myspaceeditor.it
This is a fan myspace to honour the greatest captain of Arsenal FC history.
made by Tony Cooney myspace page link
check out the Pics section where u can find photos about Tone with Arsenal, England, Wycombe and Portsmouth. enjoy!
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE, (born 10 October 1966) is a former English football player, who is currently assistant manager of Portsmouth. He spent his entire playing career of 22 years at Arsenal, and is considered one of the club's greatest players of all time by the club's own fans. He wore the number 6 shirt for Arsenal and 5 for England.
Arsenal years
He made his first team debut on November 5, 1983, at the age of 17 against Sunderland. Together with Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Steve Bould, Adams was part of the "famous four" that lined up in Arsenal's defence, which under George Graham was renowned for its well disciplined use of the offside trap. On January 1, 1988, he became Arsenal's youngest ever captain at the age of 21; he would remain club captain for the next 14 years.
In 1992-93 Adams became the first player to captain his side to a League Cup and FA Cup double, lifting the European Cup Winners' Cup the year after.
Despite this success, alcohol problems increasingly blighted his life as he was reportedly often involved in fights in night clubs, was imprisoned in December 1990 for three months after being caught drunk-driving. In September 1996 Adams admitted that he was an alcoholic and, after seeking treatment, found a more sensitive side to his character emerging, which included a return to education and an attempt to learn the piano. He is one of the most high-profile recovering alcoholics in the UK—his battle with alcohol is heavily detailed in his autobiography, Addicted, which was released in May 1998 to enormous critical acclaim.
After his second Double win in 2002, Adams retired from professional football altogether, his last match being the 2002 FA Cup Final. He played 668 matches for Arsenal (only David O'Leary has played more) and was the most successful captain in the club's history. Nicknamed "Mr. Arsenal", he was honoured by Arsenal with a testimonial game against Celtic in May 2002 with many Arsenal legends playing, including Ian Wright, John Lukic and Adams' fellow back four stalwarts, Dixon, Winterburn and Bould. The game finished 1-1 with Lee Dixon, in his final appearance for the Gunners, getting their goal.
In 2004, Adams was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the English game.
England years
Adams made his debut for England against Spain in 1987, and played in Euro 88. He was surprisingly left out of the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad by manager Bobby Robson, and missed Euro 92 due to injury. However, he still maintained a regular place in defence, and after the retirement of Gary Lineker in 1992, Adams unofficially shared the captaincy of England with David Platt, though Adams got the job outright before Euro 96, as Platt's place in the side became less secure. England reached the semi-finals of Euro 96, before losing on penalties to Germany.
When England manager Glenn Hoddle gave Alan Shearer the captain's armband in 1996, his decision both surprised and angered Adams as well as leaving many England fans puzzled. Adams continued to play for the national side, however and he finally appeared in a World Cup finals in 1998. His international swansong was England's largely unsuccessful Euro 2000 campaign. With Shearer retiring from international football after the tournament, Adams regained the captaincy. However, within months, England lost a World Cup qualifier to Germany in October 2000, the match being the last to be staged at Wembley Stadium before the stadium was torn down for rebuilding. That match was Adams's 60th Wembley appearance, a record. Adams retired from international football before Eriksson picked his first squad.
Managerial years -
After starting a sports science degree at Brunel University, Adams became the manager of Wycombe Wanderers in November 2003. He resigned from Wycombe in November 2004, citing personal reasons.
On 7 July 2005, Adams accepted a trainee coaching role with Dutch side Feyenoord with special responsibility for its Jonge team, which is a reserve/junior side. Adams later had a short spell seconded to Utrecht as a first team trainee coach, between 15 January and 2 February 2006.
On June 28, 2006, Adams joined Portsmouth as assistant manager to Harry Redknapp.
(from wikipedia link )
