Gerry Brawley :
I have only played a couple of practice games but have managed to put a decent team together without spending a lot of cash by buying low and selling higher ( most of the time )
This is my 3rd season and currently 3rd in my level 5 league.
Good going! Keep playing for 2 years and you'll be up in the top leagues (thanks to sublinet's poor choice to drag the leagues up a level each year to make it harder for new people to get involved).
In all seriousness though, practice a lot, find an active guild and try tweaking everything until you find the right / winning combination.