Could the First Sea Lord control every admiral's employment?

Did First Sea Lord Dudley Pound bear responsibility for leaving senior admirals unemployed?

Not entirely; Pound tried to manage appointments, but senior officers ashore were difficult for any First Sea Lord to control personally.

First Sea Lord Dudley Pound did his best to manage appointments but did not possess complete personal control over every senior officer. An older naval saying captures the problem: admirals could be ordered at sea, while managing them ashore demanded more coercive power than one chief possessed. Flag-officer employment emerged from an institution and its personalities rather than from a single commander's plan. Pound therefore cannot carry sole responsibility for every underused admiral.