General Tips
I will add More as soon i think of some

1.- Learn The Classes and what they Do
this game like its name suggest is very tactics heavy YOU CAN beat a far superior Team with the right tactics.

2.- Its all about the skills and positioning here
Stats of Course Matter Especially the DEF one imo

so the opossing GK has a defense rating of 10000 Def wth Reaction Skill lvl 3??
The use your lvl 10 super noob FW Canon Shot skill on him

the opossing CF has a lvl 3 rainbow feint and you have No Defender with the reaction Talent??
Intead of a Sweeper put a CD behind your defenders so he Can automatically Take the ball from him AND get him an Off-side position (unless of course he also has higher control than your CD then you re screwd xD)

3.- Be Flexible
if you intend to win every single match using the same tactics and same players you will not get very far so at the begginig of Every Match Take a Look at least at the Following

-Their GK Can he Stop your Canon shot?? then maybe you want to sit that player and use rainbow feint instead
you wanna have a plan on how to score against the opossing GK

- Even more important... Their Forwards what do they have?? maybe they have no dangerous skills but one dude has a High Acuraccy... Use 3 D or DF (NO SW) in a line so when he Shoot the three defenders stack their Def stat and stop the shot, There is more to this Tactic i suggest you take a look at Kos Excellent guide on how the Universal Defenders (or basic ones) Stop Shots and learn it well you WILL need it (im only giving you one example)

do they have a high control Wing and canon shot and you re afraid of the break in??
Position any Player at the space Wings need to do their break in and dont ever move him (the footballpedia might help you there)

-Take a note on what classes their defensive and forwards line are and Plan Ahead dont be afraid to play with only One FW as long as he actually can beat the GK somehow

4.- Corners are a VERY powerful way to score Easy Goals
but you do need to have people for that
on my team the Defenders are actually the ones who score on corner kicks

you actually need only 2 players to be effective
- a player with Good or decent Passing (50, 60ish is good enough the more the merrier of course)
- and more importantly a good Header , Train one (two would be ideal) Defenders with the head play talent and once their DEF have reached a good enough level (for your current league... you can NEVER have too much DEF) Train their Control Like Crazy 60-70ish carried me to the Premier League

You might wonder why not do it with your CF who already have lvl 1 Headplay for free
Well... while the idea is not Bad per se Remember that the Specialized Classes only have 1 Skill to Learn and training their control is not such a good idea because they would rather have high acuracy i would pick Canon Shot for My CF All day Long
Not to Mention than having Head Plays on your Defense will Also Help you Against Their Crosses and Corners

EDIT: has been pointed at me (and i believe it) that you Dont really need high Ctrl with a CF Header since they can Head From Outside the Penalty Area and there are VERY Few select Players on all the Legues that have a Lvl 4 Head Play and NONE is a Defender so you can Go Full Acc on them for when crosses arent an option

5.- Remember that Skills only Give a SUPER Important Free Action when they re used on an opossing player
thats why Sliding Tackle and Specially Long Pass are sooo Damn Useful
Also Remember that when using Skills Stats DONT matter At all so your 6 DEF FW can still get the ball From a Holding 200 Control Player And get a free Action

6.- As Upgrades are Concerned
i Heavily Encourage you to Upgrade your Youth Academy Since This is Where Most If not All Your Future Team Will Come From and use Your Glory only on Coaches i Suggest the Defensive Coaches First or the one that you have the most players
you can go either Full upgrade on a single one or balance them (Which i recommend otherwise your team will grow unbalanced) do left the GK One for Last You Dont need More than one GK on your entire Roster and spending those valuable glory points for just 1 Player is not a good deal

7.- Sell Any Player who have Reached the Age of 33
i dont care if you love him or if he is the best player ever on the universe and beyond
the reason for that is that when a player reach 34 he will Retire as soon as his Current Contract is Done and you will not be able to renew or sell him and you will loose a lot of money
well you CAN make him Play to 40 but with a Huge Glory Cost and you will not be able to afford Glory for a very long time
Glory is Super Valuable Maybe even more than Money
Also be Smart with your contracts Dont sign a 3 Years Deal to a 32 years old guy who will be sold Next season, but do use 3 years contract on young players who you think will be your future stars their prices goes up as they get better and that mean more expensive Renewals (Skills are the biggest factors when it come to their market value)

8.- Speaking of Glory
is "okay" to spend a little on accelerating Skills from your players Specially if its a Young one Wich you intend to keep as a core player
Do Note that the cost is Relative to the time that remains so its totally fine to accelerate if there is like 1 month or days left the cost will be cheap and you will have a new skill for at least 4 matches

9.- As for the Specialization Trees
i do recommend getting the x2 on the dedication tree Asap so you can have more Ctrl over how your player develops (i Hate When my SW get and Acc Upgrade of 2)
and Dont fully upgrade the Talent Tree for Specialized Classes Like a CF or a DM Universal Classes Are Fine because they learn 2 Skills, DO TAKE the lvl2 and Lvl3 Skill Upgrade on all Your Future Stars
Also at the Beggining you will start with some old Players, these players will eventually get sold so i might be a good idea to try to max the Fan Favourite Tree to sell him for max price (They will not be able to develop other trees anyway too old for that)

10.- Choose well which options you like to play at the start of the game
YOU CANT change them in Game. EVER (Which i dont like but it is what it is) i played like 4 playtrough with various combinations of options and the ones i enjoyed the most are

Difficulty: Normal
RNG: Decreased
Match lenght: 60 turns

i get waaaay too frustrated with the default RNG to the point i wasnt having fun anymore and the "Expected" option was an automatic NO Because it Does Play on your favor... Decreased makes stat more important (for Both Teams) but still get plenty of randomness which i like but Default is Just Annoying For me... most of the time its sooooo Random

and 48 turns the games ends way too quickly for me

at the end is a matter of taste but consider that you re stuck with those choices Forever

11.- More important of All "Be Patient"

You wont be winning everygame at the start because your team Will Suck and the few good Player you have will likely be Very old so you might have an amazing first season (which is actually the only easy one you ll have in a long time) and get promoted and be destroyed on the third league
is actally not a bad idea to remain some years on the amateur league rebuilding and finishing 4th on purpose

Just worry about building your team not only stat wise but Skills as well you WILL Get there eventually
Use the Simulate Match Button a lot on the Rebuilding Process so you dont kill yourself because of how ♥♥♥♥♥♥ your team is xD

And since i run out of ideas...
i will list all the Classes and my opinion of them, Also how i think you should Train them and What Skills to Teach Them

GK: Having a Good GK Must Feel Awesome (Never got one) but even a decent one can serve you well, starting a new game chances are your GK will be old hell i even got teams with NO GK and have to train one which is a nightmare but imperative being and universal Class they can learn 2 skills and their Feature is that they get a 50% increase to their Def and Ctrl Stats

Training: the GK imo only need DEF, some will say that Control is Also Important and they re not wrong BUT Control is only used in Crosses and Corner kicks which your Defenders can take care of
You DO have good Control Defenders with Head Play Right??.... RIGHT?? Good

Essential Skills: Strong Goalkeeper (Completily nullify Opossing Canon shots withoit a SW is Super Useful gives you more flexibility)

Good Skills: Long Pass, Reaction and Playing Out (If you still dont get headers on your Defense)

Edit: Ok Now that i have More Experience with the Game and finally got not only a Good GK but a Legendary one i have to say that having one will make you borderline OP
i found him on the Transfer market and it was expensive like 28-24 mil if memory serves had both Reaction and Strong Goalkeeper at lvl 3 and like 200 something Base Def Only player that i have spent glory for a contract

the only way the cpu can score on me now is through the Olimpic Kick Skill
sooo.. yeah if you can afford one great GK Go for it is Incredibly Worth it. Also Even when Long Pass is still Good on ANY player i would rather have 2 of the three Desfensive skills on my GK (strong Goalkeeper, Reaction or Playing out)

CD: I didnt like this guys at first until i discovered that they are a very solid Choice to stopping opponent Raibow feints as Long as you put 1 or 2 Behind your Main Defensive line so they do have their uses

Training: Def primary and Control if you give him the head play

Skills: well they only have 1 Skill to learn so i wouldnt call anything Essential
Head Play is Very good Choice for these guys and of course Long Pass (btw Long Pass is good in ANY position so... xD) slide tackle not so much IMO since they will be out of position whether they succed or not (and we dont want that at least there is no choice)I would rather give them head play if given the choice

SW: Aahhhh these Guys you Love yours Hate the opponent one, the first solution against the Canon Shot but a liability against Rainbow Feint unless you give them the reaction Talent
Quick note: if you have trouble against these guys Use the Universal forward ability to move two tiles and stole a tile of him he wont be so happy after that xD

Training: DEF All the way this guy is like another GK so let your others defender train Ctrl

Skills: Only 2 Come to mind here Reaction or Long Pass, reaction makes him inmune to the rainbow feint and as a sweeper you already Took care of the oponent canon shot so 2 oponent skills taken care of with just 1 Player is very good deal... and long pass is specially useful here since when this dude block a shot sometimes the shot wil bounce on the penalty area and he will get the ball automatically and you will start your turn with the ball and on a long pass player opens LOTS of possiblities on offense
go with what you think is more useful to your team although i rather have Long Pass

RD/LD: mmmmm yeah i dont know about these guys imo is the weakest class in the game alongside the CM. their ability to run 3 tiles with or without the ball (ONLY on their respective side) is surpassed by the LM/RM which run 4 their other ability to decrease the nearby oponent potential of skills by 5 although nice He Still will Use and have a Chance of usiing that skill i Rather completely Nullify the skill soooo next (i dont use them so if any have good use for them by all means Share it)

Edit: Ok i Admit i Was kinda Harsh to this Class they are not bad at all i just dont like them xD
i still prefer the RM/LM Combo because of their mobility but that is just me

Dont they only Reduce the Potential of opossing skills on defense (when they re adjacent to the play) but it can also help on offense reducing the potential of the defender against your team mate skill which means easier long passes for example so even though ii kinda need very specific positioning and it is situational it is Far from useless
so i remove them from the CM category of suckiness xD

DF: These guys are the main solution (and sometimes only) to super high accuracy oponents since their DEF Stacks when a normal shot goes a tile next to them (passes as well but is not THAT important) they are almost similar to your Amateurs Defenders exept these guys also do it with passes although like i mentioned that is not THAT important but Thanks to That a DF can do a Decent Job Replacing Your DM if he is Injured or too tired and you (for some Reason xD) Only have one
oh and of course being and universal class not only they can play anywhere but more importantly they learn 2 Skills

Training: Def primary and Control if you give him the head play

Skills: Head play is Solid Choice here Especially if you dont have one (i recommend 2 headers per team) and since you have another slot you can get creative and suits your needs, of course Long pass keep being a good choice, or you can go "interception" to stop Long Passes maybe even throw in an olimpic kick Go By Team need here get creative

DM: I F****** Love these Guys Specially mine he is a Monster with high defense they will give you so many free possesions intercepting passes there is a reason why the game only allow you to have one. Use them and Love them Dont Forget to train their Defense you will have a beast in like 3-4 seasons. my favorite class

Training: These Guys need all but Accuracy... Def First so they can steal more, Ctrl 2nd so when they steal they dont loose it all the time, and a little pass so bad players cant steal their simple passes Remember that skills use more energy so dont use a long pass when you can use a regular one

Skills: Yeah you guessed it Long Pass is the best Choice here since their Position on the Field is on the center you can easily Reach your Forwards or AM

CM: The only good thing about these guys is the +20% pass and is even not that good since most MF dont have good Def to intercept your passes anyway
spends no point on pressing... yeah RM/LM do the same with MUCH more Mobility
and only 1 movement with the ball?? the universal MF moves 2 and Has 2 Skills Anywhere on the Field
did i Say RD/LD are the weakest?? yeah i would like to change that
this class REALLY needs a buff no Reason to use them next

AM: now this one i Like
-a 60% penalty to the oponent Def when passing is HUGE it means that with not so much Passing stat your passes would still be Super hard to Cut

-The shooting penalty Range halved although nice i dont really care for i leave shooting to my FWs
might be interesting creating a high accuracy AM if anyone has done it Please do Share

The False Kick is Pretty cool and Really useful if you have a CF so he can get better position maybe not so much with the Universal FW or RF/LF since they can create their own spaces because of their mobility... this unique ability completly screws the opponent defense positioning and is a free action

their mobility sucks though 1/1 but a very interesting class

Training: since their passes are 60% harder to intercept is not THAT high of a priority but dont neglect it Any MF who cant pass the ball is bad... i will go high ctrl so he can hold the ball, and good enough pass, i havent tried high Acc to make use of one of their features but it might work

Skills: For Once Layoff Pass might be a better choice than Long pass IF the opponent arent using CDs and you position your AM on the Seventh Row not the sixth you can lead your CF to a even better position or your wing to a Break in Position otherwise play safe a go for long pass

Edit: i Really Tried to use Layoff Pass because i think its a cool ability in the game and in Real Life so thats why i suggested but to be honest Long Pass is SOOOO much better overall so go with that
What Kills Layoff Pass for me is the opponent CDs if you use one and the opponent has CDs near They will get a free Tackle and probably take the ball it suffers the same problem as the Nutmeg vs Rainbow feint Skill
Why use one When the Other is Just Sooo much Better?
i hope they buff those 2 skills some day they re pretty cool but now they re just for fun

LM/RM: These Guys have the Highest mobiity on the game 4/4 meaning they can cross almost the entire field with just 2 actions (Only on their wing) and they spent no point on pressing as the CM but with MUCH more mobility
if they have the ball and start running opossing adjacent players will automatically tackle with a Whooping 70% penalty to their Def so Good Ctrl is a Must (besides there is a damn Cool Animation for that)

Training: Good Ctrl is a Must to be able to use their mobility on the offense and since they move so much having a good pass is a good idea for crosses to your CF or FW

Skills: so many options here, but you can only choose one so pick well according to your needs
we Have Sliding tackle, using their extreme mobility they can easily be the ones with the job of stealing the ball, Long pass (do i really need to explain further?) and finally Canon Shot Remember that this baby Works Diagonally From anywhere as long has you have a straight line to the GK

Quick note: the Footballpedia dont actually mention this but if you put one of these guys next to the oponnent with the ball and your turn ends they will automatically press the opponent

MF: As the others Universal Positions These Guys Can learn 2 Skills and they Move 2/2
and.... Thats it
do this make them Suck??? HELL NO
Having 2 Skills on the Center of the Field Where most of the Action in a Game Happens is Extremely Valuable and dont you dare think that the feature os moving 2/2 Sucks because they can do it on ALL of the field While the LM/RMs Only on their Wing

Training: You can Train These guys Whoever you like Really is the Most Versatile Class in the Game they can do Anything or specialize according to your needs just remember that a MF who Cant pass its not a MF xD
When in Doubt Just go MF

Skills: Slide Tackle is a Must For me Here specially if your LM/RM dont have it and Remember You still got one more Slot so Pick Whatever else you need you cant go Wrong with Long Pass Ever

CF: Your Classical Number 9 these guys are... okay i mean they re not bad at all and can do their job specially linked with an AM
they Always look For Better Positioning as long as there is Space Available wheter for bad defense positioning or your AM do His MAgic with False kick
they Also Have for free lvl1 Headplay

Training: as i see it there are Two Ways to build these guys and is not a good idea to spread thin you can either go Crazy with Ctrl and Lvl 4 Head Play (yes 4 Remember they get a free lvl just because being a CF) and he will be a Beast on Crosses and Corners
Or You can do why i Did it And Give him Canon Shot and High Acc so he can create Corners from afar

the reason i did that was because i already had 2 Great headers on my team and didnt need a 3rd one and since my team is filled with long passes it was better for me

it all depends on your team composition if you have goods RM/LM with great passing and ctrl by all mean go with the header one ot will be unstopable

EDIT: has been pointed at me (and i believe it) that you Dont really need high Ctrl with a CF Header since Head Play Lets you Head From Outside the Penalty Area and there are VERY Few select Players on all the Legues that have a Lvl 4 Head Play so you can Go Full Acc on them for when crosses arent an option

Skills: as Discussied Early the choice here depends on the rest of your team your Midfield Especially if you have a Good RM/LM or both go head play if you have lots of long pass and an AM go Cannon Shot

RF/LF: Now ill be honest i dont have much experience with these guys because my Luck Sucks i can never get one or even a F with good Ctrl to Train one... but i do like them.
theri signature is the "Break in" when in position they can just cut to the Goal dribling opossing wchich suffer a 50% penalty to their Def and this Action is Free so a succesful break in will leave you right in front of the GK

Training: so as you would expect Ctrl is the most important Stat for them ill even say go Full Ctrl remember that you CAN dribble the GK although Hard it can be done with high enough Ctrl or you can just Power shot and hope for the Corner

Skills: This one is Easy is either Canon Shot or Rainbow Feint Depending on What Skill you re Misiing if you Already have a Forward with Canon Shot go Rainbow and Viceversa Remember a succesful break in is a 1 on 1 on the GK

Edit: Ok so i got a lot more Experience with this class and i luv it the "Break in" is so powerful and cool (although it IS easy to Counter) but the cpu never does counter it so go Nuts with this class my only issue is that they get tired quite quick but i woulnt have it other way because of how strong the "Break in" is
Training remains the Same, Full Ctrl Although i did Add some Pass to my Guys with surpringsily good results at Crosses

FW: The Universal Forward is Personal Favorite when it Comes to Forwards as a Whole Especially if you have a Lot of Long Passes Players
the ability to move 2 tiles without the ball is what makes them so Dangerous and a nightmare for Teams that use Sweepers you just go and position yourself next to the SW and wait for the Long Pass and is a 1 on 1 with the GK

the cpu knows this and use it needless to say Humans so be very Careful when the opponent has FW and Long Pass Try to not use a SW or Back CDs unless you re confident your GK can Stop Him

Edit:: The Game and Myself didnt explain this very well But the Universal FW is the only Class on the Game that Without the Ball Can actually go Trough opposing Players, Thats why is not a good idea to use a SW or Back CDs if the opponent has them Unless he represent no problem to your GK

if you dont use a SW then he wont use that ability, Offside position means anything to you? xD

the FW+Team mate with Long Pass+Opossing Team using SW = is an Easy Win

Training: as Other Universal Classes This guy is Very Versatile you can go High Acc or High Ctrl hell even add Some Def if you like they will be scoring with their skills anyway and stat dont matter there

Skills: Here we have Some interesting Choices Remember we have 2 options so we can get creative... first Worry about your Scoring Skill either canon Shot or Rainbow feint and MAX Asap
nobady says than you Cant use Both and have more Versatility suppose you have Raibow but the GK has Reaction the you re ******* you see

or and this one is my Favorite go Sliding Tacle as a 2nd Skill their mobility without the ball makes this a Solid Choice Also when you do try to pass in a corner and it gets interceptedyou can inmediatly stole the ball back and be 1 on 1 with the GK

or maybe another head play?? if you focus on crosses

Hope this helps Someone and sorry for the bad format (fist time writing like this) and english is not my native languague so i do expect a lot of typos so bear with me there

Feel Free To Rate and comments on how to improve the guide will be aprecciated as long as they re made on a respectful manner
Cheers