Jeff Vetere moves on
I am somewhat disappointed by the departure of Jeff Vetere from The Valley, even though I really don’t have any clear idea of what he did or what his future held and a rather curt statement on the Official Site only leads to his mystery.
I know he has been seen a lot around the club since the arrival of Slater and Jimenez and one would have thought he was more than just a little involved in some of the 21 signings that the club has made since the end of last season particularly those earmarked for the future as part of the ‘developmental squad.’
Vetere has been known not to hang around jobs too long mind. In the last 5 years he has held posts with West Ham, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Palace, Villa and now Charlton. Maybe we’ll read in the next couple of weeks he is to be the new Blackburn manager or something.
As someone once said Vetere’s telephone book is like the who’s who of the football world so I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt in what we now see under Powell and Dyer plus the recruitment of Hart and players such as Ruben Bover Izquierdo and I’d like to thank him for his efforts, although that would be easier if we knew a little more about them!
Of course chief scout and legendary centre half Phil Chapple remains at the club.
I do wonder why the club do not come out and better explain both the exit and, perhaps most importantly, the achievements of Jeff Vetere. The ‘brush under the carpet’ method only serves to give the impression things never quite went to plan, which I’m sure is not the case in reality. The use of the word ‘regret’ hardly gives a positive spin on things.
I’m happy to believe that the current rebuilding is entierly down to Sir Chris, but such is the level of change, I suspect Mr. Vetere had a lot to do with it.
Maybe he was only on a short-term deal to help us turn last seasons squad around? I believe he is a Charlton fan and given the teams he has worked for previously, just having him around seemed a bit of a coup.