http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...lub-sack-Italian-boss-Francesco-Guidolin.html Because this absolutely deserves its own thread. Congrats Bob!
Normally this is where the "now just don't suck" sentiments come in. Except that this is Bob Bradley we're talking about. He may not be the greatest manager, but he's always been among the most prepared. He maximizes his talent base. I suspect he's above replacement level for EPL managers. Go get'em Bob, open the door for more American coaches.
Honestly, I am surprised just because the Premier League recycles managers worse than the NFL does head coaches.
Going to repeat a comment I made elsewhere: Fears that Bob isn’t “up to EPL level” are based on inflated ideas of what that level is. If he was called into a top six club there would be a legitimate question about how to handle a team of international superstars. Not going to be a problem at Swansea. It will take him a year plus, but he will get them to the top half of the table. Comments on the English newspaper sites range from reasonable questions with a wait and see attitude to "he will get them to score more touchdowns and home runs". Prediction: It won’t be long before he’s known as General Bradley
When you recycle a known quantity and you fail, it's the manager's fault. If you bring in an unknown, it's the upper management/owners' fault. It's amazing how much CYA explains the world. It's worse in the EPL than than the NFL because in the NFL you can replace the coach, bring in your top draft pick game changer and have another go next year. In the EPL, the political/public pressure is magnified. It's somewhat acceptable to have an unknown manager and somewhat acceptable for most clubs to get relegated occasionally. But to get relegated while having an unknown manager is an unholy mess for the owners. The risk/reward for risk-takers is completely out of whack.
That is because of the aforementioned "EPL level" BS. It's tautological; you can't be good enough for the Premier League unless you're already there. -- I'm worried he's a bit set up to fail for different reasons, though. One is that Guidolin hadn't truly lost the fanbase from what I've read. Instead, ownership came in and asserted itself--American ownership hiring an American manager, which is not likely to warm the subcocular area of the Swansea heart. The British media is straight up vicious, all the more so if they are feeding the fans what they want to hear.
I've always liked Guidolin. Unfortunate to see a drastic change like this with season in full swing. These types of moves carry a lot of bad karma with them and usually fail. I see Swansea as a top candidate for the drop this year.
The upside is if you bring in am unknown and it works - you're a genius! The other downside - bring in a recycled manager and get mostly the same results, you lack vision. May as well die going forward.
So, will Michael be a winter or a summer signing for Swansea? You know, because. Actually, Donovan would probably be a perfect winter signing for Swansea. Or maybe Kljestan.
What makes you think he'll get a year plus? If they go down he will be gone just like every other manager there when that happens.
I know local newsrooms are staffed with aging fossils who probably hate soccer, but that's no excuse for abandoning journalism's #1 rule. smh WOW!! @ABC7 in LA keeps reporting Bob Bradley as the new head coach of Chelsea #USMNT #Bradley #Swans 😂😂⚽️ lol pic.twitter.com/TWezMl7DGa— Brendan Murphy (@mrbrendanmurphy) October 3, 2016
An English manager has never won the Premier League. Last English manager to win the top league was Howard Wilkinson in 1991-1992, the last year before the Premier League formed.