HELP!!

hi guys...im a football manager virgin...i bought the 2009 version bout 3 weeks ago, after trying the demo, and although i find it addictive, im finding im terrible at it lol...although ive played champ manager in various forms from its inception, fm 09 is somewhat beating me
i dont like to play as the big teams as it surely has to be too easy? so im playing as palace...ive tried loads of tactical formations, but cant find anything that seems to work, even to a reasonable standard...have i bitten off more than i can chew?

the manual, doesnt seem to help too much either...some pointer or tips would be really appreciated on tactics and training also as im not sure if i have a good regime...my players are training separately according to position, or should they all be training together?...also i only have about 40k in my transfer kitty, so splashing cash on players isnt an option (which i dont mind really)

i dont wanna cheat as such, just need a little guidance

cheers guys

just read some of the topics in the forums, all the answers you need will be there

im gonna lock this thread as there are lots of other threads with training and tactics help etc.

and if your new, start playing just 1 small game with a good team, just so you can experiment with tactics etc and get to know how it works. then when you get the hang of it, start a new serious game.