Once the fireships scattered the Armada, Effingham needed to turn disruption into the destruction of an invasion threat. The Spanish fleet carried an army large enough to cause serious trouble if it landed independently in England. One possible alternative was to seize a secure foothold and then ferry Parma's Army of Flanders across after the failed Calais rendezvous. That choice, however, would have required a much more complicated improvised amphibious and logistical operation. Spain instead pursued a single decisive concentration whose scale was intimidating but whose timing and communications proved too difficult to coordinate.
Notable Point · 1:06:54-1:08:12
Why an alternative Spanish landing remained difficult
The Armada carried enough troops to seize an English foothold, but doing so would replace the planned junction with a demanding improvised amphibious campaign.