OK, so basically the game is in the same state as most of other online managerial games are in (very few actually survived that kind of outcome - I can only think of 2 that kind of dodged that bullet and only one is what I am certain of)
Can't really say that I am surprised, even though I wish the reality would have been different. I guess that's the curse of "marathon" (to quote one user from this thread) games that open up the wrong doors (most of the times is the perverse incentive brought by National Teams "needing" to be competitive and the slow pace of players development, a reality that already slapped me hard before I even got to pick up my shield). However, farm teams (more of a solution for speeding up the game I guess...not that I agree with) I can sort of bear with...for as long as I don't see and look beyond my own team and interests. It's the financial illicit gains that bother me the most and kind of kill the appeal of a game for me (which kind of also makes sense why finances are being brought up as an important element of the game and constantly get highlighted as the main focus).
I don't plan on cheating so I am not sure I need to know or figure out the tactics of going around the system and neither do I plan on watching paint dry for 6months before I can do anything in the game, so now that I know what to look for, I'll see how bad it is and decide on whether to give it a go or not.
But cheers for the answer. It pretty much told me what I needed to know