[Devongone]

Salts, all Cookie did wrong was to play ball with Pompey. They could have waited. He could have told them he was flattered by their interest, but he had to do his best by Chesterfield before even considering what they proposed, and asked them to keep it quiet. As it was we hit play-offs we were unlikely to win, with half a team that knew they would be leaving anyway and a manager who knew he could build a team for a bigger club with a bigger name at a level he knew better than anyone. And Cookie was damned right to wonder how well he would have had to do to guarantee support from Chesterfield. Promotion followed by a play-off spot was a brilliant performance. I could hardly blame him for feeling disgruntled.

If we had won those play-offs imagine what would have happened then. We'd have been Yeovil Plus. Relegation, record low points and well on the way to the fate that eventually befell us anyway. Cookie would have known that if he couldn't build a promotion-winning team in Division One, no one on earth could get us a team that would handle the Championship if the Chairman wasn't onside.