So, I found myself thinking about Tony Adams the other day. What a player, right? Absolute rock for Arsenal and England. Mr. Arsenal. But then my mind drifted to his time in the dugout, as a manager. I had these fuzzy memories, mostly of things not going too well, so I decided, right, let’s actually look into this properly. See what the story was.
First thing I did was just cast my mind back. I remembered him being at Portsmouth, that much I knew. And maybe somewhere abroad? It wasn’t clear. So, I sat down and started searching around online, reading up on his journey after hanging up his boots. It wasn’t like looking up his playing stats, that’s for sure.
It turns out his first proper crack at management was with Wycombe Wanderers back in 2003. Didn’t last too long, about a year, and they got relegated. Not the easiest start. Then he popped up as assistant manager at Feyenoord for a bit, and Utrecht too, kind of learning the ropes behind the scenes.
Then came the Portsmouth job in 2008, taking over from Harry Redknapp. That was the big one, Premier League gig. High hopes, I guess, given his profile. But wow, it was tough going. They really struggled for results, and he was gone by February 2009. Less than four months in charge. It’s brutal, football management.
Going Abroad and Later Stints
After Pompey, his career path got really interesting, geographically speaking. He went off to Azerbaijan to manage Gabala FK in 2010. Stayed there about 18 months. You have to admire someone willing to go somewhere completely different like that, try something new. It’s easy to just stay in the UK bubble.
This reminds me a bit of when I tried learning a completely new skill last year, something totally out of my comfort zone. Everyone thought I’d pick it up instantly because I was decent at something else vaguely related. But it was like starting from scratch, really humbling. Maybe it’s like that for these legendary players? The expectation is massive, but the job itself is a different beast.
Anyway, after Gabala, he took a break, did some work with his Sporting Chance clinic, which is fantastic work, by the way. Huge respect for his openness about his own battles and helping others.
But the management bug bit again. His most recent, and perhaps most talked-about, role was at Granada in Spain in 2017. They were already in deep trouble, bottom of La Liga. He came in for the last seven games. Didn’t win a single one. They went down. People mostly remember the press conferences and maybe his… interesting touchline attire. It was a really short, tough spell.
- Wycombe Wanderers (2003-2004)
- Portsmouth (2008-2009)
- Gabala FK (2010-2011)
- Granada (2017)
So, looking at it all laid out, it’s a real mixed bag, isn’t it? Mostly struggles, to be honest. Short stints, difficult situations often. It just goes to show, being an incredible player, a real leader on the pitch, doesn’t automatically translate into being a successful manager. They’re just completely different jobs. You need a different skillset. It’s a shame it didn’t work out better for him in the dugout, because as a player, he was truly top class. But yeah, that was my little dive into Tony Adams the manager.
