Vetere Departs
The club website has quietly and briefly confirmed the departure of Jeff Vetere as technical director.His appointment had rightly generated a reasonable degree of excitement, given the stature of clubs where he had previously worked.
Indeed a very well-connected football contact of mine described him as a 'genius'.
In the brief period during which he was reconnected with the club, his role was so low profile that it is hard to assess what impact he had, and thus what impact his departure will have.
In my 'CAFC - The Movie' blog, I had cast Vetere firmly in a starring role so I don't view today's announcement as being a positive thing.
The idea espoused on some fan forums that he had merely come to set up a scouting network (and thus his work is done) seems rather unrealistic. These things take years not months, and what exactly would he have done?
If he shortly turns up at a bigger and richer club, then it will be fairly obvious what has happened (and frankly who could blame him?).
If not, then I suspect that the fact that the person who I firmly believe is absolutely running the show (Jimenez) is also a self-styled 'football fixer', then perhaps Vetere was never comfortable with exactly what role he was being asked to perform.
However whoever was responsible for pulling together the aforementioned 21 players has clearly done a terrifc job (presumably it was some combination of Powell/Jimenez/Vetere/Chapple) on the evidence so far.
posted by New York Addick @ 6:06 PM
3 comments
It was a very short club statement, so my interpretation is that all was not well? Maybe he has been head-hunted, or maybe something has happened that has accelerated his departure? Could it possibly be linked with the non-appearance of Alonso?
Pedro45
NYA - you pose a fair question. To add intrigue, what was he sold by way of career/opportunity/role that was so good that he jacked a role at Aston Villa to return to SE7? So what has happened and why has he left is indeed a pertinent question.
Your conclusion that the 21 players assembled also includes the input of Mr Chapple is (personally speaking) a long shot. He is consistent across the Murray/Slater-Jimenez era. He didn't have too good a track record before and I doubt his contribution has increased greatly since. Tell me if I am being unfair.
Pedro45, the Alonso signing is indeed the standout oddity, but to be fair he was not an unknown quantity given his age and Bolton experience. I can't believe Powell or Chappel had a view on him, so it must have been either a Jimenez/Vetere suggestion, or a classic botched 'sight unseen' deal. Either way at least it has only cost us his wages (unlike McLeod, Traore etc.)
Floyd, I have no idea about Chapple's role but assume the new owners don't suffer fools gladly, so he must bring something to the table. He has a larger budget with which to scout players to fit, so it is perhaps unfair to castigate his previous impact. The likes of Wiggins, Taylor, Hollands, Stephens etc. strike me as the type Chapple may have suggested given his dual role as 'opposition scout'.