Issues new manager needs to address at the Liberty
ON the day he was appointed as Brendan Rodgers’ successor at Swansea City, Michael Laudrup promised his side would play attractive, passing football.
“Everyone knows the style of football Swansea play and it suits my way of thinking,” Laudrup said. “I have spoken to many people about Swansea and watched a number of their games on DVD.”
It was the perfect way for a new manager to introduce himself to the supporters. The Jack Army knew instantly that Laudrup would follow where Rodgers and Roberto Martinez had led.
It became the club’s Premier League era legacy and the players were ingrained in the ‘Swansea way’. But whereas it was easy for Laudrup to bed in at the Liberty, with 104 international caps, a glittering playing career that had taken him to Juventus via Barcelona and Real Madrid, plus an impressive managerial CV, Swansea’s latest incumbent Bob Bradley will find things more difficult.
The ‘Swansea way’ has become lost amid a desperate scrap to stay in the Premier League. The club has now appointed its third manager in the space of 10 months. Survival has been more important than style.
Bradley brings a wealth of experience to the job. He’s been everywhere from the MLS to Norway and he’s worked hard for an opportunity in the Premier League. But unlike Laudrup, Bradley finds himself at a club that, as well as being mired in relegation danger, is a little confused about its identity. There is discord among supporters, which means Bradley may not be welcomed with the same warmth as Laudrup.
DOMINIC BOOTH examines the issues the American must address if he wants to succeed in South Wales.
They can frighten full-backs with their pace and trickery. Yet the pair rarely featured in the same game under Guidolin, with the Italian shelving his attacking wide man in favour of numbers in midfield.
In came Jack Cork and Leroy Fer and Sigurdsson was shifted to the left, with licence to drift infield.
It meant the Swans often found goals hard to come by under the Italian, scoring just six in seven games this season.
Will Bradley revert to the traditional, more aggressive 4-2-3-1 favoured by Monk and Laudrup? idea of pairing Baston and Llorente together, but his track record suggests he is a man who much prefers the lone striker option. His primary concern must be to ensure both men find the net with regularity. Key to that will be service to the strikers and confidence. Bradley can impact both. GUIDOLIN admitted, late in his Swansea tenure, he’d been wrong to sideline Leon Britton in favour of a more youthful midfield.
Results took a spiral without the Swans’ club captain and Guidolin brought Britton back into the side after a lengthy spell out of the team.
But with 13 years of playing experience with his beloved Swans, Britton is widely admired both in the dressing room and by the Swansea fans. Bradley must find a suitable role for the 34-year-old and recognise his qualities on and off the pitch.
Britton certainly showed in 63 minutes against Liverpool on Saturday that he remains integral to the Swansea midfield and the restoration of that fated ‘Swansea way’.