Why some admirals belonged at sea and others ashore

Which admirals were worst suited to shore command, or better at sea than ashore?

St Vincent and Tovey were stronger at sea, Beatty had real shore strengths, and King and Nimitz adapted well to both kinds of command.

St Vincent was poorly suited to shore command, while Beatty was more effective ashore than his battlecruiser reputation might suggest. King and Nimitz could handle both environments. Somerville needed relief after repeated illness and heavy wartime duty, whereas Tovey was better commanding a fleet than a large shore organization. An officer's reputation cannot be transferred automatically between operational and administrative posts.