the reasons you state for slow and long ball are both sound, but just not as a combination. you want quality over quantity but then play a long ball? either Fast - Direct/Long ball or slow-mixed/short. Good luck
I guess I changed to 'soft' tackling style to try to avoid picking up cards (which are often picked up due to my defensive style) - which it has been useful for to be fair, but I'll try going back to normal/hard.
The 'slow' tempo was in order to work a good opportunity rather than rushing - aiming for quality over quantity I guess, and the 'long ball' style was to try to get the ball to my 3 forwards when the opportunity came up, to let my best attacking players take the shots.
But I'll definitely make some adjustments there as recommended by you guys and hopefully I see some improvement!