Yeah, I'm in the same camp.
For me as a player, and I guess I'm in the minority by a long shot b/c they don't seem to design games for my style of play anymore, I need the EA designers to ask themselves "what's the game going to look and play like after ten seasons of manager mode?" Because after ten years as a manager those few real managers are going to be all over the globe, my team is going to be filled with cpu generated players and half of them are going to look generic and possibly identical - and possibly quite silly, and they're going to play quite silly with awkward work rates etc., and if I'm the national program coach from a small country - they're likely to all have the same name.
So I appreciate anything that is added, I do, but if they would just OPEN UP THE GAME FOR EDITING in offline manager and career modes I, and many others, could do the tinkering we need to achieve offline customization and bliss. Honestly. Just open it up so I can change some names, tweak a few stats, and alter a few looks... and I could run my manager mode for fifty seasons and keep it interesting.
And I'd still buy the game each year as well - don't worry about that EA. I buy the games each year even when I don't love the games, why would I stop buying it when I do love it?