That argument doesn't really address the fact that you have allowed 11 players contracts to expire without signing anyone to replace them.
There are another 8 whose contracts expire next season.
Parish's handling of the squad has been very poor.
Whether it comes back to haunt you is anyone's guess, but I suspect it leads to spending more on fees and wages than is necessary.
I would say that was a deliberate, apart from Townsend I would say we have resigned the players that they wanted to stay, many of that 11 never played at all last season.