The good ones should hold up fine in level 2. They'll probably be good for a few seasons. Stock pile as many resources as you can for next season and buy a couple next season. If your team is winning this season, no need to buy new players. They'll just lose a star and age a year when the season ends.

Well that's how I did it. I stock piled enough tokens and money to buy 2 scouts at the beginning of the next season. That got me through the cup. Then I started moving towards finding fast trainers and power training.