Stuck in mid-table

I deliberately picked a rubbish team in the Dutch Div 2, hoping to take them to the Top but after a good start (promoted in two years) I've got stuck.

The last three seasons I've finished 13, 12 & 14, well clear of relegation but nowhere near a Euro play-off spot.

Do I just have to wait until my reputation is high enough to attract decent players? Or are there sneaky ways to get good fast?

I don't fancy spending twenty years as an also-ran.

target the weakest areas of your squad and replace players.

replace older, weaker players with younger stronger players.

you are treading water, so any positive changes will impact on your team.

good way to punch above your weight is to concentrate on your training. If you improve that your current players will out play themselves. Also look for freebies every summer. I generally spend a couple of hours every summer going through all the free transfers. Also possible change your formation to a little more defensive.

First of all I would wait until the end of the season, if I'm 14th.

Then I would look around and fire/hire new staff (hoping the players will react to this). Then I would clear my reserves team of any deadwood, look at my youth to see who can I bring into my first quad (regardless of his age) and give him say 5-8 sub appearance for the next season.

Then If I have an assistant that has 13 or more at judging player ability I would listen to him. In the past I made that mistake of not listening to their advice and played players with 2.5 star and left players with 3.5 star on the bench or not playing them at all. You have to decide who to sell and try to bring in players with high determination (because these players tend to not give up so easily).

Finally, use the media, don't put pressure on your players you'll notice that they will play much better if you don't ask them to win every game.

Loans.

Ask your assistant to find loan playes for a few positions. You'll usually find that, even if you have to pay a fee upfront, they'll find much better options for loan than you manage to find yourself when searching.

I wouldn't try change the team around by bringing in too many players at one time, it can take 6 months for them to get to know one another, and by that time the seasons half over.

On the flip side the players you move out of the squad will have already built up a level of understanding and personal relationships

Take note of what your assistant says regarding how a player will fit into the squad, one bad apple can disrupt the whole team.

A players mental stats can be realy important so try to get some guys with high determination in key positions.

Think about playing a 4-5-1 formation as good midfielders are easier to find and are a lot cheaper than good strikers. This formation also stops other teams from dominating the midfield (often where games are won or lost)

It also means you have more room on your subs bench as players can usualy fill others spots relativly easily meaning you don't need as large a squad and can focus more on quality than quantity.

FM has changed a lot over the years so its well worth taking a look at how some of the touchine shouts and team talks etc work

There is a motivation ticker you can put up on your screen which is quite handy and also an opposition formation one so you can keep a look out for some of the tricks the AI trys to pull