Former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has revealed that he did have managerial discussions with Swansea’s owners, but had “mixed messages” from the latter and that their ambition didn’t match his.
The legendary winger made the revelation while on ITV for a punditry stint during the England-Malta game. It is believed that Giggs’ lack of top level managerial experience counted against him, with the Swans choosing Bob Bradley to replace Francesco Guidolin, who was fired after a poor start to the season that saw the club pick up just four points from their first seven games. Guidolin was shown the door after their loss to Liverpool before the international break and Bradley 58, now becomes the first American to manage in the Premiership
While it was Liverpool who effectively caused Guidolin’s sacking, it was their former striker Christian Benteke who created history by slotting home the fastest ever goal in a competitive international in Belgium’s 6-0 win over Gibraltar. Benteke’s goal, timed at 8.1 seconds, broke the previous record- held by SAN MARINO of all countries, scored by Davide Gualtieri against England. Benteke’s goal was 0.2 seconds faster than Gualtieri’s effort.
Benteke goal v Gibraltar Video
Previous record- held by Gualtieiri- Video
Bradley last managed Le Havre in the French second division and has previously managed both the USMNT and the Egyptian national team. His first task will be up against Arsenal this weekend at the Emirates, as tough as it gets. However he did have the benefit of the international break to settle in at the Liberty and many Swans fans would have kept a keen eye on the US v Cuba game, one among many in one of the biggest betting weekends of the year, with plenty of US players being linked with moves to South Wales since the arrival of Bradley. The MNT were 8/15 at Coral to beat Cuba, and duly did the business, emerging 2-0 winners. Bradley’s son, Michael, captains the national team.
Arsenal have won their last five games in all competitions and are third in the league with 16 points, four times as many as what Swansea have picked up so far.
Bradley does have a bit of history on his side- Swansea are unbeaten in their last three trips to the Emirates. The most recent one, in March earlier this year, ended in a 2-1 win over for the Swans. They also won 1-0 in May 2015 and drew 2-2 in their 2014 visit.
Here is a video from their 2-1 win in March 2016, courtesy Vimeo.com