Bob Bradley’s time at Swansea City is over.
The Premier League club announced on Tuesday that it has parted ways with the American manager after just 11 games and 85 days in charge.
“We are sorry to lose Bob after such a short period of time,’’ said Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins. “Unfortunately things haven’t worked out as planned and we felt we had to make the change with half the Premier League season remaining.
“With the club going through such a tough time, we have to try and find the answers to get ourselves out of trouble.”
Bradley reportedly met with Swansea’s owners, who were concerned with the team’s run of form. The Welsh side is currently 19th in the Premier League, four points adrift of safety.
“Personally, I have nothing but praise for Bob,” Jenkins continued. “He is a good man; a good person who gave everything to the job. His work-rate is phenomenal and we wish him well for the future.”
Bradley earned just two wins and eight points whilst conceding 29 goals since he took over on Oct. 3.
Swansea has the worst most bitter xenophobic fanbase I have ever seen. Way unworthy of Bob bradlley. I will now enjoy seeing them sinking to the depths of league 4 or below. Watching the Jack to a King movie as if it was a proud moment in their history to threaten to break a man’s legs made my stomach turn. What a disgusting group of thugs this club and their fan base is. Bob was stupid for taking this job in the first place. He shouldn’t have treated them with the respect he did; he should have called them out for the scum and thugs that they are. And for those who say he doesn’t know tactics you are efffing idiots. He was the guy who took out Spain with tactics. Tactics that the Swiss coach then copied per his own admission to prevent Spain from advancing out of the group in the World Cup. I hope Arena hires him as his assistant and we will watch the USA kick the World’s ass, despite all the bribed Lorrionda type FIFA will give us on the way there. As Weezer said we got the skills to pay the bills and you Nazi millennials who joined the Outlaws with JK because it was hip and you can follow a band director’s barked instructions while totally wasted, you can step aside. That is not how to make a Dos a cero legacy; it happens naturally (translation for you millennial fake fans = organic)
all this talk here about Bradley not understanding tactics…so much BS. and this coming from a lot of you who thought Jurgen could do it. seriously, lmao
A lot slamming Bradley also slammed Klinsman
Ha, they said he was “fired” rather than the proper term, “sacked”….. silly Americans…..
Surprised it took them this long. He has basically failed everywhere
Hire him back after the world cup for USA means gnats coach for another term or nah?
HELL NO!
USA mens nats coach*
LOL @ Anthony
He may have to wait a bit. But MLS any second division team in Europe. Could get a national job. I think a smart club will see that he didn’t get enough time for Swansea. LA would be a good fit.
Not his fault..Swansea refused to bring bornstein and Ricardo Clark
Swansea found out what we already new ..Bradley is a terrible coach an American coaches are terrible at tactics and player development
Idiotic. US coaches have done better in the World Cup than English coaches. And player development in 11 games? Sure, whatever. Bradley’s only error was treating his players like they were competent…he should have parked the bus, tried for a bunch of 0-0 draws, and survived until the transfer window.
Agreed. Problem is Swansea has their whole image of passing soccer. But if you want that hand the coach a team of players who can defend so they can balance out the tactics and also attack. What Bradley was handed is like the Houston Dynamo, you either open up and play Eredivisie scores, and have a nasty looking GA and not a lot of points, or you have maybe a couple more points parking the bus and getting at best a pile of ties.
If he wanted the job, yeah, play for ties while demanding reinforcements. But this is probably the worst team to sign to coach because they committed to pretty soccer even if the team sucks. That and the fans struck me as xenophobic levels of opposition to American ownership and management.
Like the Lords and Masters of Soccer, the English?
Just a couple of “out of idle curiosity” type questions….
1) Is there a single English player you’d rate among the Top-50 players in the world right now?
No?
Odd.
2) Is there a single English manager you’d rate among…oh, let’s call it the Top-20 managers in the world right now?
No?
So tell us more about tactics and player development, please. Or…let’s turn our attention to, say, the Dutch. Who the last World Cup were being lauded for their visionary player development and sophisticated tactics, and who are now among the bums of Europe, sliding all the way to #22 in the FIFA rankings – one spot behind Iceland…and actually two spots behind Ecuador (who incidentally lost to the USA twice in about two weeks this past summer during Copa America, but nevermind that).
Did the Dutch suddenly forget how to develop young players, and what tactics are?
People act like there’s some sort of mystical black art to soccer. There isn’t. As much as anything, the game is about managing egos, expectations, and surfin’ the wave…the latter of which I mention because there’s no other game where you’re a genius and a talisman one second and a bum the next. You’re also sort of dependent on talent and that tends to come in waves as well. But I still find it fascinating the EPL is basically an All-Star league of imports, with very few actual Englishmen playing any key roles on any of the major teams (and certainly none of the managers), and most of the actual English frontline talent plies their trade in the Championship or even League One.
In 2016, in fact, just 31 per cent of starters – or less than 70 players – in the Prem are English. That ain’t good no matter how you slice it.
So, Martha, tell me again about this astounding English model of development we need to be emulating?
Some of the best US coaches in history in other sports were not tactical innovators, or even good at tactics. Two of the best examples are Vince Lombardi in football and John Wooden in basketball. They were good because they emphasized fundamentals, got good players and got the most out of them. Besides, it seems to me that soccer is much less complicated than American football or baseball and similar to basketball. In most sports it is about execution and ability more than anything else.
The irony to your statement is similarly situated teams at the bottom of the EPL often have managers with far worse CVs. “Oh, he once won the Second Division.” Or, a playoff in the Championship. You wanna talk smack about Bradley for not being SAF but the rank and file English league manager hasn’t done squat. Hasn’t won a first division league or made it from a World Cup knockout stage. Hasn’t put a nothing team in Europe. It’s tinged with a lot of xenophobia and not giving Americans an even chance.
That’s a good point and when you look at it, when most English managers move to other leagues or even to top teams in the EPL, they seem to fail miserably. David Moyes is a good example. Mark Hughes does wonderfully with mid-table teams, but then flamed out at Man City. Roy Hobson did well at Fulham, but then failed at Liverpool and couldn’t get England out of its WC group.
“you are promoted to your level of incompetence”… fighting relegation is a different skill set than winning a premier league title… is a different skill set than winning champions league… and coaching in England generally is a different skill set than coaching in Germany, Italy, or Spain. Its not surprising that so many have failed when they switch around…
1. He should have gotten a transfer window and some games afterwards.
2. English press never gave him a shot, cause he is a Yank
3. Bradley should have waited in taking the job closer to the transfer window.
4. He is walking away with a boot full of cash.
5. He will find a job easily
5. He will find a job easily
Where that will be is my question. Unfortunately, he hasn’t exactly helped his reputation.
LAFC. He’ll sign by the end of the week.
Although I was very much pulling for him, I can not say I am surprised, particularly after the last ugly loss. This does seem a tad….. unfair, impatient if you truly thought enough of him to bring him in. Speaks more to a reactionary lack of confidence by ownership and a desperate organization which always translates to a desperate team. But…. I was among those ready BB to leave the USMNT and the mention/prediction of him coming to LAFC did quite reflexively make me whince, soooo…… I can’t be too judgmental now can I.
Well I’m rooting for Swansea to be relegated now. The way that Bob was treated by the fans there was pretty poor. He never had a chance to bring in some players to implement any changes. They turned on him for sounding like an American. They should be turning on those crappy players for not being EPL quality. Go down the Leeds United path I say. See you in league two in a few years. The worst part of this is pretty much no American coach will get another opportunity in England for years to come after this.
I feel the same way about Schwantz-y City right now, David K. But he’s a proven coach who will get another chance somewhere else on the continent.
He should have come in and just said I don’t have any good players.. That might have bought him a few years like Klinsmann.
Speaking of Jurgen….he should take the job
Speaking of Jurgen, I wonder if Bradley is going to claim Klinsmann also actively “jockeyed” for his position at Swansea.
(I’m kidding)
Glad to see the reasonable reactions here, very reasonable. He did indeed fail, but it is no indictment of the man himself. This job required somebody with specific experience as to how to escape an English Premier League relegation battle, most likely. His players didn’t play for him. Simple as that.
Really looking forward to his honest assessment of his time in England; I have a feeling he won’t hold back in his criticisms, of both himself and of the hostile and hapless atmosphere he found himself in.
When you have a horrible team, you suffer horrible results. This team has no talent, aside from Gylfi and he had to try and do it all on his own because of that lack of talent. Bob was always going to be the fall guy but it just blows my mind when people say he wasn’t a tactician or was devoid of the ability to run a team because he didn’t speak tactics in his interviews ha ha. Most managers don’t speak about tactics in interviews, what would be the purpose and as a manager you would most likely be giving your opponent insight into the way your team plays! I thought BB would at least make it past January but it wasn’t to be, and whats more pathetic is Swansea management(as american as they are) didn’t show too much backbone when you consider they fired an american manager because the supporters demanded it. Good Luck down the road BoB!
His teams have never played good football though. I stand by my opinion. Apparently it’s hard for some people to see things like that. It isn’t for me and it wasn’t for Swansea fans. No one says managers have to give away their tactics but let’s be honest, he’s not ignoring tactics in interviews because he is so clever he doesn’t want to give anything away. Good one though.
He failed.
…but I absolutely respect him for trying. I was disgusted by people on this website that were admonishing him for leaving a club “fighting for promotion” instead of opting to ply his trade in the best/most competitive and highest profile league in the world.
I’ll take that Clint Dempsey approach over the Landon Donovan approach any day of the week. That’s not a slight on LD, who is the greatest of all-time for us, but rather a preference on mentality and competitive drive.
He failed, but taking chances is life. They don’t always work out…you win, or you learn.
I know that is the company line. Dempsey had drive, LD no. But LD played for Championships. Dempsey played in low pressure meaningless games. That has to be taken into account.
Dempsey is now ( hopefully ) is playing for Championships.
Bradley had pressure for sure, but it was a pressure of taking a team with no chance and just being sort of bad, not exactly the stuff of legends. I don’t understand why any coach would want that in the first place. $$$ being the reason, I hope it was guaranteed, because otherwise it was very short lived.
I know that is the company line. Dempsey had drive, LD no. But LD played for Championships. Dempsey played in low pressure meaningless games. That has to be taken into account.
I think that’s a matter of opinion.
I know you sound the trumpet loudly for MLS, and I do respect that tireless endeavor, but it’s equivalent to when I had the opportunity to win a state championship with my football team back in high school, but some of the guys I grew up with at camps (that went to different high schools) having the opportunity to go on and play division 1 football at universities with no chance of a national championship.
Context matters, and if the “championships” are still presently irrelevant on a large scope of the game, globally, it really doesn’t outweigh the opportunity to compete at the highest level. I’m also trying to avoid going off on a tangent, because MLS having a “championship” that lasts a matter of a few weeks over the entirety of the full season doesn’t sit well with me, as a fan/fan of MLS.
I get your point, though. I’ve seen you provide your opinion on the value of MLS Cup Championships, but we disagree on the importance or value…as they presently are.
I don’t know you, but that is easily the stupidest and most ignorant statement on this thread. Dempsey played in higher pressure games than LD did most of his club career, and played for the Europa League title. During the beginning of his time (for about 2 seasons), Fulham was a relegation threatened team. Avoiding relegation is one of the most stressful things in club football and cost over $250 million in the EPL alone.
What LD did in totality in MLS football is not equivalent to what Dempsey did in club ball. On top of that, most, if not all athletes, try to play at the highest level they can . Accomplishments there mean more to most.
Really? Donovan vs Dempsey is still going? Yes Dempsey played in a better league and no one is denying that, but let’s be realistic, Dempsey was always a level behind Donovan. Donovan was a more complete player and offered a lot more than Dempsey in the field. You can’t blame Donovan for staying, he probably made more money than Dempsey, and at this point it seems like a lot of big players are more interested in money.
This was not a LD vs Dempsey , who is better discussion. This was a who is more accomplished on the club level.
Anthony, Dempsey moved to MLS rather than go to lower level EPL. Very relevant to my “stupidest post”. Why did he do that?
Because lower level-mid level EPL is no pressure wasteland. Sure he moved to Tottenham, so he could get to a real team next. He didn’t make it, so what is the point in hanging out in the wasteland. There is none. Except the paycheck.
Glad you value the pressure packed Europa League so much, sorry for you there are calls to cancel it all the time. Landon won 6 MLS Cups, lost at least one. Played in Champions League after all of those, plus other seasons too.
Not even a comparison.
Whining,
I try not to throw around insults on this thread, but you, frankly, sound very ignorant now. Players have different reasons for moving, but look at a player for his reasoning. Dempsey EXPLICITLY stated that he (1) wanted to eventually come back to America to be closer to his family, (2) wanted a final big contract so that he could take care of his whole family (parents/siblings) which he did by buying a huge plot of land in Texas among other things, (3) wanted to go to English speaking country, (4) clubs that played in Champions league or Eurupa league in EPL were interested and (5) the quality of the MLS is better than when he left in ’04/’05. He left because of compensation and lack of interest in UK from top 6 teams.
“Because lower level-mid level EPL is no pressure wasteland. Sure he moved to Tottenham, so he could get to a real team next. He didn’t make it, so what is the point in hanging out in the wasteland.”
-> Lower tier is incredibly pressure pack because people are playing the survival of the club as they know it in some cases. THAT is real. Loosing $250 million in revenue in 1 or 2 year period is very real that sometimes send teams into free fall. Brian McBride even stated on ESPNFC that fighting relegation and playing for Fulham was more pressure packed than anything in MLS (and they were a worse team) than most of the Fulham teams Dempsey played on.
“Glad you value the pressure packed Europa League so much, sorry for you there are calls to cancel it all the time. Landon won 6 MLS Cups, lost at least one. Played in Champions League after all of those, plus other seasons too.”
-> I am sorry you don’t appreciate it, but most of those calls come from the arrogant English. Europa league is valued on mainland Europe. Most leagues people on the continent VALUE it. I used to live in Europe, and have family and friends there. Slam it all you want, but Europa league (especially know out phases) is a higher level of competition on than MLS or CONCACAF Champions League. I am not one those that think any where in Europe is better than MLS – I don’t. I certainly don’t think the SPL or Norway is better. It terms of MLS Cups, I’m sorry, I don’t see how any of those (especially when some were won) is equivalent to maintaining in top 7/8 in EPL and making to the Europa League title game.
Listen, I have many friends who played sports at decently high levels, I played at the University level, I have multiple friends who played soccer at national ranked D1 teams in the old Big East (late 90’s early 2000), 2 of which were regional All-American and All-American as well as friends who played football in the Pac10, ACC, Big East, Big 10 (one won a Big 10 title) and Ivy league, 3 Olympians, 2 collegiate tennis players, 2 baseball and 1 swimmer (I had a lot athletic friends from high schol through grad school). To a man/woman, they all valued playing at higher level of competition than dominating a lower level. There is recognition, there is more competition for spots as well as opponents. As one my friends said, “you want to find out who you really….why smack around the little kids if you know and prove to yourself and everyone else that you can hang with big boys”.
Jamie: You are right Donovan and Dempsey are different style of players, but to say there is no debate as to who is better is silly. It all depends on which stats you view as important and that is what makes talking (typing) about sports so interesting. Their goal scoring internationally is very similar with Dempsey the edge in goals per game, LD overall. Dempsey more Confed and Qualifying goals, LD one more WC goal. Dempsey scored in 3 WCs Donovan in 2. Dempsey of course also had 3 in Copa America LD never played in so I wouldn’t count that one. Donovan won 6 MLS Cups Dempsey 1, but is MLS championship equal to a top 10 finish in the EPL or Europa League Runner Up or even Qrtr finalist. Both during their prime years were able and hard working defenders tracking back. All that leaves is that Donovan had more assists, so if you think being number 1 in assists to #5 makes it no debate that’s your right. However, most of the rest of us will keep debating, because there isn’t anything else to do until March.
Wow, I was actually enjoying tuning in and watching Swansea games (and hoping for wins). Bob Bradley was set up to fail from the beginning; this team has no defense and no midfield, only Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson seem to want to be there.
He’s a tacticless manager. He hasn’t a clue how to develop a footballing system. He can only encourage his players to try harder. He never, ever talks about tactics in interviews. Should tell you something… It’s always, “We’ve got to try harder and find away to play for each other!” Really Bob? How about teaching these guys to play a better brand of football? That is beyond the older generation of American coaches however. Is not a surprise to me that he was let go. They played a WORSE brand of football under him compared to their last manager despite any points they got.
He’s a tacticless manager. He hasn’t a clue how to develop a footballing system. He can only encourage his players to try harder. He never, ever talks about tactics in interviews. Should tell you something… It’s always, “We’ve got to try harder and find away to play for each other!” Really Bob? How about teaching these guys to play a better brand of football? That is beyond the older generation of American coaches however. Is not a surprise to me that he was let go. They played a WORSE brand of football under him compared to their last manager despite any points they got.
Link – Bradley’s 1st interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sXMJNEcCzQ
Of course, I know what you’re referencing but let’s not be hyperbolic to make a point because it just sounds disingenuous (or that you haven’t done any research to validate your opinion). Quite literally, the first minute tactics and style are discussed.
Obviously, he failed, but let’s not reduce him to being a caveman. People did that with Klinsmann and they sounded equally ridiculous. Don’t fall into that trap as it’s lazy and far too easy to proclaim you know what went on in training.
I’ve acquired that opinion after watching his teams play for the last 18 or so years. I was there for his first game for the Fire and it didn’t take long to see his limitations as a team tactician. He simply grew up in the wrong time to have deep rooted knowledge in tactics, learning the game from other college coaches and youth soccer in the 80’s while never having the luxury of learning the game the way the rest of the world does by watching the greats from a young age. Instead, he picks these things up after already being a manager for years. Perhaps you don’t realize just how dark the dark ages of American Soccer were? I fully understand how difficult it would be to pick up things like advanced team possession, fluid attacks with ajax level of passing, growing up in the dark ages of American soccer. Perhaps some people think those things can be overcome but I have yet to see an American manager from that era have what it takes to make soccer beautiful. Bradley is a motivator and perhaps a great one at that, but I’m shocked you canna tell how rudimentary his teams play. “Play harder!” is all you ever hear from the guy. I know it’s ugly to hear, but it’s time we stop giving Bradley a free pass. He was hardly a success in MLS even, outside of Nowak and Kubik’s Chicago Fire era.
Fair enough.
I misread your post because it does appear you’ve given it great thought and observation to form that opinion then. I don’t disagree with the point of it either, but I do think it packages him a bit too simplistically.
Of course, he’ll never be confused for a visionary as a manager, but he does have a habit of getting the most out of limited talent. In this case, he did not achieve his objective.
Not surprised, but Swansea have been too trigger happy with coaching changes over the past year
Terrible news for a good professional coach. But, when your team quits and lets West Ham score 4, you are in trouble. More high profile coaches that Bradley have failed in the EPL – Andres Vilas Boas comes to mind.
Bob was not successful. There is no denying that. Results spoke for themselves. However, he was setup for failure. Swansea is a mess. Mostly from the previous ownership but still……Bradley was the fall guy. It sucks. I know he has the ability to manage in a top tier league.
Based on history he will do well next job. Based on Stabek’s recommendation, he is valued in smart corners and will get hired again.
*smart* or rather *some*. You can still be smart and not like him.
Sucks for many, many reasons. Bad choice for him to go there in first place and he was saddled with a horrible team. Not sure anyone could have done much prior to transfer window with this group of very poor players. Only guy with any work rate and skill was Siggurdson (sp?).
Timing is everything. I am sure Bradley would have preferred to stay and get Le Havre promoted, and then switch during the summer. But when was he ever going to get a chance to come to the EPL again? Probably never.
He took a flyer, gave it a shot, but came up wanting. The good news is that he cannot be accused of setting up the club for failure, because he had no opportunity to make any personnel decisions, other than the starting 11 and 3 subs.
They have about 7 Premier League players : Fabianski, Sigurdsson, Llorente, Montero, Dyer, Routledge, Naughton. The other guys are not good enough so don’t expect them to finish above the top half. If they get 4 more PL quality players, they will survive the drop but don’t get your hopes up since they only have 7 good players in the squad.
wait leroy fer isnt good enough for the prem? the spanish kid from atletico has been disappointing but surely deserves a shot. amat and fernandez aren’t the worst defenders in the prem either
I think Mo Barrow, Fer and Ki are all decent players to, but Amat and Fernandez actually *are* the worst defenders in the Premier League. At least among starters. Van der horn and Kingsley have been terrible too.
But Bradley has never been a coach that overachieved his talent. At his best with the Nats, he put his most talented players on the pitch and let them perform. Tactics are not his forte.
I agree, poor choice. Swansea gutted its own defense and sold Ashley Williams. He couldn’t pick his own people to fix the defense, and the parts on hand stink. He needed a guarantee of job security past the transfer window, as well as that he would be given money to spend to fix the defense. If he wasn’t given that, this was a dumb idea because he and his image take the hit for the way the team was set up before he even arrived, without even one window to fix it.
Coleman and Giggs are the theorized replacements, and while Coleman has had some success, the fact they are Welsh and Bradley American kind of sticks out like a sore thumb.
Giggs is a joke, and, if I were Coleman, I would not leave the cushy Wales job for the sinking Swansea gig. Yu do not fire a manager unless you have a replacement and plan in place.
Tough spot for any coach but you have to get results.
Not even needing results, but at least lose in a non-embarrassing way. Once he realized how bad his defense was, he needed to park the bus and grind out some low scoring ties, or even tight losses. That would have kept him in charge for the extra week he needed to get to the transfer window.
It was always going to be a miracle if Swansea could stay in the EPL.
They lost both their best defender and best goal scorer over the summer and did not replace them.
They lost so many 1v1 battles in every game it was almost always a question of how badly they would lose, not whether. I suppose you could claim that Big Sam would have done a better job of getting results by parking 9 players in the penalty area and scraping by with 0-0 results; that was not why Bob was hired, he was hired to try to get Swansea to play attractive football. That was never going to work with the relatively poor quality of players.
To his credit, Bob never denigrated the players and took personal responsibility for the results. But, when you have 3 defenders get routinely beaten by a single attacker, bad things will happen at any level and Swansea defenders let that happen. I suppose you could arrange the team with 5 in the back, 4 mids and a single attacker to try to clog things up, but when a single player can breeze by 3 or 4 defenders, even that will have limited success.
Good Luck to Bob in finding a team that has half a chance.
Meh. This is like Fulham a few years ago on the way out. This is not a team with tactical issues or motivational problems. This is a team with the worst defense in the EPL, like a -20 GD already. That’s a talent problem and you can’t fix a talentless defense with coaching.
Fulham went through 3 coaches on the way out and despite citing that example the ownership and front office are going to repeat it. If Swansea hit the transfer market and got a couple quality defenders, Bradley would work out fine and they’d survive the drop. The question is if management has decided to save on payroll and assume the drop, or whether they have the guts to address the real problems and not symbolic ones like firing a coach because a team with horrible defensive personnel — which Bradley was stuck with coming in midseason — sucks on defense.
[If Swansea had a defense, they have a more productive offense than all of the other relegation teams and some of the safe teams.]