The competition at lower levels isn't all that serious....For me,I hardly faced any teams which had a manager managing the proceedings..My team of 3 * players or so won me the league in Level 3
If you can't afford scouts then go for the expensive 18/19 yr old players whose team name will be something weird or funny like Comfortable AC,Plummy CF etc etc....
Sell your players on day 1,keep the price to the maximum since your player will surely attract some bidder...
Speed (Extra for dedication) is the best deal which gives you 35 t per season.