American Bob Bradley tipped to soar after replacing sacked Francesco Guidolin as Swansea manager
Former United States and Egypt boss Bob Bradley has been backed to have a deep-rooted impact on Premier League strugglers Swansea City after replacing the axed Francesco Guidolin.
It was an unwelcome 61st birthday present for the Italian, who spent 10 months at the Liberty Stadium and guided the Swans to top-flight safety last season after taking command from caretaker boss Alan Curtis in January.
But a six-match winless run culminated in Guidolin’s dismissal and the appointment of Bradley, who is the maiden American to manage in the Premier League. His first match in charge will be against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 15 October.
“It’s never easy changing managers, but we are looking at a long-term appointment and we are confident Bob can settle us down and stabilise matters on and off the pitch,” said Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins.
“Bob is a highly regarded as a coach and has a wealth of experience on the international and domestic front. He is well aware of the club’s footballing philosophy and will provide is with strong leadership qualities and a renewed belief to compete at this level.”
Guidolin left Swansea, who were the subject of a takeover by an American consortium in July, 17th in the table and without a Premier League victory since the opening day of the season.
“We are disappointed to part company with Francesco,” added Jenkins. “We felt he deserved his opportunity after the work he did last season.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to carry performances over from last season and we felt we needed to change things as soon as possible in order to move forward in a positive way.”
Former Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs was overlooked for the position in favour of Bradley.
Bob Bradley’s CV
Full name: Robert Frank Bradley
Age: 58
Birthplace: Montclair, New Jersey
Managerial career: Ohio Bobcats (1981-1983), Virginia Cavaliers [assistant] (1983-1984), Princeton Tigers (1984-1995), United States Under-23s [assistant] (1996), DC United [assistant] (1996-1997), Chicago Fire (1998-2002), MetroStars (2003-2005), Chivas USA (2006), United States Under-23s (2006-2007), United States (2006-2011), Egypt (2011-2013), Stabaek (2014-2015), Le Havre (2015-2016)
Last position: Bradley narrowly missed out on promotion to France’s Ligue 1 with second tier Le Havre last season. He posted a 45% win ratio from his 33 matches in charge from November 2015.
Family connections: Bradley’s son Michael had a loan spell with Aston Villa in 2011.