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Stabaek director wants Norway FA to hire Bob Bradley

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Bob Bradley was fired by Swansea City on Tuesday, but he may not be out of work for long.

In an interview with Norwegian publication VG Sporten, Stabaek’s sporting director Inge Andre Olsen is pushing for the Norway’s FA to hire Bradley as the national team’s coach.

“[The federation] should get in touch with Bob’s agent as soon as possible,” said Olsen. “He is the best man Norway can get. If they want the number, then just call me.”

Olsen continued to praise Bradley, saying that his qualities are undeniable, but he also lamented the fact that the American did not make it to the January transfer window.

“He is a fantastic coach,” he said. “But in the Premier League, it’s mostly about what you are getting in the transfer market. It is money that reigns. Therefore I hoped that he would survive the holidays so that he got the opportunity to bring its players in January. He would get the chance to build his team.”

Bradley worked closely with Olsen at Stabaek when he was the coach from 2014 to 2015. The former U.S. Men’s National Team boss guided the Norwegian side to a Europa League spot, even though it was tipped for relegation.

The Norwegian national team job is currently vacant after Per-Mathias Hogmo was relieved of his duties in November. Norway is currently four points adrift of a playoff place in Group C of 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Comments

  1. Sign as an assistant in England somewhere rebuild the reputation a bit and in a couple of years he’ll have a shot at getting another job managing in the EPL or another top league if that’s what he wants. Canadian national team coach wouldn’t be a bad spot for Bob either but that would be a long build with nothing but the Gold Cup to play for for the next four years.

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  2. Is Jose Mourinho a good manager? Last season he had a team that had won the championship the previous season and was then in the bottom half of the table when he left and the team seemed to quit on him. Now pretty much that same team is leading the league. He took over Man U which finished 5th last season and he now has them in 6th. So, if that’s all you knew, you’d have to say he’s a lousy manager. Obviously, that’s a very short sighted conclusion. Until last season he was pretty much a winner everywhere he went and has had an outstanding career. What this shows is that sometimes even the best can have some stinkers. This article seems to indicate that others elsewhere realize that Bradley is a good coach despite his Swansea experience. Hopefully he will rebound from this and have success elsewhere. Norway is one of those teams that occasionally has good enough players to qualify for the WC and/or UEFA championships. Anyone remember the Flo brothers? Since they are currently outside of qualification, this could be a good situation for him. If he moves them up, then he’s a hero in Norway and if he doesn’t, well, it didn’t look like they’d qualify under the old regime so he may then get a pass.

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  3. Would be a good place for him to land. He’s respected there. It was never going to work in the Premiere League. Too much anti American bias there.

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    • Too much anti American bias there.

      Of course that element exists, but it’s not exclusive just to England. It’s prevalanet throughout Europe. However, this defeatist attitude is nauseating. Bradley failed and (unfortunately) earned the swift exit.

      What people are overlooking is the ability to hire a manager of your choosing is vastly increased if you’re able to offer them the prospect of signing their own players in Janurary. Evidently, they didn’t believe Bradley was the right man for such an endeavor, and based on results, the form Swansea was in and the general perception you’d be displaying American bias to not acknowledge they actually appeared to regress under Bradley. Certainly from a defensive standpoint.

      Not directed specifically at you, but just generally: stop the whining about American bias. Bradley failed on his own, and quite frankly, did little to help the American bias.

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      • In the grande scheme of things, yes, he failed, but if we’re being honest and unbiased that roster is not a premier league level roster and they are no worse or better then they were when he was hired. I thought the owners would have given him through January to bring in his players to strengthen the squad but i guess the british media and Swansea supporters are too loud for even american compatriots to overcome. The funny thing is these british teams will continue to rinse and repeat with the same hires and firings, ala Big Sam, David Moyes, etc which is why their league has become a shell of itself that it’s almost laughable. Swansea did Bob a favor, i just hope it doesn’t affect his career going forward.

      • Ronniet,

        Listen, I like Bradley, but he failed. He was fighting an uphill battle because he had (1) a weak roster, (2) the fans against him, and (3) a biased media, but he did too little assuage them. His teams looked VERY disorganized (which is very anti-Bradley), and looked to have lost the team.

        I feel that there is too much hiring/firing in the EPL. My opinion is that every coach should at least get a transfer window, and the opportunity to implement those changes. However, relegation (and the implication/losses) from complicates that issue. If there was no such thing as relegation, I would give a coach at least 1 full season.

        You state “british teams will continue to rinse and repeat with the same hires and firings, ala Big Sam, David Moyes, etc “, but that is not unique. Look at NFL, NBA hirings etc. Additionally, the two guys are bad examples because they do not get teams relegated. Moyes, as much as you disparage him, has not suffered relegation and has a long track record of success. If you want to talk about bias, look at what Moyes went through with United.

      • In the grande scheme of things, yes, he failed, but if we’re being honest and unbiased that roster is not a premier league level roster and they are no worse or better then they were when he was hired.

        I understand the sentiment, Ronniet, but he knew the challenge/risk of taking over a club that was light on talent and already in season. Personally, I’ve stated before I never faulted him for trying and respect that he did.

        However, (and I could be wrong now due to missing a lot because of the holidays) the stats I saw actually do indicate they were worse at least from a defensive standpoint (and set-piece, too?). Bradley will never be confused with being a tactician visionary, so defensively, shape and set-pieces have to be the bread and butter. Unfortunately, they were anything but.

      • Looking at results, they became a sieve after he got there. So they “got worse” but my understanding of the deal was: “Look Bob, we suck and our fans are pissed because we used to play good football, and now we aren’t even capable of scoring. We want you to come in and help us re-discover our free flowing ways. Can you help?”

        As I recall their fans were super pissed at how they were defending with 11 and the bus and not scoring. Bradley came in and they started scoring more… sadly, they left the bus in the parking lot and the results show it. But seriously, 1-0 or 4-0 is still a loss and against the top of the prem… Swansea has no chance. Plus f*ck the Welsh. They should have given him a transfer window.

        But I love that Bob took the chance.

        Also, I think this was a useful lesson for him with respect to managing/tactics/etc.

      • I agree he didn’t cut it, regardless of the reasons but you’re kidding yourselves if you don’t think the anti american bias had something to do with it. Throw Ranieri, Pardew.. whoever in bobs shoes and they’re getting to the transfer window.

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