Here's how you play this game without spending but still feeling like a champ.

This game sticks you into leagues/cups based on your best 13 players. So keep your starters, remove your 2nd string and keep your 3rd string. Next season your starters will be your 2nd string as you bring in new players- do not buy any new players until day 3 after you are put in a league. Hopefully you will be in a league that is actually competitive and not dominated by the 1-2 mega teams rated 120%+ at the top. This worked for me once, but I made the mistake of buying a whole new squad with defenders and attackers. I suggest not buying defenders at all and only using youth members but everyone has their own style.