My sojourn into DIV II last year and other games where I thought I should have been competitive. The idea is to have a roster where the game engine can plug in any player anywhere except for the center position. I've controlled substitutions for years and have only been able to get to DIV II so I thought I'd try something new. There were games where I dominated the ratings, but ended up getting blitzed by an out of position player raining 3's. As far as i know, there's no in-game penalty for playing out of position (other than a low rating) so I figured it was worth a shot.
Once it was clear that I wasn't hanging around DIV II, I experimented with open lineups and the engine was a little limited in where it would put players. If I don't give it any choice (i.e. they are basically all the same), I may be able to force some variety in substitutions. I'm also going to mess around with strategies to see where I get the best results.
It's just an experiment though. I can always reinvest in the standard setup if it tanks.