That's your choice then, but for me, I'll go for pure quality. Even if I had money to burn, I'll burn it well. :p I'm fine with a larger squad, I can still get any formations I want. :)
I think it actually save me money since I save on purchasing 3 players and maintaining them. Also better maintainance on the players since they be playing more. I thought about it, it's only time consuming and costly in the beginning, after you get a perfect team to your liking then only maintainance should be easy.
Game money is nothing much, and I can get any player I want for a handful of tokens on my server. It might be different when I reach level 25, but I'm fine for now.
With a smaller squad, though, I think you're relying on the same player to play more roles? Which means you're in more trouble if you're hit with 7 or so injuries. :p
Current Training Speeds
Michu 9/19/27
Miku 20/37/58