfying than bringing an end to the decline and reviving what some would describe as a ‘sleeping giant’.

Vanarama National League North: Scunthorpe United

Another club that’s fallen from grace (there’s a theme to this list, can you tell?) is Scunthorpe but this club won’t be as easy to revive.

With a budget of just £1 and a bank balance of -£15k you’ll have to battle your own finances as well as some touch opposition in the lowest tear of professional English football.

Can you do it? Can you take Scunthorpe back to the EFL for the first time since the 21/22 season? It will be a tough ask but it’ll be even more rewarding when you do it. And if you can’t, at least you have a good excuse to tell your next club…

Vanarama National League South: Aveley

You could be forgiven for not knowing who on earth Aveley are. And you’d be right to not know, this is their first season in the Vanarama National League South.

They have no transfer budget, basic youth and training facilities and are predicted to finish 22nd in the league (but in real life they’re currently flying high in 2nd). Things couldn’t get much tougher.

You’ll have to overcome all of this to try and improve Aveley’s already incredible position and set them up to challenge at the top half of the league and push for the promotion to the VNL.

This would be a true Non-League to Premier League save if you could manage it, and certainly something to brag to your friends about…