With respect, you didn't provide any context for the names you offered. So, you failed to mention that at the time we were looking, we were desperate in certain positions, we had a tiny budget thanks to fair play and we were near the bottom of the league, so Smith was hardly going to sign Messi, now was he?
I would say it is also questionable as to how many players of any kind he got to choose himself last season, with the three you cited probably being as far from his preference as you could possibly imagine, but then I am only guessing at that, just like you are!