IMO, the game should be as appealing/"rich" as possible, as there will be more reasons for players to stay.
At the same time, the learning curve of the game is long, the "tutorial" extremely ineffective (so much useful info that just isn't easily available), the economy can be harsh and as for basics, well... IMO, players/clubs histories should be a priority in their updating too (stats registry, BBM and such).
The better the playing experience, the most likely people will want to invest time in it
