It largely boils down to the cult of Ollie - both the behaviour of the club when he was in charge and the attitude of their fans when he was pulling all his stunts. The complete head in the sand attitude to the financial side by their fans is only matched by the same fans sanctimoniously going on about paying debts now.
Most clubs have overspent and overstretched themselves at some stage, but I don't think it's ever been so unquestioned as it was with Shels. Possible exception is Drogs, who are similarly blind when it comes to particular individuals.