Manager Mode is completely trash

Forget about it. EA and the moderators on this platform will just slap you with the excuse that "It's for testing tactics" and what not and "Just use it to earn tokens" like they always do to posts that criticise manager mode. They aren't gonna fix it despite being well aware of its issues.

I personally do not condone this type of response but like a parent with a crying toddler, I relent because I find no point in arguing. Just know that you are not the only player who is frustrated with this garbage game mode. There was one point where I autoplayed manager mode through the night. 40 games in total and I only went up 2-3 stars if I'm not wrong. I've seen so many 90th minute goals to win or draw the match which the AI controlling the players might think is "exciting" but to me it's utter garbage. You can tell that it's unrealistic and fake. Not to mention, you can adjust the tactics as much as you want, but the AI will just do whatever they want. Set passing distance to low? The AI will long ball. Set pressure and aggression to max? The AI will just stand still waiting for opposing players to score.

The AI's performance is not consistent. I have a 120 OVR team and will still lose by 3-5 goals to other 120 OVR or lower squads. Plus, I've noticed a pattern in which I constantly win 2 matches, lose the next 2 and then draw. Pretty sure winrates for manager mode is averaged at 50%.

TLDR: Totally agree and understand your frustration, but EA is just that kind of business.