Bob Bradley points out how ridiculous the criticism of his American lingo is

Bob Bradley’s Swansea are in a fight to keep from being relegated, but all anyone can seem to talk about is the fact that he sounds like an American. It’s a bit strange since Bradley is, you know, an American and Bradley defended himself Thursday, pointing just how ridiculous the controversy is.

"The idea that it draws attention, honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Bradley told reporters. "I had a situation after a game in France where I said, ‘It’s important to get a clean sheet,' and they looked and me and said, ‘What’s a clean sheet?'”

It’s almost as if people in different parts of the world use different words for things. Bradley’s comments come after an analysis earlier this week pointed out that Bradley tends to avoid Americanisms when discussing soccer — he doesn’t even use the word “soccer” — but he has slipped and used the term “PK” to refer to a penalty.

"Ninety-five percent of my football vocabulary fits without a problem, but there are other terms in football that come from different places,'' he said Thursday. "When I was in Norway, the organization of a team when you have the ball, they call it offensive marking.”

 

It’s all a bit ridiculous and Bradley seems flabbergasted, if not amused, by what a talking point it has become. The English Premier League is known for being unforgiving and the media that covers it can be particularly harsh, but the notion that his verbiage says anything about his abilities is a bit much, even by Premier League standards.

It needs to be said, Bradley has struggled since taking over the Swans in October, getting just eight points out of 10 games. But the Swans have also had some major roster deficiencies from before Bradley’s arrival, especially in defense, and American words he uses certainly have nothing to do with his record.

"The biggest part of this challenge has nothing to do with I say penalty or pitch or field or whatever,” Bradley said. "The biggest part of this challenge is exactly the same as the day I walked in the door. It’s trying to turn a team around that’s been down on its luck and hasn’t been in its best form."