depends how good you are on the game and how patient i guess, you'd maybe have to sacrifice 2 or 3 seasons every now and again to build on your team. i took sheff wednesday from league one to 5th in the premier league in 3 seasons, missed out on champions league by 1 point. i just loaned in bostock and mceacheron each year, fucked it up now though cos i bought micheal johnson and hes nothing like those two, struggling in the premier league now.
and yes the budget goes up each year, but not by a lot.

Haha good games, you were very unlucky in the last game!
Hit the post twice and offside goal, think the 3rd goal just killed it though :D

Sometimes do clubs if there are 4 or 5 of us playing. Can't stand any less because so many teams use a computer any. Mainly play online team play (yourfifaleague.net) or UT.

Not sure if it's been discussed here but in manager mode one thing that works well is offering loan to buy options with massive buy out clauses. You can pretty much any player not vital to a teams cause. When the season is up just remember to not confirm the purchase option.

I've done that but that's kinda ruining the idea of building a team. Well anyways, I'm Fulham and I have Messi

you smashed me mate, I was shocking.................We will meet again....

Been stuck in division 2 for seasons

Yeah for me it ruins the game, I would only do it if it was actually reasonable for the player to be loaned in real life but the club won't do it in the game (ie Lukaku). You can sometimes get a player cheaper on a purchase option than their club demands as an immediate transfer too, the problem is if it's a young player like CM Henriksen then if you sign him straight away you can get him on £20k for 5 years but after 1 year and the purchase option he'll be demanding almost double that.

My two biggest hints for career mode are:

1. Cheat the transfer market: there is no consistency in prices demanded or prices offered for you players. If you get an offer from a big team that has the dosh then stall, save and reject. If they offer more do the same again, if they withdraw your option then quit, load and repeat until you think you're at the limit. Yeah it's dodgy but the game obviously has it programmed that the club in some circumstances would go that high. Helps you sell a player like James Tomkins in the first transfer window to Bayern for £26m. Same with buying players.

2. After the last game of a season, take all your good players off the field and replace them with cheapies you signed as free agents or rubbish promoted youth team players. Season objectives are defined based on your listed starting 11 and so if you put horrible players on the board won't expect much from you and you won't have to worry about unrealistic expectations of the board wanting continued progression and demand AFC Wimbledon make the Champions League while they're forking out a transfer budget of £300k. I've won the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid in Season 2 on one career and then been set to avoid relegation the following season.

I find that possesion football during the first half and high pressure during the second works very well against Real and Barca.

You both Xboxers?