Yeah it's frustrating to say the least. I think a big part of my attendance woes is because I came in 5th place, which I'm guessing the fans consider a losing season, regardless of record. Promoting from IV and having a winning record means nothing, coming in 5th place means everything, or so it seems. At this rate I will have to sell off players in a few weeks as i'll be operating in the red.
When I started playing this game back in season 6 (different team) there were over 50000 human run teams, Now there are only 13000, or roughly 25% of it's peak, and I'm starting to understand why. If I have to start selling off, chances are I'll just let things go bot. It's a fun game that I enjoy, but this game has always had a fatal flaw: It's top heavy. In other words it's designed to protect the teams at the top, and the futility that new managers face coming in at the bottom causes managers to bail. The sides of the pyramid are too steep, if that makes sense. If you have to day trade or use sling-shot tactics just to get ahead, the game is inherently flawed, hence the rapidly dwindling base of players.