Wages and the off field stuff.
As for whether they were ETH guys or not, if they suck they suck. Jury is out, but two of the three look pretty mediocre so far. And like usual, ETH plays other players over people bought.
I would also suggest that if you tried to replace a manager, probably got turned down by at least two if not more, then had to come back to your original manager, and give a pricey extension, the original manager likely had more than a little say in getting a few players he wanted.
It was a giant clown show