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Bob Bradley was appointed as the new coach for Swansea City on October 3rd, becoming the first American to manage in the Premier League.
Swansea are currently struggling at the bottom of the table with one win, one draw and six losses in their first eight games. They are in 19th position and decided to let Italian manager Francesco Guidolin go after only 25 matches in charge.
Bradley will be a relatively unknown addition to the league, as most people outside of the U.S. aren’t familiar with his work. So let’s take a look at what he will be bringing to the league and the club.
#1: Direct Football
When Swansea were promoted back in 2011, they were known for their passing style of football. So much so that they were even nicknamed as Swansealona, due to similarities with the playing style of Barcelona. However, with Bradley’s appointment things are going to be slightly different. Although Bradley admitted that he “loves good passing football”, his priorities will be to have the team organized as a unit and moving quickly with the ball rather than having the majority of possession.
His style will not be the British style of kick and run football, however, it will just be more direct compared to their past managers. When speaking with BBC radio, former US international and Premier League keeper Brad Friedel said, “the style of play will be different to what it was like under [Roberto] Martinez and [Brendan] Rodgers - it will be more direct and I hope the fans will be prepared for that.”
#2: Strong Mentality
When asked what supporters can expect from him, Bradley boldly replied, “total commitment”.
The 58-year-old American has always been known for his strong character and his commitment to the job. One big example of that would be his decision to stay with the Egyptian national team despite riots in the country. He refused to leave the country no matter what and stayed committed to his job, which was very admirable on his part.
His leadership qualities were actually what got him this job over the likes of Welsh and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs and former Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia Toral. People from Swansea revealed that his sense of purpose and leadership skills were what gave him the edge over others.
Bradley is a very hard worker and that can be contagious to players on the training ground. Even if his tactics fail to work in England, he will get the best out of his players mentally. His willingness to get to know everybody involved in the club will only bring positive spirits. It will certainly be better than the cold shoulder some players received during the tenure of Guidolin, especially in the case of Neil Taylor.
#3: Experience
It’s been revealed that during the interview process, the owners and the chairman were mostly impressed with the American’s depth of knowledge.
Bradley has been coaching for 35 years. He started all the way down at the American college level before slowly going up to getting the United States coaching job and now ending up in the PL. So what he can certainly bring to the table in Swansea is the experience he has gained over the years. He has been in tough environments in Central America and Africa, so fan atmosphere in the league will not faze him at all.
Furthermore, his resume speaks for itself. When he became the coach of the expansion side Chicago Fire in 1998, his first ever job as a head coach at the professional level, he impressively won them a double. He was then given an interim manager position for the national team, and his work won him a permanent position less than a year later. During his time with the national team, he led them to a first place finish in the group which included England at the 2010 World Cup.
With the Egyptian national team, he took them to the 2014 World Cup qualifying playoffs, despite the country not being able to resume their professional league due to ongoing riots. He then went to Norway with Staebek, where he took the newly promoted side to ninth place in his first season and to third and subsequent Europa League qualification in his second. He joined French club Le Havre in Ligue 2 afterwards. He managed to get them to a fourth place finish, only missing promotion to Ligue 1 on goal difference.
So, what can we expect from Bradley in his first stint in England? If it all goes to plan, we can see Bradley taking Swansea to a mid-table finish.
It will be difficult for him at first, coming into the Premier League can be tough for anybody — especially so when he hasn’t had a preseason with them or a chance to bring in his own players.
Despite all of that, Bradley will surely get the team organized as a unit and work their socks off. This was a good move from the club to appoint him, and things will only get better under the American.
