At Chelsea the DOF's job is to ensure the manager's transfer targets are signed within the club budget.
At Brighton the manager identifies the position he wants filled and the DOF brings a list of players that fit the budget.
The manager then chooses who he wants from that list rather than starting with you do we want.
The DoF is a good system and realistically has to be in place for a big team - in the modern game, the manager's job is the coach and pick the team, not negotiate deals.
The problem is, the DoF actually has to have good contacts, good networks and an almost unparalleled knowledge of the game, on top of good communication with the manager so as to sign the players he actually wants.
