well, the best advice I have gotten about that situation you're in, is to look at the Season as a chance to do some training and player improvements, without expectation of promoting.

No it isn't quite like RL, but it is an aspect of the way the game was designed, there just aren't always enough of the same level to make a complete League, and that is the way they solve it.

Now they have the "take over a team" feature as well, if you don't want to be on the top of the server, you can take over a different team. (keeping your Boosters and Tokens but abandoning else)