I got caught between a rock and a hard place on this one. For 3 seasons my leagues got progressively more challenging by making friends with teams that were similar quality. I then ditched 2 teams that seemed to be friends with everyone and this season ended up in a no friends league that was full of crap. Now I'm trying to add more friends again, carefully, a few from league and everyone I can in CL, to make sure I'm getting fresh blood in.

Adding too many friends from the league reinforces the bond that got you together: for variety you need to either dilute it or break it.