Not too long ago, Swansea City was the club that everyone looked up to – for the manner in which it was run, the fact that it was a club where fans still had their say and also for playing beautiful, effective football. How things have changed.
Premier League Boxing Day results
After a near-calamitous last season, Swansea began this campaign poorly, which led to the manager Francesco Guidolin being sacked in the first week of October. With the fans already upset about the fact that the club had been sold to American owners, there was more unrest when Bob Bradley, an American with no experience of managing in the Premier League, was picked as Guidolin's replacement.
Almost inevitably, that move did not go too well, with Bradley, in just 11 games in charge, winning a mere two games, while losing seven and drawing another couple. The 4-1 loss to West Ham, a team that are struggling this season, at the Liberty Stadium on Boxing Day was the final straw, with the fans unequivocally asking for Bradley to be sacked.
Bradley, himself, admitted his job was on the line after that uninspiring performance from his team, which left Swansea second from bottom and four points adrift of safety.
"We all heard the response in the stadium," Bradley said after the scathing defeat to West Ham. "It doesn't feel good, but sometimes in football you have to fight when everything is going against you.
"There's no magic formula for turning things around other than not giving up and working hard to try to find a way."
That magic formula, if there is one, now must be discovered by someone else, with Swansea confirming the sacking of the former USMNT manager.
"We are sorry to lose Bob after such a short period of time," Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said. "Unfortunately things haven't worked out as planned and we felt we had to make the change with half the Premier League season remaining.
"With the club going through such a tough time, we have to try and find the answers to get ourselves out of trouble.
"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."
Swansea have not identified any replacement yet, with Paul Williams and Alan Curtis, the assistant manager and first-team coach respectively, set to take charge for the game against Bournemouth on Saturday. The likes of Roy Hodgson, Ryan Giggs, who was overlooked for the job the last time, and Alan Pardew, only just let go by Crystal Palace, are being linked.
