I think you're right @Facebookbovvered - to an extent.
735's would have been fine to support the market for DTV an still could be used there to offer some routes. Definitely, some W patterns could work - the point is, it has to be worth people traveling. I will happily travel from Manchester to Blackpool, Leeds and Liverpool if I need to and have done in the past if it's worthwhile doing so. So VAS should definitely be thinking that they are in the position to offer phenomenal fee rates to entice carriers in, they should have no problem being able to do that. I do actually see DTV becoming a Liverpool of the area - not massively busy but developing and sustaining a good level of routes which is at a profit for the airport overall.
They just need to pull themselves together and go for it. They have a tonne of facility space there, they could even start working to bring in some more cargo guys and too good to refuse rates, but the problem again is transport from the Airport.
I don't really know DTV or a lot about it, but there is no reason in my view that they can't be doing something about the ghost town situation.