I have unchecked the option to play similar levelled players. So I've been put up against a few D1,2,3 players (I'm in D4) Which is a good thing for me really, unless I play on a sunday night and want promotion. I played a D1 guy 0-0 and I ended up getting 240k cash for it! A normal win against a D5 team usually gives me 100k. Even a loss will give you loads if your opponent has a great team. Mostly if a guy in D4 or D5 has CR7, Arshavin, etc. They most likely suck and only play coach mode to aquire more games to get the funds.
Joining a competition is by far the best way to make money fast. Even if you lose all your games. I can usually get my entry fee covered after 3 games or so, and I can normally get 6-7 games in total.
iamcanadianeh: A few of the top players are ridicilously overpriced, Ronaldo is 15mill or so. starting at about 8 or 9mill i think? I find if I'm interested in a player, and I see 1000+ players own him I wont purchase him, since I know I can get a similar levelled player much cheaper if less people own him. (My squad at the moment consists of players with overall stats in the low 70s.)