Done deal. Because I need tons of it.
Is their a recommended way to start the game to get the hang of it?
Just to get the hang would be to start at a club in either the Spanish, Portuguese, or Dutch League, where the top talent is high, and middling teams weaker, but still with access to European competitions. You can use the league season to get a feel for the game at one of the larger clubs (Barca/Real/Porto/Ajax/etc). I recommend starting with the tactic creator and just getting a feel for how they work in the friendlies. Player instructions are more key than in previous years, and you'll see what you're doing wrong in matches. The key things I look for are Possession%, Shots on Target, and Clear Cut Chances. The number of shots is a bit of a wash as you can easily get 40+ shots in these leagues per game but still only have 2-6 on target if your tactic is off.
As for the team management outside of matches, assign your scouts to their relevant regions, or interesting competitions with budding young stars. You can assume most players in the starting XI for Euro competition teams are 3-4 star players, but finding that 5 star potential 17 year old is really my main aim when playing. Don't make too many transfers to start, it will destroy chemistry. Always meet with players if their morale drops too low, and don't focus too much on media relations, unless you want to, it's mostly peripheral to the actual game engine.
My main goals in a game are:
-Keep team under average age of 28
-Possession Soccer
-5+ CCC each match
-<2 goals allowed per match
You will find that adjusting your tactics after some early results will begin shaping the results to your desires, albeit sometimes slowly.