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And its Adams put through by Bould, WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT, THAT SUMS IT ALL UP
Adams stands in front of the North Bank arms raised having just smashed in a volley to complete the 4-0 route against Everton which sealed the 1998 League title. A truly wonderful moment. That year Adams became the second Arsenal player to captain The Gunners to the double after Mclintock’s men in 1971. Both very similar players and two of the greatest captains we have ever had. Physical, dominant, passionate, natural born leaders who led Arsenal like no other.
Adams was always addicted to football and was a natural born winner from the early years. One year his junior club Dagenham United went through the entire season undefeated scoring 150 goals and conceding none, it seemed Adams was born to keep clean sheets. Tony joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1980 and what was to follow would be a career beyond anybody’s wildest dreams.
Shortly after his 17th birthday he was to make his league debut for Arsenal in a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland at the home of football. It wasn’t the greatest debut’s seen at Highbury with Tony not even managing to put his shorts on the right way around, only took him a half of football to notice! Like any youngster he had his setbacks but he kept fighting and eventually he began to establish himself at the centre of defense and of course eventually was to become the leader of the famous back five , Seaman, Dixon, Bould and Winterburn.
It was clear from the early days that Tony was a natural born leader. You simply cant teach what he had, he commanded a presence down back like no other. He was to win his first trophy for the Gunners when Arsenal defeated Liverpool 2-1 to win the Littlewoods Cup. Adams soon enough became the lynchpin of the Arsenal defense and was awarded the Arsenal captaincy at just 21, becoming the youngest Arsenal captain ever in the process. In the next 14 years as Arsenal skipper Adams was to have one of the most amazing careers which often involved controversy, heartbreak but more often than not, glory.
A good ball by Dixon finding Smith, to Thomas charging through the midfield, Its up for grabs now, Thomas right at the end
With that Arsenal were league champions for the first time since 1971 and in dramatic fashion. Tony Adams raised the championship trophy and the cup was back at Highbury. Adams life however was to be thrown into turmoil when he was convicted of drink driving and as a consequence spent two months in jail. However Tony was out to lead Arsenal to the league title once again in 91/92 as the side went through the season with only the one league defeat.
Come the 1993 Semi Final of the FA Cup Arsenal were up against Sp**s and were looking to avenge the 91 semi defeat against Sp**s. Adams always had been a danger from the set piece. Attack the ball, put the body on the line and quite often he managed to get a powerful header and to see it fly into the back of the net. That’s exactly what happened here as a Tony Adams headed goal was enough to send Arsenal through to the FA Cup Final. Eventually Arsenal did the domestic cup double of both the FA and League cups coincidently both against Sheffield Wednesday .
The 1994 European Cup Winners Cup gave Tony the opportunity to do what he did best, defend. The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen was mostly filled with Arsenal supporters who saw Arsenal pull of a magnificent backs to the wall performance. A Alan Smith volley was enough to gain the Gunners a unlikely victory against a Parma side filled with flair. That game is possibly the one that gave Tony Adams the most satisfaction.
Adams had two addictions in his life. One was football, the other alcohol, both well publicized. Tony regularly drank himself into oblivion only to sober up a couple of days before a game. However it was all to come to a head as England were knocked out of the European Championships in 1996. With Adams not having touched a drop of alcohol for the duration of the tournament he began a drinking binge that began after the game and would finish seven weeks later with himself crying at the misery that his life had become. A few days later Tony checked himself into Alcoholics Anonymous and the old Tony Adams was no more. It takes a special person to hit rock bottom like that and then to fight their way back to the top through sheer hard work and dedication.
Tony Adams went from being the old style English player to the modern day professional largely due to the help of Arsène Wenger. He began to play some of the best football of his life and indeed his life was far different to his old self. Instead of finding answers in a beer he began to find them in book and plays. I can imagine the looks he would have received when he walked into a theater.
As usual with a lot of centre backs as he got older and more experienced the better he became. Under Arsène Wenger a new Arsenal emerged however Tony was still there at the back and would lead Arsenal to domestic doubles in both 1998 and 2002. The 2002 FA Cup Final was to be Adam’s last game for the Gunners however goals from Freddie and Ray made sure that he went out on a good note.
In his first game for Arsenal he was out on the pitch with his shorts on back to front however 669 appearances later Tony Adams had become Arsenal’s most successful captain. On retiring Adams had a stint as managers at Wycombe Wanderers. He has the burning desire to be a successful manager and he will no doubt succeed if he goes about it as he did in his playing days. The number 6 that he made so famous now sits vacant at Highbury but methinks a certain dominating, physical, passionate, Swiss centre back might be a deserved recipient.
Tony Adams, Arsenal Legend
