With the best will in the world, the obvious conclusion to draw is that brands was happy to take the money and not do his job. I’m not saying I blame him for that but this idea that his hands were tied grates a bit. The situation was clear from the outside about 6 months in, it may well have been clear internally from the outset.Brands problem was simply managers in charge who where at direct odds with his own ideas - it only works if the DoF and manager are on the same page, or at least in the sane book.
Then an owner who buys players for a manager and a DoF who have different ideas