I think saying 'we'd just beaten Doncaster, or 12th in the league, or just played Millwall, why would anyone think it means we'd qualify for Europe and sort out the shares issue' is missing the point entirely.
There was clearly a desire to try and win the FA Cup, for many obvious reasons, one of them being the European qualification.
If, as an organisation, you have a stated goal (such as european qualification), then you perform due diligence on what you need in order to be successful. This is basic project management at any organisation. No one who wants to keep their job goes at it half-arsed with the caveat 'it probably won't happen'.
This appears to be what happened though. Or some boardroom nonsense that hasn't been revealed.
Either way, poor show.