Maybe I play the game differently to most others, but I have a different view of it. At present, the game is just as appealing to me as it was when I first started playing. That may be down to the way I play the game. Having the same opponents regularly is a challenge to me, because I know that almost all of them are active managers. I have only had a "bot" as an opponent in my league, once in the last 4 seasons. That is probably because I manage my friends list as much as I do my team. Keeping active managers as "friends" gives me a better chance of playing competitive games. At present my friend list contains 32 active managers at my own level, with 10 a level higher, and 12 a level lower. That allows for me to have a reserve list of managers to compensate for either me promoting or tanking. If one of them stops playing, I delete them from my list and try to replace with a fresh manager from either of the three levels I mentioned. Most of our teams are reasonably level in quality.

As regards the transfer list, I couldn't really say what I think, as I've only bought 2 players over 3 seasons, and sold 2. Again, negotiations happen often between our teams (as in real life). I only buy scouts if I happen to be playing in a higher level league than my managerial status, and therefore they are 7* players.

Sorry if this is a bit long, but I'm just trying to put a different slant on the topic. Manage your friends list as much as your team.