On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Swansea City parted ways with Bob Bradley after just taking over the team in early August. It may come as a surprise to many, taking into consideration he's only been in charge for 11 games, but it's a decision that the Swansea board felt needed to be made with the team sitting in 19th position on only 12 points.
To be fair to him, it was not an ideal situation when he took over. This isn't the same Swansea team that many have come to love because of their unique and attractive way of playing. Before Bob Bradley took over, they hadn't won a game since opening day against Burnley, lost five, only scored six goals and were conceding goals left and right.
However, he also couldn't make the best of a bad situation. We could argue whether the team improved slightly or not under Bradley, but there was no significant difference with Francesco Guidolin. In 11 games with Bob Bradley, Swansea only won two games, drew two and lost seven, and conceded 29 goals. Not to mention Swansea were outscored 10-2 in their last three games against West Brom, Middlesbrough, and West Ham.
Bradley’s sacking may be harsh with the little time he got, but Swansea are in a desperate situation and results are the only things that count in football.
Where will Bradley go, though?
Don’t be surprised if he ends up finding another job somewhere in Great Britain. There are a lot of American owners/investors in the Premier League and there may be interest in having an American manager in charge. It probably won’t be in the English first division, but there could be some opportunities in the Championship or even Scotland.
Also, Bob Bradley isn’t the worst manager to ever coach in the English Premier League. If Paolo Di Canio can land a job at Sunderland, we’re pretty sure Bob Bradley can get another coaching opportunity in England.
Swansea, for their part need an experienced manager. They may be struggling, but they are only four points from getting out of the relegation zone. They need someone who is going to be able to improve the team defensively and get them on a consistent form to pick up points.
Already, Ryan Giggs’ name is being mentioned, but that does Swansea no good. I’m not saying Giggs wouldn’t work, but it would be taking another big risk since his only managerial experience has been taking charge of Manchester United for four games in 2014. Swansea can’t afford to take any more big risks at this point of the season.
Steve Bruce is an experienced manager who has been linked, but he just took over Aston Villa a few months ago. Rumors may spread about Roy Hodgson, Martin O’Neil, and even Alan Pardew (though he was just sacked by Crystal Palace a week ago) as possible replacements. There is one manager on the other hand who did previously interview for Swansea after the sacking of Francesco Guidolin and could fit the profile that the club is looking for: Marcelino Garcia Toral.
He’s an experienced manager who has done well at the teams he’s coached in La Liga (Recreativo de Huelva, Racing Santander, and Villarreal most notably), his teams are solid in defense, very disciplined, play a good brand of football, and Spanish managers generally have done a great job in the Premier League over the last 10 years.
The only downside is that he hasn’t coached in the Premier League and doesn’t speak English. However, looking at what’s available in the market, Marcelino would probably be their best bet if Swansea want to stay in the English Premier League.
The18 Recommends For You
