That's one reading of it, or a better reading might be that they backed the manager fully in his first two windows, yet he had publicly fallen out with the club record signing he wanted (Pogba), the swap for Sanchez which Jose was fully on board with after being done with Mkhitaryan looked like garbage, he seemed to want to bin the two CBs he did sign for another, older one like Toby, and swap Martial out for old ass Willian.
Is there any coherent logic to the manager's thinking at this point? Would you feel comfortable continuing to back him absolutely under such circumstances? I wouldn't.
There isn't any other instance of Woodward refusing to deliver on a preferred target of the manager. Now, perhaps, the recruitment structure is actually different than it was under Moyes, LvG, and the first 2 years under Jose as Ed has suggested. That could also be why the club didn't absolutely go with Jose's desires in the market in summer 2018, because they have actually shifted the recruitment structure, which would be a good thing.