Certain thins i like to do when taking over a club...
Get the best scout you can straight away, and ensure your assistant has good stats (particularly Man Management if you want him taking team talks)
Other scouts can be used for assignments but you want one scout to confirm any gems you come across before you buy - scouts also tell you how much to bid and which role the player is suited for in their best position.
Then find your best scout with a good Tactical Knowledge rating and set Next Opposition assignment under Scouting, removing the assignment from the scout who currently has it, if necessary.
Look at your team report to see which areas of the team need strengthing or depth and write down which positions you need to fill during the transfer window.
Then i go to team policy, which is where you can ask your staff to handle stuff you're not interested in - this is where i refuse to receive any touting offers from agents in my inbox
You need to set up 3 formations/tactics straight away so your team can start getting used to them. If you don't have the benefit of using your own faves, look at the team report again and see what you can work out, and keep an eye on the transfer window date - its best to get new signings in early and not leave it til the last minute.
Match Preparation in tactics should be High until season kicks off and I like to choose teamwork to help my new signings get adjusted quicker. For lower leagues check out your parent club and any other good youngsters loan listed. Get quality without the transfer fee!
Once all this is taken care of I usually hit the transfer market for players - i sometimes like to 'manually scout' because only X amount of players are listed in player search - sometimes i go to various clubs which have reputation for producing good players (you'll get to know some from looking at player histories throughout the game, don't worry about this right now though), and while i'm dealing for players i try to improve my coaching setup...
Under Training click coaches near the bottom to see who is training what. Fiddle around to see how many stars you can reach in each training category by selecting/deselecting areas for each coach to work on - ideally one area each is what you want to get to but at the beginning (and in lower leagues) this mightnt be possible but bear in mind you want those stars to be as high as poss for each category. Only sack a coach once you've found a better replacement.
Once all this is done its all tactics from there until the next window. I like to keep one attacking home tactic, one more balanced tactic for difficult home ties, and most away ties, and one counter/defensive tactic for the difficult underdog/away ties.
Every team should have a good Goalie, a Playmaker (good passing & creativity) and one of each main striker type - strong and tall (good in the air) and one who is fast and agile with good composure & finishing.
I've been playing this series since 1996 and it just adds more depth to the game each year. In the beginning you put out 11 players and they usually just won ifg they were better than the opponent team - these days its all about the tactics and morale.
If you can afford it, setting high win bonuses can aid a little with morale, but not moreso than winning games!
Tactics is something ill never get used to, but some of the fun can be had from trying and failing lol
The learning curve can be easier than i've described, but it can also be a lot harder.
Everyone has their own style of management.
Hope you get on OK and stick with it cus its abrilliant game and tis hard to find any strategy game nowadays without a substantial learning curve.
One thing in this version of the game (FM12) which can help when assessing players is the Viw Key Attributes button above a players stats - it can show you which stats are to be checked when recruiting a specific new role (eg. Advanced Playmaker, Poacher, Winger etc..) and also the value of some players can give you a clue - a 19yr old worth £3m either has lots of potential or someone just signed them for £3m. A 17-yr old worth £3m is probably even better and so on.
Happy gaming!