Actualy you are almost right .Yes you can sucses without buying tokens but only few season(10-12).Then game is very diferent.IN first (lets be 15 lvl) game is prety normal - in games wich you have stronger team you win some time with big results ,vs weaker team big result is 100%.And it is normal .But then... then welcome in new game wich dont have anything with this first 15 lvl.TM is empty almost all time.If you dont buy tokens dont watch young players in TM you have no chance for them.If you want to make your team enough good from promotion you have to spend a lot of time behind pc waiting good 5 star player.At last if you have luck and you have 5-6 star team comming strange results.For example in first lvl is absolutly normal if your team have 5-6 quality more to win easy.But after 15 lvl you must be happy if you make draw with team wich quality is lower with 10.Team wich are lower than you with 5-6 usualy crash you(for exapmle i lost my last 2 games from 3-5 stars team with big results 1:6 and 0:5! even my team have 9 players with SA and this teams not).Strange is games with team wich have almost same quality .Results is normal almost all time.In hight lvl if you dont buy tokens or if you buy smal amount is very hard to create 5 stars team,but if you do it its not enough for promotion.Without spending a lot of money for tokens with 5-6 stars players you will finish in last 5 team in leage and next season when your team is 6-7 stars you have chance for promotion.If you think that teams wich get promotion is stronger you have wrong.Team wich finished on top usualy have few 4 stars players on the field but they easy pwn your 5-6 star team...So what you can do is you want to get promotion -buy a lot of tokens,buy scouts(they are not amaizing like in first 15 lvl personaly i have 2 who never get more than 5!)powertrain team to get fast 6-7 stars quality(yes you need 6-7 stars team to beat "top" team full with 4 stars players who played much better than your 7 stars scouts,they dont need SA to make hattrick from free kick ...) or you have to stay in same lvl 2-3 seasons to get hardly promotion with few other 4 stars teams....
Forum can prove my words easy -you can count how many thread about strange results are opened + few vent thread with ppl who are complain from this.
I realy cant understand why game folow this logic.If active player with good team get promotion easier he will looking for new players more often.So he will spend tokens.Today is 6-th day of season and i know that i have to stay with my 5-6-7 stars team at this lvl one more season(if i keep play)this mean that i wont spend any tokens next 2 month.In third month i wont spend tokens in first days becouse i know that no point i know that i cant get promotion from first trying.I will wait midle or end of season and will buy players easy for smal amount of tokens and wait next season... At last if i get promotion every season i will need more tokens i have no problem to buy some and i will be happy.But if get promotion 1 time per 2-3 month ofc i dont need tokens becouse i will get them from TV rights..
If nordeus fix this ilogical results peolple will not open every day threads wich started"HOW" "OMG" etc will be not angry,will not use bad words against mods and support(like me )and will spend more tokens every season.All will win Thats why i can understand why active players with good team keep loosing from abadoned team and why they loose with big results from equals team.No one like to loose even he spend money.Noone will spend money to watch how his team lost 1:6 from weak team than his.
So you are right but for first lvl when you become near 20 lvl will speak again(if you have ingame support becouse you are mod its diferent jocking)