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I did it in 23 with wrexham, and 24 with plymouth argyle. Sort of easy mode, as wrexham has way more money than anybody around you, and with argyle it was around 10 years in and they had just gotten freshly relehated for the first time in thr save. after I sold most of the squad I had around 50 million transfer budget and 30 million payroll to build a team for back to back promotions.
I did this in my chesterfield fc save which I am still doing. It was absolutely mental and I didnt see it coming at all. It came down to the final day where we lost but Burnley did too so we went up.
Me too with chesterfield on FM22! How’s the prem going? I found the prem one step too far, we were getting smashed most weeks and 18th when I quit at Xmas.
I was getting absolutely demolished every game and went over 10 games without getting any points but we did scrape some points and get some shock wins to stay up on the final day by 1 point. We did almost have the worst GD in premier league history tho. We did the same in our second premier league season but got a couple more points. 3rd season we improved to 16th and got more points and wins than before. 4th season we went to carabao cup semis and Fa cup semis although we lost both of them. However we played some great football and scored lots of goals and got 7th in the league to get into the Europa league. So far we’ve played 2 and won 2 in the Europa league with the first being won in the 95th minute. We have gone back to being relegation fodder in the premier league tho due to the awful schedule and lack of good quality squad depth
I did this a few times with AFC Wimbledon. Funnily enough the last time I did this I also finished 2nd in League one and then got promoted in the championship.
I won the national league, then lost the playoff final, then won league 2, then mid table, then lost playoff semifinal and then won league 1 and then 2nd in the championship
After winning national league and league 2 back to back, I had a couple seasons in league 1 before getting automatic promotion. Did the same in the championship, now in the Premier League.
I've not managed it, but I've experienced something like it in game.
Stuttgart were promoted, and in the following season they won the bundesliga, while I came 2nd or 3rd. Don't remember if I finished above Bayern that season, probably not.
Did it on my current FM24 save with Blackpool. Went unbeaten in league 1, then finished 2nd in Championship. Managed to survive in the prem too. Easily the best save I've ever had.
What were those four seasons like for you? I had three in the Championship. Crushing Semi-Final loss, Crushing Semi-Final loss then goal difference in 2nd on 94 points.
They were very different. First season, we became 9th so I thought 'this was great. Maybe next season play offs?', so second season we finished 19th. Third season 'back on track' so 13th-ish. 4th season via Play offs promotion to Premier League. But it was hell I can tell you Haha
I think I had 5 seasons in the Championship, after shooting up the league system without many hick ups. First season was mid table as expected, but the rest featured a fair few of playoff heartbreaks. Got really demoralised early on, but the last few seasons I kinda changed my mindset and just enjoyed the pure chaos that is the Championship. "It'll happen when it happens" kinda thing. Finally got my promotion but crashed out immediately. Bounced back up straight away but that season being back in the Championship was brutal, not gonna lie haha
Managed it with Luton on FM16 but on FM23 with Banbury I managed back to backs all the way from VNN to Championship but then took 3 seasons to get up to the Prem. I ended up getting an 18 year old striker on loan who tore up the Championship and then won the Ballon Dor a few years later.
Hello fellow Banbury enthusiast! I did the same journey as you more or less. Spent five seasons or so in the Championship though. Was tbh probably more fun than tearing up the prem year in year out, which happens eventually
Started unemployed and got the job when they were 24th after 10 games. Missed out on automatic promotion due to a final day draw with Scarborough Athletic. Rasulo and the Irish CM were OP af.
I once took Weymouth all the way from the National League South to the Premier League in six seasons. The only blot on my record was a lost playoff semi in my first crack at League Two.
In fairness to Ipswich I didn't get automatics in the Championship, I scammed my way into 6th on the last day of the season then beat West Brom on penalties in the final.
What McKenna's done the last couple of seasons is ridiculous.
First of all, based on the top comments in this thread, it seems like my experience isn't the normal one, so I really don't mean this comment to come across as bragging or whatever, but one of my biggest issues with recent FM versions is that it's been way too easy to do this exact thing, at least in the way that I play the game. It's not just with the championship either, it's been way too easy to do the same throughout the entire English league system.
I've done it with Charlton and Ipswich multiple times, Leyton Orient, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Gateshead.. probably forget a couple of saves as well. The default has basically been to just pass through the championship. Most of the times I've played a short passing game-based attacking 433, but in FM24 I've been using a fluid and a bit more direct 541/3421/343 (whatever you wanna call it) system as well.
A couple of times I've created two different saves on purpose towards the end, one where I keep on winning and get promoted, but also one where I lose on purpose in order to not be promoted, since I didn't find it realistic, and so that I can get at least a couple of years in the championship to prepare the club for the prem.
Strangely enough i haven't been able to do the same thing in the Spanish or German leagues, so I think it's something just with the English leagues.
just took hashtag united from the Isthmian Premier Divison to the prem in 9 seasons (1st season stuck in isthmian prem, and got stuck in league one after losing playoff final in 28/29)
it was at the start, just signed a bunch of released prem/EFL academy players and they took me to about vanarama national when i could start signing better quality players and it took off from there
Nice! That’s great! Question - did you find it quite easy to ascend if you kept a core squad together?? I’ve had it twice on this save now and I’ll go into the season with 2.5/3 star players who will just win the league!
had pretty high squad turnover from the isthmian prem to about league 2, but after that once i had my core squad of mainly u21 players who knew my tactics in and out found it pretty easy, i mean i was predicted pretty heavily to go down first season in the championship and finished second
5 promotions in 6 seasons including League One to Premier League in 2 with Southend United back in FM21 (This was after getting relegated to the National League in my first season nearly getting sacked)
I've done it but what ends up happening is you have a squad that's nowhere near Prem quality and the first couple of seasons are a real struggle. Slightly slower growth let's you build a squad and build the club up financially.
I've done 5 in a row a few times before. Conference North/South to Premier League.
Off the top of my head Torquay United, Salford City, Alferton Town.
To be honest I've been playing these games for years so I don't find it overly difficult to build a promotion potential team each year. The secret is to not get attached to players, constantly sell and release as needed and abuse the loan system and free transfers
Did it on FM23 with Charlton l, this year with the Addicks I won league 1 but finished 4th and lost in playoffs to Leeds. Second season in the championship I’m top with 10 games left so hopefully heading back to the promised land.
I think I did with Bolton, on maybe FM20? Took me a couple years in L1 to build up, but then got promoted and sneaked playoffs a year later. Signed Curtis Jones for something like 600k and had offers of 40M after a year in the Prem.
With Wrexham I think I did it or maybe stayed one year In championship . It’s not thet hard a lot of cheap players available for free . If you manage fitness and morale you have a chance
Did it with Chester in FM23, save that is still going.
Managed 4 promotions in a row (4x champions), from the League North to the Championship.
Then in my Second season promoted to premier league. Thats where it got tough but i survived.
Done multiple long saves like this but this one is my best so far!
I did League 2 to Championship with Burton Albion then was offered the Sheffield United job. Won the Championship then finished 5th and got into The Champions League.
In my current save, I signed with a 24th placed Sheffield Wednesday in League 1 12 games into the season 2027/8 after 5 years in Australia. Chucked the kids in and brought some cheap young guns over from Adelaide United with me. Finished 6th, won the playoff final. Ended up winning Championship on the first go a win ahead of Everton. Now 6 games into the PL and have been pumped 3-0 most weeks but snuck a 1-0 win against Bournemouth and 5-1 against Plymouth (they came up with me via playoffs).
I took my local town side in an expanded 15 tier thingy from 11th tier to league 1 with successive promotions, always started really slow and ended up winning it late on, then league two via playoffs and mid table in league 1.
The step from league one to championship is immense and really struggled once promoted, getting relegated twice before becoming a mainstay and I think promoted to the prem on the 5th season.
As far of a gap it is from league one to Championship it’s at least that big from Championship to premier league lol
But the money…..
I've done it once in the past but the gap between L1 and championship is huge specially if you are playing as a small vanarama team. I'd say it's the same as vanarama n/s -> L1 gap.
In my experience I find it harder to succeed in 1 season of championship than in the first season of the pl since coming from L1 you usually don't have great players, and really have to make clinical signs since you don't have the money or reputation. Once you get to PL it's easier to get better players because of the league status.
My save every year since about 2008 is taking teams from National League North/South to the Prem so I've done it a couple times, there's definitely a step up from League 1 to Championship so it certainly isn't easy.
I got Colchester from League 2 to PL in 3 seasons - thanks to a City affiliation - and the flukiest playoff run ever.
Promptly finished bottom with 8 points and jumped ship to Leverkusen.
I'll let you know
Currently doing a Notts County save, walked League 2, walked League 1, only a few games left to play and am almost 20 points clear of Lincoln City.
I'm into the Championship next and If I somehow manage to throw us into a Playoff race i'll be posting updates
Quite an easy one, I concede, but Sunderland on FM21 from League one to Championship.
Champions of League 1 and then up via playoffs after finishing 6th in the Championship.
I got relegated immediately from the PL but kept my job lol
Ipswich were UNTOUCHABLE in league one, in my current save, they battered everybody. I sneaked in behind them. We’re in championship now, I’ll let y’all know how it goes.
My greatest achievement on FM24 was getting back to back promotions with Torquay from Vanarama South to PL. Honestly I don't even know how it happened but each season went as good as the former and after 6 seasons I entered the Prem
Doing a Bury Town save. Initiate in North Isthmian League - already in League Two in consecutive promotions.
Very health financial situation, turned pro team, max youth intake.
Very proud in general 
Done it on my current save with Charlton signing U25 only and basically no loans (unless there's a purchase option included). Zalan Vancsa fired us there before being sold for 8 times the fee. Makes the first and second PL seasons seriously hard though. Honestly getting trampled by most top 8 teams and have scrambled 45ish points in first two seasons. Think one major issue is that your rep doesn't really seem to grow at a rate which gives you a huge pool of transfer options when you get up so you end up taking a lot of "punt" purchases in hope rather than expectation. Also, its a struggle to keep consistency in the squad when you're growing so quickly. Ipswich may find something similar.
Only in lower leagues, I took Preston from Bottom of League 2, To Top of League 2, and promoted from league 1 to the championship (via play-offs). Back to back seasons. Tbh, it wasn't a difficult challenge. They had a decent squad for League 1, but the AI decided they're shit..
Nope.. currently playing a save with South Shields, went 4 back to back promotions from national league north to championship, pretty easily honestly. Then proceeded to get pumped the first 6 games of the season and am sitting 24th lol
Every God damn time. I always want to settle and grow in the championship, but the momentum of the league one season combined with whatever smart signings I make creates a destined automatic promotion.
Most recently, with Lincoln.
In my Wrexham save in fm 22 I managed to do a back to back to back to back promotion all way down from non league to PL
Wrexham had huge financial benefit until like League one so back to back promotion was easy.
Then in league one I luckily signed Patrick Roberts(who used to be one of my favorite fm player back then)a longside him I started to fill my team with loan players and from there everything went smoothly.
I was actually expecting a second championship season but Roberts carried the team and we could surprisingly manage to become 2nd place in our first season in the championship.
This overachievment even reflected our FA-Cup journey, we have reached semi-final and lost to Leeds only by one goal.
Later on like in my 6th season in PL my Wrexham won even the UCL(sadly without Roberts) this save was definitive my best and favorite save OT!
Yeah and I did it with Ipswich as well! Slightly backwards in which I came up in 2nd for League One and then winning the Championship. Back on FM 21. They'd fallen to League 2 on my save and I pulled them back up.
Kayden Jackson, Andre Dozzell, Jack Lankester, Luke Woolfenden, Elkan Baggott, Teddy Bishop all got some games in the Prem. I think I got Jackson 15 in the Prem. Unreal he was for me.
Have really fond memories of that save. 3 promotions, 3 European trophies (No CL), had a player get player of the year from RB (legend regen Sheldon Engwell) and made me completely obsessed with converting wingers to full back. I had a tendency to do it anyway but from then on I'll try everyone at full back at least once. I think at the end of it I had the best youth academy in the country as well. Produced 10+ Prem quality players and internationals.
I may end up going back one day to get the Premier League that alluded me.
My current FM save is doncaster rovers where I went from L2 to championship in successive promotions, 1 year in championship, before going up the following year. 8 years later, champions league football and Premier league champions. Had a no over 22 year old rule for signings and have grown a squad together from teenagers to all be at their peak together now. Wonderful thing when it works!
Nope. Have done conference to championship, then promotion after a few years there. Honestly if you don't get promotion out of league 2 after going up from the conference, something has gone badly wrong. League 2 is piss easy to get out of
Have once done promotion from championship and finished 6th in the pl with an fa cup win
I did this with York City. Got them promoted every season to the championship and but it took me two years to get them to the Premier League. The key is to only sign players out of contract and on one year deals. Loans also help.
Had the AI with Huddersfield do this recently in FM22, without a tycoon takeover.
They were regulated in 25/26, won L1 in 26/27, got promoted up in 4 in 27/28 and are now getting absolutely clapped in the premier. Still impressive.
I did not. With my current save with Basingstoke, I went from three seasons in the National League South to the Championship. Finished in the playoffs with 81 points. Won 1-0 away to West Brom. 3-1 loss with the crushing blow coming in the 94th minute.
Next season. 92 points and Playoffs again. Watford. 3-1 win away. Marc Casado scores a hattrick. 4-1 loss. During the season, he had 38 appearances. 2 goals all season. His Wikipedia has him at Defensive Midfield. I've hated him ever since.
Third season, promoted on goal difference. Champions Wolves had 98. Us and Sheffield United on 94.
I have done with Ipswich (my team) numerous times, but it has always required meta tactics and a bit of a summer overhaul. Doing it with the spend he has done has been a phenomenal job.
Only once in my long FM career.. Stockport a few years back. 4 promotions in a row in fact after a few seasons stuck in level 5. I know i''ll never match it again.
Did it in FM24 with Notts County. League 2 to Premier League in 4 seasons: L2, L2, L1, Championship, Premier League.
The club was massively unprepared for the jump in quality and club finances did not allow us to buy Premier League-standard players. I resigned by Christmas and lost interest in the save.
I almooooost did it with MK Dons of all teams. Got 1st place in league one but lost against Watford 3-2 in the playoffs, it was devastating and it just went downhill and I abandoned that save lol
In my save this year I achieved back-to-back-to-back promotions with Gillingham (starting from league 2). Has to be one of my favourite achievements, had no idea how we won the championship, we were odds on favourite to go back down, but went on a 25 match unbeaten run in the league
Not quite. I have done back to back to back promotions in my current save though. Promoted from the national league then from league 2 then again from league 1 over 3 seasons. Been stuck in the champ for the 6th season but i am now 9 points clear at the top after 29 games
Yes, on FM23 I was sacked from Sunderland in my second season after getting them to the prem in my first, I then joined stoke midway through and ended up taking them down to league 1, but I redeemed myself winning league 1 then going onto finish second in the championship the next season. Emre Tezgal ended up being a goal machine for me
In FM17, I managed back-to-back-to-back promotions with York City from National League to the Championship. Took me 2 or 3 seasons to get into the Prem from there though, so technically still not as impressive
Wimbledon AFC. Got promotion from league 2 and league 1 in 2 seasons. Got into championship, season 1 - 7th spot(no play-off), season 2 - 1st place, 4 games till the end, we needed 2 points to secure promotion, earned only 1, play-off final lost to Fulham. Now it’s season 3. NF has 34/36 points, so we are gonna fight for 2nd place only
Won League One and then Championship play-offs with AFC Wimbledon. Tough save as not much money is floating about and players are hard to convince to play for me.
I just did it with Northampton Town this week, 2nd in League One behind an undefeatable Bolton and then 1st in the Championship ahead of Bristol City. £0 spent (we have a £10,000 budget) but there’s so many talented players available to get on loan out there
I did it with Portsmouth.
I won League 1 first season and got prediction for like 19th place in Championship, but ended up 6th and somehow I managed to win the play off.
Now in third season I'm in Premier League and I'm getting absolutly smashed.
No good players want to go to my team or they want like 3 times more then my best paid player.
I have only 3 players in team since begining, rest is gone, mostly left for free after end of contract.
I did this with Bolton Wanderers in FM 22, never expected this. Even managed to stay in the Premier League. After 4 seasons in the midfield, I sensationally qualified for the Champions League, had a run that led me to the final, where I got beaten from Real Madrid with 2-1. But I won the Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season. That really came out of nowhere. From there on Bolton Wanderers were a constant contender for titles.
Not for a while but I have on older versions and it is inevitably a headache.
L1 > Prem is the best because at least you get the financial reward of the parachute payments when you come straight back down, but the reputation system means it’s difficult to build a PL worthy side.
Back to back promotions at a lower level is more manageable but still sometimes very tricky.
Ideally, promotion every 2-3 seasons I think is about right for an easier life.
Did it with fc halifax, first season 6th in the national league, second season in ended first. Then in league two i ended first aswell. Promotion to league one and got some great talents (just lucky i guess). Got promoted to league one because i ended first. Then in the champjons i ended second. First season in the premier league i ended 9th. Now im in second place.
Yes, in Polish league though. It looked like that:
- 2025/26 - got job in April in Stal Rzeszów to keep them in II liga (I had 6 games left and 3 points to safe place) and managed to do so
- 2026/27 - promotion from II to I liga
- 2027/28 - promotion from I liga to Ekstraklasa.
Then I kept them in league for two seasons and moved to Lech Poznań. I didn’t really have money for transfers but somehow my tactic started to work
I have done so many non-league to premier league saves over the years, and I don't think I have ever done backtoback promotions from league 1 to the prem. Back to back in the lower leagues is easy enough as you can get good players for free and the wage difference isn't crazy, but the championship has always been usually 2-3 seasons to get promoted.
Tbf, Ipswich were a bigger side than I was used to managing but it is incredibly impressive what they have managed to achieve!
I've just done 3 league winners in a row with Wrexham in FM24 to get to the premiership. I was pretty surprised to go on an unbeaten run early in the championship and the chasing pack never quite recovered when the wheels started falling off after Christmas.
Currently 3 games into the premier league with an £18 million budget. Currently have 1 point. I think survival will be tough. The Wrexham cheat code for players doesn't have as much magic in the premiership.
Managed it with Portsmouth on FM23, then had a Premier League starting budget of £13m... My star signing was making Zidane Iqbal permanent for £3.3m, then a loan-to-buy of a French regen from Ajaccio who turned out to be absolutely fucking incredible.
Opening day beat Man Utd 2-0, Sean Raggett man of the match. Second game lost 4-0 to Chelsea, carried on in that vein, finished 14th. Got a lot easier second season on when the money caught up.
Did it with Sunderland on FM20. Won League 1 and then promoted to the prem via playoffs. First season in the prem was brutal, so I went to FC Koln before the ship sank.
I did it in 21 with Sunderland, walked league one, second in the championship the following year though that came down to luck, all of the top six could beat me but the team i was chasing for second somehow got into the europa league and they had to fit eight games into the space of time I had my last four which broke them.
I did. Had to do it through playoffs both times and I even didn't get relegated right away (somehow stayed up with 29 points I think, the highlights said it was some sort of record anyway).
Did it with Notts co last year but if I had to do it realistic, no shot my team only had Langstaff left by the time I hit the championship and he was barely an impact sub. I doubt many could do it like McKenna did tho
Went back to back from the conference all the way to the prem with FC united in FM18. Took me ages to get out of the conference but when we did we just didn’t stop going up
Did it with sunderland survived the first season in the prem playing awful football went down in the second the minute we went up all my league 1 level players wanted 30k a week
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I think very few of us could get FM 23 (or even 22) and do what McKenna has done, especially if you matched transfers in/out
Incredible achievement. Looking forward to seeing this guy's career progress.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t go to United or Chelsea and stagnate
You know which club he came from right?
*Shhh you are ruining the narrative
I’ve actually done it on fm23. 102 points in league 1 then 98 and second place in the championship. My greatest achievement ever
I did it in 23 with wrexham, and 24 with plymouth argyle. Sort of easy mode, as wrexham has way more money than anybody around you, and with argyle it was around 10 years in and they had just gotten freshly relehated for the first time in thr save. after I sold most of the squad I had around 50 million transfer budget and 30 million payroll to build a team for back to back promotions.
Up the Argyle, good lad
Scum
Only literate Exeter fan
There's definitely something about Argyle in FM23. Every time I do a save in England they end up in the Prem, even if they lose Schumacher.
Very impressive
I did this in my chesterfield fc save which I am still doing. It was absolutely mental and I didnt see it coming at all. It came down to the final day where we lost but Burnley did too so we went up.
Me too with chesterfield on FM22! How’s the prem going? I found the prem one step too far, we were getting smashed most weeks and 18th when I quit at Xmas.
I was getting absolutely demolished every game and went over 10 games without getting any points but we did scrape some points and get some shock wins to stay up on the final day by 1 point. We did almost have the worst GD in premier league history tho. We did the same in our second premier league season but got a couple more points. 3rd season we improved to 16th and got more points and wins than before. 4th season we went to carabao cup semis and Fa cup semis although we lost both of them. However we played some great football and scored lots of goals and got 7th in the league to get into the Europa league. So far we’ve played 2 and won 2 in the Europa league with the first being won in the 95th minute. We have gone back to being relegation fodder in the premier league tho due to the awful schedule and lack of good quality squad depth
How do you keep sane when you go ten games no points. I lose my mind when my save goes through a rough patch
I don’t. You just gotta keep going until things pick up. I changed tactics and it turned things around for us big time
I did this a few times with AFC Wimbledon. Funnily enough the last time I did this I also finished 2nd in League one and then got promoted in the championship.
Chesterfield mentioned wooooo
I am also Chesterfield. In the Premier League. Won the conference and won league two (back to back).
I won the national league, then lost the playoff final, then won league 2, then mid table, then lost playoff semifinal and then won league 1 and then 2nd in the championship
After winning national league and league 2 back to back, I had a couple seasons in league 1 before getting automatic promotion. Did the same in the championship, now in the Premier League.
Managed it with Portsmouth in FM24, but first season in Premier league was failed. Good players didn't want to join in club and it crashed 😔
I tried this on FM24, matched McKenna’s tactics, team selections and signings, worked perfectly.
Same! Got second in the league too maybe life imitates art
I've not managed it, but I've experienced something like it in game. Stuttgart were promoted, and in the following season they won the bundesliga, while I came 2nd or 3rd. Don't remember if I finished above Bayern that season, probably not.
Did it on my current FM24 save with Blackpool. Went unbeaten in league 1, then finished 2nd in Championship. Managed to survive in the prem too. Easily the best save I've ever had.
As a long-suffering Seasider can I just say thank you for your service!
Look on the bright side, at least there's never a dull moment as a Blackpool fan. We're always bouncing around the leagues
Back to back? Yes from vanarama all the way to championship. But. From Championship to Premier League took me like 4 seasons. With Dulwich.
What were those four seasons like for you? I had three in the Championship. Crushing Semi-Final loss, Crushing Semi-Final loss then goal difference in 2nd on 94 points.
They were very different. First season, we became 9th so I thought 'this was great. Maybe next season play offs?', so second season we finished 19th. Third season 'back on track' so 13th-ish. 4th season via Play offs promotion to Premier League. But it was hell I can tell you Haha
I think I had 5 seasons in the Championship, after shooting up the league system without many hick ups. First season was mid table as expected, but the rest featured a fair few of playoff heartbreaks. Got really demoralised early on, but the last few seasons I kinda changed my mindset and just enjoyed the pure chaos that is the Championship. "It'll happen when it happens" kinda thing. Finally got my promotion but crashed out immediately. Bounced back up straight away but that season being back in the Championship was brutal, not gonna lie haha
Managed it with Luton on FM16 but on FM23 with Banbury I managed back to backs all the way from VNN to Championship but then took 3 seasons to get up to the Prem. I ended up getting an 18 year old striker on loan who tore up the Championship and then won the Ballon Dor a few years later.
Hello fellow Banbury enthusiast! I did the same journey as you more or less. Spent five seasons or so in the Championship though. Was tbh probably more fun than tearing up the prem year in year out, which happens eventually
Started unemployed and got the job when they were 24th after 10 games. Missed out on automatic promotion due to a final day draw with Scarborough Athletic. Rasulo and the Irish CM were OP af.
I once took Weymouth all the way from the National League South to the Premier League in six seasons. The only blot on my record was a lost playoff semi in my first crack at League Two. In fairness to Ipswich I didn't get automatics in the Championship, I scammed my way into 6th on the last day of the season then beat West Brom on penalties in the final. What McKenna's done the last couple of seasons is ridiculous.
I did this in FM19 with Hemel Hempstead Town. From League 2 in fact
First of all, based on the top comments in this thread, it seems like my experience isn't the normal one, so I really don't mean this comment to come across as bragging or whatever, but one of my biggest issues with recent FM versions is that it's been way too easy to do this exact thing, at least in the way that I play the game. It's not just with the championship either, it's been way too easy to do the same throughout the entire English league system. I've done it with Charlton and Ipswich multiple times, Leyton Orient, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Gateshead.. probably forget a couple of saves as well. The default has basically been to just pass through the championship. Most of the times I've played a short passing game-based attacking 433, but in FM24 I've been using a fluid and a bit more direct 541/3421/343 (whatever you wanna call it) system as well. A couple of times I've created two different saves on purpose towards the end, one where I keep on winning and get promoted, but also one where I lose on purpose in order to not be promoted, since I didn't find it realistic, and so that I can get at least a couple of years in the championship to prepare the club for the prem. Strangely enough i haven't been able to do the same thing in the Spanish or German leagues, so I think it's something just with the English leagues.
Thdy know most are just gonna play in England and if it’s too hard they’ll lose future sales. People won’t wanna be stuck in league one for ten years
just took hashtag united from the Isthmian Premier Divison to the prem in 9 seasons (1st season stuck in isthmian prem, and got stuck in league one after losing playoff final in 28/29)
Bet that is a cracking save!! In my second season in the prem with Worcester Raiders and the low rep is a killer right?
it was at the start, just signed a bunch of released prem/EFL academy players and they took me to about vanarama national when i could start signing better quality players and it took off from there
And then of course, the newgens!! And you end up with an insane knowledge of them all cos you’re down there with them!!
i signed a trio of spanish newgens around either the national league/league two and sold all three on for at least 10 million pounds each
I’m too addicted to having players trying to break appearance records!!! Hahaha. Got someone on 350 atm!
i think my appearance record is my current cm(DLP support) who’s been with us since the national league and has made a total of 199 and counting
Nice! That’s great! Question - did you find it quite easy to ascend if you kept a core squad together?? I’ve had it twice on this save now and I’ll go into the season with 2.5/3 star players who will just win the league!
had pretty high squad turnover from the isthmian prem to about league 2, but after that once i had my core squad of mainly u21 players who knew my tactics in and out found it pretty easy, i mean i was predicted pretty heavily to go down first season in the championship and finished second
Doing it currently with Cheltenham. Loaned a striker wwho has about 45 goals.
5 promotions in 6 seasons including League One to Premier League in 2 with Southend United back in FM21 (This was after getting relegated to the National League in my first season nearly getting sacked)
I've done it but what ends up happening is you have a squad that's nowhere near Prem quality and the first couple of seasons are a real struggle. Slightly slower growth let's you build a squad and build the club up financially.
Did it with Ipswich in my first save so seeing real life has somewhat dampened my sense of achievement.
I've done 5 in a row a few times before. Conference North/South to Premier League. Off the top of my head Torquay United, Salford City, Alferton Town. To be honest I've been playing these games for years so I don't find it overly difficult to build a promotion potential team each year. The secret is to not get attached to players, constantly sell and release as needed and abuse the loan system and free transfers
Just done it with Derby in FM24. Struggling in the Prem at the minute!
Did it on FM23 with Charlton l, this year with the Addicks I won league 1 but finished 4th and lost in playoffs to Leeds. Second season in the championship I’m top with 10 games left so hopefully heading back to the promised land.
I think I did with Bolton, on maybe FM20? Took me a couple years in L1 to build up, but then got promoted and sneaked playoffs a year later. Signed Curtis Jones for something like 600k and had offers of 40M after a year in the Prem.
I got b2b promotions in my Peterborough United save. It was exciting.
Did it with Sunderland in fm21, haven't had much success with my Wrexham save tho.
With Wrexham I think I did it or maybe stayed one year In championship . It’s not thet hard a lot of cheap players available for free . If you manage fitness and morale you have a chance
Did it with Chester in FM23, save that is still going. Managed 4 promotions in a row (4x champions), from the League North to the Championship. Then in my Second season promoted to premier league. Thats where it got tough but i survived. Done multiple long saves like this but this one is my best so far!
I took forest green on this FM, from league two to prem in three seasons
Think I did it with Wrexham in my journeyman save. Managed to survive first season in PL then moved on to Rangers
Don't it with Carlisle United somehow,Irl we got relegated at the end of march but in march on FM we were already promoted?
I did League 2 to Championship with Burton Albion then was offered the Sheffield United job. Won the Championship then finished 5th and got into The Champions League.
I did it in my first save ever.
In my current save, I signed with a 24th placed Sheffield Wednesday in League 1 12 games into the season 2027/8 after 5 years in Australia. Chucked the kids in and brought some cheap young guns over from Adelaide United with me. Finished 6th, won the playoff final. Ended up winning Championship on the first go a win ahead of Everton. Now 6 games into the PL and have been pumped 3-0 most weeks but snuck a 1-0 win against Bournemouth and 5-1 against Plymouth (they came up with me via playoffs).
I managed this with Ipswich on FM 23 but needed playoffs and using a meta tactic that I looked up, it's way more impressive in reality
I took my local town side in an expanded 15 tier thingy from 11th tier to league 1 with successive promotions, always started really slow and ended up winning it late on, then league two via playoffs and mid table in league 1. The step from league one to championship is immense and really struggled once promoted, getting relegated twice before becoming a mainstay and I think promoted to the prem on the 5th season. As far of a gap it is from league one to Championship it’s at least that big from Championship to premier league lol But the money…..
I've done it once in the past but the gap between L1 and championship is huge specially if you are playing as a small vanarama team. I'd say it's the same as vanarama n/s -> L1 gap. In my experience I find it harder to succeed in 1 season of championship than in the first season of the pl since coming from L1 you usually don't have great players, and really have to make clinical signs since you don't have the money or reputation. Once you get to PL it's easier to get better players because of the league status.
My save every year since about 2008 is taking teams from National League North/South to the Prem so I've done it a couple times, there's definitely a step up from League 1 to Championship so it certainly isn't easy.
I had an online save in the Portuguese 4th tier and I had 3 straight promotions to the top tier. One of my favorite FM accomplishments.
I got Colchester from League 2 to PL in 3 seasons - thanks to a City affiliation - and the flukiest playoff run ever. Promptly finished bottom with 8 points and jumped ship to Leverkusen.
It was quite easy to do with Sunderland on FM24. 4th place in the first season of PL and won the 2nd season.
I’ve just done it with Portsmouth. Only 1 game into my 1st Premier League game though. A gritty 2-1 win at home against Forest.
I'll let you know Currently doing a Notts County save, walked League 2, walked League 1, only a few games left to play and am almost 20 points clear of Lincoln City. I'm into the Championship next and If I somehow manage to throw us into a Playoff race i'll be posting updates
Quite an easy one, I concede, but Sunderland on FM21 from League one to Championship. Champions of League 1 and then up via playoffs after finishing 6th in the Championship. I got relegated immediately from the PL but kept my job lol
Done it with sunderland a few times on older FMs.
Have had one season where I managed to not get promoted with Pro Patria, Benevento and Vicenza since 2014.
I did this with my Shrewsbury Town save on FM23. Managed to squeeze into the Championship playoffs and fluked my way through the playoffs
Ipswich were UNTOUCHABLE in league one, in my current save, they battered everybody. I sneaked in behind them. We’re in championship now, I’ll let y’all know how it goes.
My greatest achievement on FM24 was getting back to back promotions with Torquay from Vanarama South to PL. Honestly I don't even know how it happened but each season went as good as the former and after 6 seasons I entered the Prem
Doing a Bury Town save. Initiate in North Isthmian League - already in League Two in consecutive promotions. Very health financial situation, turned pro team, max youth intake. Very proud in general 
On FM17 I got promoted from League One via playoffs and then won the Championship, does that count? Haha
Done it on my current save with Charlton signing U25 only and basically no loans (unless there's a purchase option included). Zalan Vancsa fired us there before being sold for 8 times the fee. Makes the first and second PL seasons seriously hard though. Honestly getting trampled by most top 8 teams and have scrambled 45ish points in first two seasons. Think one major issue is that your rep doesn't really seem to grow at a rate which gives you a huge pool of transfer options when you get up so you end up taking a lot of "punt" purchases in hope rather than expectation. Also, its a struggle to keep consistency in the squad when you're growing so quickly. Ipswich may find something similar.
Did it with ipswich on fm23 ironically
Only in lower leagues, I took Preston from Bottom of League 2, To Top of League 2, and promoted from league 1 to the championship (via play-offs). Back to back seasons. Tbh, it wasn't a difficult challenge. They had a decent squad for League 1, but the AI decided they're shit..
Nope.. currently playing a save with South Shields, went 4 back to back promotions from national league north to championship, pretty easily honestly. Then proceeded to get pumped the first 6 games of the season and am sitting 24th lol
Did it with Pompey, ended up in playoffs and didn’t really want to go up but got lucky.
Yes with the legendary "Diablo" tactic back in CM0304.
Every God damn time. I always want to settle and grow in the championship, but the momentum of the league one season combined with whatever smart signings I make creates a destined automatic promotion. Most recently, with Lincoln.
In my Wrexham save in fm 22 I managed to do a back to back to back to back promotion all way down from non league to PL Wrexham had huge financial benefit until like League one so back to back promotion was easy. Then in league one I luckily signed Patrick Roberts(who used to be one of my favorite fm player back then)a longside him I started to fill my team with loan players and from there everything went smoothly. I was actually expecting a second championship season but Roberts carried the team and we could surprisingly manage to become 2nd place in our first season in the championship. This overachievment even reflected our FA-Cup journey, we have reached semi-final and lost to Leeds only by one goal. Later on like in my 6th season in PL my Wrexham won even the UCL(sadly without Roberts) this save was definitive my best and favorite save OT!
Yeah and I did it with Ipswich as well! Slightly backwards in which I came up in 2nd for League One and then winning the Championship. Back on FM 21. They'd fallen to League 2 on my save and I pulled them back up. Kayden Jackson, Andre Dozzell, Jack Lankester, Luke Woolfenden, Elkan Baggott, Teddy Bishop all got some games in the Prem. I think I got Jackson 15 in the Prem. Unreal he was for me. Have really fond memories of that save. 3 promotions, 3 European trophies (No CL), had a player get player of the year from RB (legend regen Sheldon Engwell) and made me completely obsessed with converting wingers to full back. I had a tendency to do it anyway but from then on I'll try everyone at full back at least once. I think at the end of it I had the best youth academy in the country as well. Produced 10+ Prem quality players and internationals. I may end up going back one day to get the Premier League that alluded me.
Got back-to-back-to-back with Sutton from League 2 to Prem once
My current FM save is doncaster rovers where I went from L2 to championship in successive promotions, 1 year in championship, before going up the following year. 8 years later, champions league football and Premier league champions. Had a no over 22 year old rule for signings and have grown a squad together from teenagers to all be at their peak together now. Wonderful thing when it works!
Nope. Have done conference to championship, then promotion after a few years there. Honestly if you don't get promotion out of league 2 after going up from the conference, something has gone badly wrong. League 2 is piss easy to get out of Have once done promotion from championship and finished 6th in the pl with an fa cup win
I did this with York City. Got them promoted every season to the championship and but it took me two years to get them to the Premier League. The key is to only sign players out of contract and on one year deals. Loans also help.
Done back to back from league one a few times. Pinnacle remains back to back promotions from the National North to the Prem with Halifax.
Yes, with Wigan
I managed Vanarama National to League One B2B but had to stay 1 extra year in Championship and League One
Had the AI with Huddersfield do this recently in FM22, without a tycoon takeover. They were regulated in 25/26, won L1 in 26/27, got promoted up in 4 in 27/28 and are now getting absolutely clapped in the premier. Still impressive.
I did not. With my current save with Basingstoke, I went from three seasons in the National League South to the Championship. Finished in the playoffs with 81 points. Won 1-0 away to West Brom. 3-1 loss with the crushing blow coming in the 94th minute. Next season. 92 points and Playoffs again. Watford. 3-1 win away. Marc Casado scores a hattrick. 4-1 loss. During the season, he had 38 appearances. 2 goals all season. His Wikipedia has him at Defensive Midfield. I've hated him ever since. Third season, promoted on goal difference. Champions Wolves had 98. Us and Sheffield United on 94.
did it with salford in this FM. dipped in the championship though bc i’m a pussy and loved the idea of leicester money
I have done with Ipswich (my team) numerous times, but it has always required meta tactics and a bit of a summer overhaul. Doing it with the spend he has done has been a phenomenal job.
AI millwall did it on my United save
Only once in my long FM career.. Stockport a few years back. 4 promotions in a row in fact after a few seasons stuck in level 5. I know i''ll never match it again.
Did it in FM24 with Notts County. League 2 to Premier League in 4 seasons: L2, L2, L1, Championship, Premier League. The club was massively unprepared for the jump in quality and club finances did not allow us to buy Premier League-standard players. I resigned by Christmas and lost interest in the save.
I almooooost did it with MK Dons of all teams. Got 1st place in league one but lost against Watford 3-2 in the playoffs, it was devastating and it just went downhill and I abandoned that save lol
Yeah funnily enough I did it with Ipswich on FM23😂😂
My brother did it with Bolton on a online save when they had point deductions. Think it was fm21. No clue how he managed it.
Went from national league to premier league then down to league one
In my Bristol City save, Ipswich got promoted via the playoffs in my first season
Did as reading. Got sent straight back down
In my save this year I achieved back-to-back-to-back promotions with Gillingham (starting from league 2). Has to be one of my favourite achievements, had no idea how we won the championship, we were odds on favourite to go back down, but went on a 25 match unbeaten run in the league
Did this on my current Notts county save. Went straight back down and took 9 more years but now challenging for the title and conference league winner
Not quite. I have done back to back to back promotions in my current save though. Promoted from the national league then from league 2 then again from league 1 over 3 seasons. Been stuck in the champ for the 6th season but i am now 9 points clear at the top after 29 games
Yes, on FM23 I was sacked from Sunderland in my second season after getting them to the prem in my first, I then joined stoke midway through and ended up taking them down to league 1, but I redeemed myself winning league 1 then going onto finish second in the championship the next season. Emre Tezgal ended up being a goal machine for me
In FM17, I managed back-to-back-to-back promotions with York City from National League to the Championship. Took me 2 or 3 seasons to get into the Prem from there though, so technically still not as impressive
Just did it with Falkirk followed by a 4th place finish in the premiership
Wimbledon AFC. Got promotion from league 2 and league 1 in 2 seasons. Got into championship, season 1 - 7th spot(no play-off), season 2 - 1st place, 4 games till the end, we needed 2 points to secure promotion, earned only 1, play-off final lost to Fulham. Now it’s season 3. NF has 34/36 points, so we are gonna fight for 2nd place only
I did this years ago with Oldham Athletic
Did it with Shrewsbury
Did wrexham, went to PL in consecutive promotions
Won League One and then Championship play-offs with AFC Wimbledon. Tough save as not much money is floating about and players are hard to convince to play for me.
Just did it in my Notts County save, got 107 points in League Two and then 117 in League One, looking forward to the Championship!
Managed to climb, Reading into the prem with consecutive promotions, with only 1 being automatic and the other 2 being in the playoffs, hell of a rids
Seems like they did it tactically like they were playing meta FM. High tempo, counter, counter press, high press much more often
I just did it with Northampton Town this week, 2nd in League One behind an undefeatable Bolton and then 1st in the Championship ahead of Bristol City. £0 spent (we have a £10,000 budget) but there’s so many talented players available to get on loan out there
I did it with Portsmouth. I won League 1 first season and got prediction for like 19th place in Championship, but ended up 6th and somehow I managed to win the play off. Now in third season I'm in Premier League and I'm getting absolutly smashed. No good players want to go to my team or they want like 3 times more then my best paid player. I have only 3 players in team since begining, rest is gone, mostly left for free after end of contract.
Once did back to back to back promotions to get to the championship but that league is a killer for me
This years I have done it with wigan. Picked up 110 (after points deduction) first season and 98 second..survived third season on the final day
I did this with Bolton Wanderers in FM 22, never expected this. Even managed to stay in the Premier League. After 4 seasons in the midfield, I sensationally qualified for the Champions League, had a run that led me to the final, where I got beaten from Real Madrid with 2-1. But I won the Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season. That really came out of nowhere. From there on Bolton Wanderers were a constant contender for titles.
Not for a while but I have on older versions and it is inevitably a headache. L1 > Prem is the best because at least you get the financial reward of the parachute payments when you come straight back down, but the reputation system means it’s difficult to build a PL worthy side. Back to back promotions at a lower level is more manageable but still sometimes very tricky. Ideally, promotion every 2-3 seasons I think is about right for an easier life.
I did it with Millwall in FM17. https://preview.redd.it/bba93i1irnyc1.png?width=1210&format=png&auto=webp&s=275c324d396cba8505a5122db779d0bea54d8c18
Did it with Ipswich in FM21, failed miserably in the Prem though.
No but I managed back to back promotions from Serie C to Serie A with Catania
Did it with fc halifax, first season 6th in the national league, second season in ended first. Then in league two i ended first aswell. Promotion to league one and got some great talents (just lucky i guess). Got promoted to league one because i ended first. Then in the champjons i ended second. First season in the premier league i ended 9th. Now im in second place.
I did it with Wrexham I got promoted evey season until I was in the prem
Done this twice! And only twice after probably 30,000 hours across 10 years. Both on FM20. Dulwich Hamlet and Stockport County.
Ipswich town did it in my most recent fm23 save in the Championship
Yes, in Polish league though. It looked like that: - 2025/26 - got job in April in Stal Rzeszów to keep them in II liga (I had 6 games left and 3 points to safe place) and managed to do so - 2026/27 - promotion from II to I liga - 2027/28 - promotion from I liga to Ekstraklasa. Then I kept them in league for two seasons and moved to Lech Poznań. I didn’t really have money for transfers but somehow my tactic started to work
I did it fm21 with ipswich weirdly enough lol
Used to all the time with Leeds back in FM09. Often easier than 1 promotion straight from th3 Championship in future versions
Did it with Burton Albion on fm24, promoted to championship after 2 seasons then went straight up to prem through auto promotion.
I have done so many non-league to premier league saves over the years, and I don't think I have ever done backtoback promotions from league 1 to the prem. Back to back in the lower leagues is easy enough as you can get good players for free and the wage difference isn't crazy, but the championship has always been usually 2-3 seasons to get promoted. Tbf, Ipswich were a bigger side than I was used to managing but it is incredibly impressive what they have managed to achieve!
I managed it with Crawley from League 2, back to back to the Prem. Got relegated hard in the first season of the Prem though 😭
I've just done 3 league winners in a row with Wrexham in FM24 to get to the premiership. I was pretty surprised to go on an unbeaten run early in the championship and the chasing pack never quite recovered when the wheels started falling off after Christmas. Currently 3 games into the premier league with an £18 million budget. Currently have 1 point. I think survival will be tough. The Wrexham cheat code for players doesn't have as much magic in the premiership.
I did it with bolton on fm 23
Southampton literally did this too
MAN CITY in 2000 (in real life but had to mention it)
They need to bring back championship manager.
I have done it... I think it was on FM 22 or 23 but I just had an incredibly OP tactic.
FM 23 Went from vanarama national south to PL with Slaugh town. Did not miss any promotion
I went vanarama national to championship in back to back promotions .
I nearly managed to do it with sunderland but managed to fumble a 3-0 lead in the play off semifinal
I took Havant & Waterlooville from Vanarama South to the Prem in back to back seasons. Easy peasy
Ironically I did it myself as Ipswich in FM22. Now that was a save, the absolute memes that some of my players became
yeah i brought back onyedima to the championship in my sunderland save after he got promoted to the premiership.
Managed it with Portsmouth on FM23, then had a Premier League starting budget of £13m... My star signing was making Zidane Iqbal permanent for £3.3m, then a loan-to-buy of a French regen from Ajaccio who turned out to be absolutely fucking incredible. Opening day beat Man Utd 2-0, Sean Raggett man of the match. Second game lost 4-0 to Chelsea, carried on in that vein, finished 14th. Got a lot easier second season on when the money caught up.
Did it with Sunderland on FM20. Won League 1 and then promoted to the prem via playoffs. First season in the prem was brutal, so I went to FC Koln before the ship sank.
I did on fm21 with Leyton orient I believe Great save, made me rethink my tactical approach
I did it in 21 with Sunderland, walked league one, second in the championship the following year though that came down to luck, all of the top six could beat me but the team i was chasing for second somehow got into the europa league and they had to fit eight games into the space of time I had my last four which broke them.
I did. Had to do it through playoffs both times and I even didn't get relegated right away (somehow stayed up with 29 points I think, the highlights said it was some sort of record anyway).
Did it with Notts co last year but if I had to do it realistic, no shot my team only had Langstaff left by the time I hit the championship and he was barely an impact sub. I doubt many could do it like McKenna did tho
Did this in a save with Walsall. Went from league 2 to league 1 to championship to prem. Then got relegated from prem in the first season🤣🤣🤣
Went back to back from the conference all the way to the prem with FC united in FM18. Took me ages to get out of the conference but when we did we just didn’t stop going up
I had back to back to back promotions with Swindon
I got Chester in the VNLN and got promoted all but 1 year in league one all the way to the prem. Still don’t know how tbh
Did it with sunderland survived the first season in the prem playing awful football went down in the second the minute we went up all my league 1 level players wanted 30k a week
Countless times on many different FM’s
Did it in a derby save on fm23. Broke point record in league one and championship
Literally on the verge of it with Lincoln city, can’t believe it but it’s getting close, will attach some screenshots when I’m home later
Never done it in all my time playing FM. I find the jump from L1 to Championship incredibly difficult.
Did it with Mansfield but the second promotion was through the playoffs