I agree with the OP's opinion about the Academy. Paying 12, 15, 21T... for a totally unknown 4*? It's ridiculous. With 12T i can make a very attractive offer in negotiations for a player whose the history and abilities i can check.

But i can't understand how people insist about that WE ALWAYS play against higher teams in the CUP. There are always teams that play against lower level teams. They are our opponents who are real teams belonging to real players.
And higher level doesn't mean higher quality. I am now in lvl 15 and i can't remember so far playing against a team with unreasonably higher quality than mine.