As far as first tasks go, preparing a fragile squad currently one place above the relegation zone, winless since the opening day of the season, and with a new manager trying to implement his ideas to players who are just returning from international duty ahead of a trip to a white-hot Arsenal team, Bob Bradley couldn't have asked for a more daunting one.
The much-travelled manager will make history on Saturday when he becomes the first American to take charge of a Premier League game.
And he will need to tap into all the knowledge, tactical nous and powers of motivation fostered over a 35-year coaching career that has taken in spells in the US, Egypt, Norway and France if he is to stop the rot at Swansea City.
Even at this ridiculously early stage of the season, there is a real fear that Swansea’s five-year stay in the Premier League is under threat. The Welsh club have lost their last three league games, with the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at the start of this month proving the final straw for the club’s new American owners, who parted company with Italian manager Francesco Guidolin soon after.
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While Bradley’s appointment caused consternation among some, most notably Robbie Savage, who in a case of complete non-bias lambasted the American owners’ jingoism in appointing Bradley and for not appointing Ryan Giggs — Savage’s fellow Welshman and former international teammate — due to what has been widely reported was an “underwhelming interview” by the former Manchester United player.
According to a New York Times report, the difference between Bradley and Giggs getting the job was simple: One candidate detailed "all the Swansea players' strengths and weaknesses and describing hypothetical tactics" for the Arsenal encounter; the other suggested that the players "simply needed to work harder, to run more".
Giggs has said reports he failed to persuade his potential new employers are false, stating that he felt the club’s ambitions “did not really match mine”. What is not up for dispute, however, is the need for the new man in charge to inject rigidity into a porous defence that has conceded 14 goals in seven league games so far.
The decision to let captain and defensive stalwart Ashley Williams join Everton for £12 million (Dh54m) in the summer, after the Goodison Park club pocketed close to £50m for the sale of John Stones to Manchester City, in hindsight looks like daylight robbery.
Dutch youngster Mike van der Hoorn is still adjusting to the physical demands of English football while fellow centre-back options Jordi Amat and Federico Fernandez look out of their depth.
There are some positives for Bradley to focus on, though, most notably midfielder Leroy Fer, who has scored four times already in a struggling team since his move from Queens Park Rangers was made permanent in the summer.
Alongside him, Gylfi Sigurdsson represents another goal threat and the pair will need to weigh in with their fair share to support an out-of-sorts Fernando Llorente, who has failed to hit the ground running at the Liberty Stadium since his summer move from Sevilla, although the Spaniard undoubtedly has the ability to thrive in the Premier League.
Bradley will not be gulled into thinking one good job interview will revive Swansea’s fortunes, but the American, 58, must once again make the team believe it is more than the sum of their parts.
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