When the news that Arsenal legend Tony Adams was becoming the manager of struggling La Liga side Granada, it was a complete shock to us all.
Tony Adams has all his FA coaching badges after obtaining his UEFA Pro Licence in 2007, but his lack of top-flight managerial experience made his appointment questionable.
When the FA launched their ‘Player to Coach’ scheme, it was with the intention of not only keeping elite ex-players in the game but also improving the coaching levels of those ex-players.
Lacking experience
There have been far too many cases of ex-players being given roles within football without having enough experience or elite level qualifications.
As a player, Tony Adams credentials are undeniable. On and off the pitch, Adams was great.
Adams art of defending which was the basis for much of Arsenal’s success and was the backbone of ‘the Invincibles’.
Not the best managerial resume
Adams started his managerial career back in November 2003, when he became the manager of Wycombe Wanderers.
As the manager, he was unable to prevent the club’s relegation to League Two and although the club were top of the table in August 2004, a loss of form saw them fall down the table.
A season of ups and downs, showed the potential of Adams but at the end of the season, it shows the limits of Adams as a manager and he resigned from Wycombe in November 2004.
Since 2005, Adams has had a few more managerial/coaching stints at clubs, but nothing good enough to warrant a manager’s position in any top-flight league.
In the eyes of many, Tony Adams has failed as a coach and a manger thus far in his career.
The Telegraph reported that “The 50-year-old Adams is vice-president of DDMC - a company owned by Granada president John Jiang - and has been working with the Spanish outfit since November.”
Is he the right man for the job?
Granada are in need of a manager to keep them in the top flight, a manager who has the experience in preventing clubs from being relegated. Tony Adams however has the opposite as a manager who has been relegated.
Since taking over Granada have played 3 games which has led to 3 defeats, 0 goals, 7 goals conceded and 60 shots faced.
Even though Adams is only the caretaker manager until the end of the season, he was given the job to keep Granada in La Liga.
If we weren’t convinced by his appointment and credentials as a manager and a coach, seeing the first video of Tony Adams on the training pitch certainly did not fill anyone with confidence.
Relegation beckons
It’s expected that Granada will be relegated as they lay second from bottom with 4 games left, one of those is a home game against Real Madrid.
Written by Jonathan Roberts
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @missingstuds
Check out his awesome football blog, Missing Studs Football
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