The Managerial Merry-Go-Round Claims Pards and Yankee Bob Because Defence Still Matters
A few weeks ago Swansea City hosted Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Bob Bradley against Alan Pardew and it was a modern thriller of a game, full of controversy and excitement. Palace scored first but with twenty minutes left it was Swansea that led 3-1. Three goals in ten minutes had Palace back on top going into stoppage time… when Fernando Llorente scored not once but twice and Swansea won it 5-4. It was Bradley’s first win as boss and the club’s first since the opening weekend.
32 days later both managers had been fired. Neither was all that hard to see coming, though it was interesting that neither seemed to get the obligatory last couple games to save their job. Neither club could really afford it, which is a pretty damning indictment on the direction they were each heading in. Pardew openly took digs at Palace’s owners while his team was out there leaking goals like a sieve and Bradley probably had the owner’s to thank for giving him the gig in the first place but money > goodwill and getting relegated is a very expensive thing.
Bob Bradley’s is the more noteworthy because the poor bugger only lasted 11 games in charge. They talk about the trigger fingers of chairmen when it comes to firing these jokers – 52 of the 92 Football League managers have been at their clubs less than 365 days - well Bradley was a midseason replacement himself. The Swans now have to replace a replacement, they’ll be onto their third manager of the season soon.
It’s probably not a coincidence that of the five longest serving managers in England, Arsene Wenger with his 20 years and counting is way out in front while the following four men are all currently serving in League Two. Number six is Neil Ardley of AFC Wimbledon who is in League One now but only just got them promoted out of L2 while seventh is Eddie Howe of Bournemouth (boss since October 2012) who was the Cherries’ gaffer when they were promoted from L2, left for a spell with Burnley, then returned to Bournemouth where he’s since taken them to the Premier League. Eighth on the list is the man who replaced Howe at Burley: Sean Dyche, also now in the Premier League.
What’s the difference between the top flight and the bottom one? Money and competition. The job is harder to do and the stakes are higher. Do crap for a couple months and you get sacked, that’s kinda just the way it goes, sadly. Palace know all about that. In the last seven years they’ve been promoted and made an FA Cup final but they’ve also had nine managers in that time, not even including caretakers (although it is including two Neil Warnocks). Sam Allardyce knows exactly what he’s getting into with those guys.
Sad for Swansea though. Those stories of clubs climbing from the depths of the Football League, keeping faith in the people that were with them back then… that used to be the Swans. Alan Curtis has taken over as caretaker (unlike Palace, they didn’t have an automatic replacement lined up). He played 412 times for the club in the 70s and 80s and this’ll be the third time he’s been caretaker boss – he was there to fill in back in 2004 when they were in League Two and he’s been there twice now in the top division.
But despite the family atmosphere that’s been cultivated around them and chairman Huw Jenkins, they’ve always been a team that rotated managers. Brendan Rodgers got them into the Premier League and he was there almost two years before Liverpool headhunted him. That’s fair enough. But Michael Laudrup was sacked. Garry Monk was sacked. Francesco Guidolin was sacked. Bob Bradley was sacked. Swansea are not a club that gives their managers time despite the contrary belief. Frankly, they don’t have that luxury (although I still maintain that Garry Monk should’ve had more credit in the back – they were fifteenth at the time with a squad good enough to turn it around… not that Leeds fans care).
Guidolin was a huge mistake too. He did well as a caretaker so they gave him the full gig. Call it Tim Sherwood Syndrome. Hardly ever works. Following a win in the first weekend, his team got very bad very quickly and Guidolin didn’t have anything near the personal charisma to win over these disillusioned players.
Guidolin in 2015-16: 16 G | 7 W | 4 D | 5 L | 25 PTS | 22 GF | 22 GA | 0 GD
Guidolin in 2016-17: 7 G | 1 W | 1 D | 5 L | 5 PTS | 6 GF | 12 GA | -6 GD
Bradley in 2016-17: 11 G | 2 W | 2 D | 7 L | 8 PTS | 15 GF | 29 GA | -14 GD
Pardew in 2016-17: 17 G | 4 W | 3 D | 10 L | 15 PTS | 28 GF | 32 GA | -4 GD
That’s piss-poor from Bradley’s Swansea, who did manage to win a few games but any kind of success at all is temporary when you concede close to three goals a game. Eight of his 11 games they did that or worse, losing 5-0 to Spurs amongst others. It ended with a 4-1 defeat to a West Ham side that hadn’t scored hardly a goal all season. It was awful and his constant tinkering for answers only made things worse.
It’s not his fault, the players that he inherited. He never had a transfer window to work with and now he’s been given the flick just days before another one opens… which shouldn’t be looked at with sympathy, really. Instead think about the fact the powers that be know exactly when the window opens and clearly decided they didn’t think Bradley was up for it and if he’s not up for bringing in new players and has shown he’s not up to the day in, day out coaching of them or the tactical stuff then what’s he doing there? Good question, one that Swansea City promptly went and answered.
Huw Jenkins: “Personally, I have nothing but praise for Bob. 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.”
Lots of character praise there… none for his managerial ability. The first American manager in the Premier League thus becomes the first American manager sacked in the Premier League.
Save some criticism for the club that thought they could cash in on Ashley Williams by selling him to Everton despite him being their captain, leader, heart of defence and most important player for the last couple years. Fair enough that it was a big fee, £12m for a 32 year old is good cash. But they never replaced him. Nor did they replace Andre Ayew who left for even more to West Ham. They tried to with Borja Baston but the 24 year old Spaniard has been in and out and has only scored once in 470 Premier League minutes with only four starts. Fernando Llorente has started scoring a few goals and Gylfi Sigurdsson has been magnificent despite things but that’s all in vain while they’re leaking goals at the other end.
Mike van der Hoorn, Alfie Mawson, Jordi Amat, Federico Fernandez… find a team in the Premier League who’d settle for that group of centre backs – there isn’t a worse collection at any club. Even Hull City, who barely have 11 PL players combined, at least they have Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson. Sunderland have Lamine Kone. Crystal Palace have Scott Dann who 12 months ago would have been close to an England call up… not that he’s been able to save Pards either.
Pardew and Bradley were both sacked as a result of terrible defences that they couldn’t improve, which is why Big Sam’s got himself back in a job so quickly after that whole England thing. Both teams have been able to put them away at the other end but it’s no good scoring two if you concede three. Bottom half Premier League managers aren’t there for the long haul and the main priority is to avoid defeats. Draw 38 games 1-1 and you’ll be safe, call it pragmatic or call it negative but there’s a reason clubs are looking at Sam Allardyce and David Moyes. Palace and Swansea’s problem is that both have flirted with cup success, both have had top half finishes and they probably got a little carried away with it all and forgot where they really stood next to the rest of them all. Oh well, still half a season left to get parking that bus.