No, it’s not people assuming the worst, it’s fans keeping an open mind. He’s not put a foot wrong - he’s done neither a good job, nor a bad job. He’ll be judged on his acquisitions (same as Marco will be judged on results) and upto now (granted in a relatively short space of time) he’s done just about alright.
Why does Brands get such protection from our fanbase, as if his leadership cannot be disputed? Me criticising (or not, for that matter) his activities (or lack, thereof) is not going to directly or indirectly affect his ability to do his job. He’s a fair target, just as anyone else is.
Until he’s :
A) Identifying and acquiring players that cost very little and turn out to be worldies (Michu)
B) Negotiating and closing sales for current players above market value
C) Negotiating and closing acquistions for players below their actual market value (Digne)
C) Acquiring players we should have no business signing (Neymar)
Then i’ll gladly grant him all the patience in the world. Those are the four main metrics for a successful director of Football. He has good stock, but then so did Walsh.
I’m not sure I’d agree with ‘just about alright’ and ‘neither a good job nor a bad job’.
The recruitment since Moyes left has been terrible (Lukaku aside). Record fees wasted on players that we are now struggling to get rid of and barely a saleable asset added to team in that time (aside from Gueye). Martinez’s successful singing percentage in terms of incomings was probably less than 50%. Koeman/Walsh’s may be even less than that.
Brands had one shortened window and all 6 of Digne Gomes Richarlison Bernard Zouma and Mina improves the first team. Digne’s value has more than tripled, Richarlisons has more than doubled, Bernard’s will obviously have massively gone up % wise. So after about five years of inept recruitment we then have a guy who seems to have landed 6 for 6 in his first window.
That’s why people are currently giving him the benefit of the doubt. It’s no more than that. It’s a case of seeing what he does this window but viewing it positively based on his good work so far which I do believe he’s been good work to turn us around quickly.
If people think that the recruitment last season wasn’t good and that he’s more of the same of what we’ve had before then that’s fair enough. I don’t agree with that opinion , but each to their own.
Not sure I agree with your metrics of success, especially referencing Michu as a worldy.
I’d say though that Digne was signed for massively below market worth given that Trippier is now being sold at 20 mill and Digne is massively superior. Richarlison has been acquired and will potentially be a worldie. I think he sold Klaassen and Vlasic for above their market value at the time. I think we’ve bought Gomes a lot below his market value when you see fees being banded around for other midfielders.
The last one is impossible for Brands to win on though because by its very nature as soon as we acquire a player they’re no longer deemed as impossible to get. Richarlison was a complete pipe dream at the start of last summer. He was linked to Chelsea and most on here said he’d be too expensive. Second he’s through the door though that’s forgotten about. Same with Mina, we were a smokescreen for United, why would a World Cup star come to us etc. Now that he has that’s all forgotten about. No one would have said we’d be able to get Bernard. If we could get Kean this window he’d fall I got he same bracket for me.
The measure of success for a DOF in my book is whether the squad is improving each season. Is the overall value of this quad getting higher as well as the quality of player. I think Brands has achieved this so far. If the measure of him is going to be whether he has found the next Kante and Mahrez yet for next to nothing or whether he’s managed to surprise us and buy Neymar then he’s on a hiding to nothing.