I´ve started with English as well, you´ve got Scotland, Wales and Ireland as rebels close by, as well you can easily get Navarra, which gives you iron (even though I don´t know what good that does, you can´t build mines). If you ally with the Germans, you can smash France between your two forces and as the Germans start the war and you merely support them, you don´t get the pope on your back. At least, he didn´t get mad at me so far.
A bit of a downside is, your provinces aren´t that rich in farming. The highest farming income, without upgrades, is about 200, and that´s not really much according to frog´s guide (which, by the way I would recommend).