I'm inclined to go with, was it Tony Evan's view?, based on what seemed to be broadcast when they first came in. The owners are looking for value for money across time in general, though are willing to spend big if it will make a huge difference fairly immediately. So they let Commolli spend big quite broadly in getting his and KD's initial targets, given that they're told there is much rebuilding to do, but they expect big return from those big transfers on the pitch—if you're going to spend big it must make a significant immediate difference. When it hasn't and the best that can be hoped is that those players come good over time, which is what they expect from more reasonably priced moneyball type purchases, the bloke who does the negotiating with our own manager, players and other clubs, gets told he isn't doing it right given their ownership strategy and fired. The reason KD isn't held responsible is that he didn't negotiate prices and contracts, and that these big money players are not being totally written off by the owners, it is just that they haven't lived up to the purchasing strategy, (ie, clever spending with the occasional splurge for a particular role or reason) which is not, in our owners' view, the manger's job (it is the "GM's").
