It’s not unwarranted fear though, is my point.
I don’t know why you’re being like this about it at all. Where does this confidence come from?
No it's not unwarranted. It's reasonable to feel how you feel about it. I disagree, but it's not unreasonable.
Interesting question. Without putting a massive amount of thought into it:
1) It's a different operation than previous years, and Brands is an actual proper DoF who has been running short and long term strategy at a renowned European club for years, as opposed to the calamity of Walsh and Co. So just the credentials and experience alone make me feel calm.
2) I don't think we should be expecting too many signings. I'd be content with 3, and develop other players and the young'uns. And there's loads of time to get 3 deals sorted. If they have to be a bit more careful with dishing out silly money, then fair enough.
3) The comments of Brands and Silva since they've arrived. I think they identified the key problems that needed addressing, which straight away gives me confidence. I feel like previously not only weren't we identifying problems, we were creating them.
4) Relatively modest expectations. Not thinking we're likely to get above 7th this season, and I think a good manager (which I think Silva is, and will be) should be able to take this team into 7th by improving players in training and building some robust, repeatable tactics and patterns of play. So those modest expectations take the pressure off things for me.