If I were in Level 1 I would do a few things:
1. Farm resources and accumulate them over a few seasons. Especially rest packs and tokens.
2. Fill the squad with all 28 players (cheapest ones for the reserve) and aim on reaching the 91th training level as fast as I can.
3. Buy a few good attacking players (older ones are ok) and use them in matches for the next 3-4 seasons.
4. Keep an eye on the ground development.
5. In the beginning of Level 5 I'd think about starting a serious gaming

I personally did not follow the above rules hence I've built a more or less strong team only by Level 8ish...