There was nothing anyone could have done about that player exodus. Capaldi had already gone and tripled his wages - how do you compete with that? When a club like Everton comes in for one of your young players, you're probably going to lose that player. Doesn't matter if you're Plymouth Argyle, Derby County, Nottingham Forest or Blackburn Rovers. Even if by some miracle we could have matched their wages, how on earth do you convince a young player to turn down a chance like that?
We had no chance. All our players went to clubs that were either in the Prem or bound for it. And I don't buy the idea that Holloway told other clubs about their contracts. They didn't need telling. It doesn't take a genius to work out that low crowds + no wealthy backers = crap contracts. What really killed us was the local population refusing to come out and support a team on the verge of the play-offs. Some of the attendances that season were ridiculous. Maybe if we'd had a bit more money from gate income, we might have stood a chance. As it was, we were ripe for the plucking.