Jackett In

Get Your Jackett – You’ve Pulled

Already this afternoon the message board has lit up with a display of despondancy and criticism of this appointment even though it has yet to be confirmed. Very few seem to believe that Jackett is the man to take us forward, or indeed an improvement on Brian Flynn who left two weeks ago. But do we really know enough about the man to make that kind of judgement.

Jackett is currently assistant manager to Ian Holloway at Queens Park Rangers who stand in the promotion places in the second division. They of course missed out on promotion last season, losing to Cardiff in the final at the Millennium Stadium. Ian Holloway gets much of the limelight at Loftus Road because of his outspoken nature but all too often you find a good manager’s success is down to the abilities of his number two and there you have our man in Jackett.

We were also promised an international footballer. Jackett was capped 31 times for Wales between 1982 and 1988. Just because he was not a household name that we were expecting does not make him a bad choice as manager. Huw Jenkins is already quoted as saying that he was impressed with his number one target’s plans and ambition and if that target is Jackett then surely that bodes well. I am well aware that talking and delivering are different things but let’s not assume he can do it.

Jackett was a one club player – Watford – for all his playing career and played with them at all levels of the league together with managing them between 1993 and 1996. After he left the managers position he remained with the club for a further 5 years in a coaching role leaving only when Vialli took over and brought his own team with him.

His number 2 at the Vetch is strongly rumoured to be former Watford team mate Luther Blisset whom I am sure most Swansea fans will remember from our time battling consistently with them for promotion in the late 1970s.

I accept that this is probably not the appointment that Swansea fans were hoping for but if it is the appointment that the club are going to make then we have to allow him to show his managerial skills?

It’s a surprise but there again so is everything at Swansea City!

Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site?