F-Body Demon

the simplest way is by getting a parent club, getting clubs for friendlies that will actually bring in money is hard to come by. and cup runs are a matter of luck, especially since you'd want as many ties at home. I seem to be cursed with boards that overestimate the budget, so even though i push my wage budget to the edge a lot (getting a squad of good players costs you a lot in wages), even when I'm just within, I seem to lose money often, and even when I'm over, I lose more then the deficit. I often aleviate this with promotion, but of course that is easier said then done. sell players only if it doesn't reduce the strength of your best 11 too much, try looking at who your best youth players are and sell first team squad players in their positions, that seems to be the best balance between making money and maintaining a good squad, which is certainly my main priority, I'd personally rather reduce the size of my squad quite a bit then weaken it.

DaveMac

I usually find the first year the toughest. I usually only play this game as lower league teams and have gotten pretty good at getting promoted. The hardest part to me is bringing in the right personnel and keep my wages low and make money. The first year I inherit a lot of junk players that I will never use, but can't seem to get rid of most of them. It takes a year or two to weed them out as their contracts run out. As this happens, I replace bad talent with fewer, but better players.