Micky Adams

Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer and football manager.

As a player, he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen-year professional career in the English Football League, including five years with Southampton at the highest level.

Born in Sheffield, Adams was part of the youth team at Sheffield United from the age of twelve until released in 1977.

He was a favourite of manager Jimmy Sirrel, though Adams was released from the youth team set-up a few months after Harry Haslam replaced Sirrel as manager in September 1977.

United's youth team coach John Short also left the club and became a coach at Gillingham, and so Adams then travelled 240 mi out from home to join Gillingham as an apprentice in August 1978.

During his time as an apprentice he won four caps for the England youth team, and competed in a tournament in Yugoslavia.

He turned professional at the Third Division team Gillingham in 1979, where he established himself in the first team, winning a move in 1983 to Coventry City who were in the First Division.

He went on to sign as a professional at Gillingham in November 1979.

Due to his natural pace, Adams started his playing career as a left-winger before manager Keith Peacock converted him into a left-back after he was found to lack the technical skill necessary to beat opponents.

Coming through the club's ranks at the same time as Steve Bruce, Adams later cited Buster Collins as a major influence upon his career.

In 1982–83 he was named in the PFA's Third Division Team of the Year.

After 103 appearances for Third Division Gillingham he moved on to top-flight Coventry City in 1983 for a fee approaching £85,000.

He struggled with injury during his time at Highfield Road, and was never popular with the fans.

Keith Houchen also recalled that he did not get along with manager John Sillett and was prone to sulking when left out of the team.

Despite this he managed to play over 100 games for City over a four-year period before Leeds United manager Billy Bremner took him to the Second Division for a £110,000 fee.

Near the end of his first season at Leeds he played in the club's FA Cup Semi-final defeat to former club Coventry at Hillsborough, as Coventry won 3–2 in extra time.

He spent four years at Coventry before being sold on to Leeds United in 1987.

He was bought by Southampton for £250,000 in 1989, where he enjoyed five years of top-flight football.

He was loaned out to Stoke City in 1994, before he signed with Fulham later in the year.

He began his managerial career as player-manager for Fulham in 1996 and has led several teams at varying levels with mixed success, being named Manager of the Season twice, dismissed a number of times and earning four promotions for the teams he has managed.

Appointed as Fulham's player-manager in March 1996, he led the club out of the Third Division in 1996–97, and was named as the Third Division Manager of the Season.

Sacked by Fulham despite his success, he walked out on Swansea City after less than two weeks in charge, and instead took charge at Brentford in November 1997.

He was sacked after the club were relegated at the end of the season.

At this point he ended his playing career.

He joined Nottingham Forest as assistant manager, taking charge for one Premier League game in a caretaker capacity.

He returned to management with Brighton & Hove Albion in April 1999.

He led the club to the Third Division title in 2000–01, winning the division's Manager of the Season award for a second time.

He then moved to Leicester City as an assistant, before finally being named as the club's manager in April 2002.

He took the club to the Premier League as First Division runners-up in 2002–03, though he tendered his resignation in October 2004, having failed to keep the club in the top-flight.

He took charge at former club Coventry City in January 2005, though lost his job in January 2007.

He returned to Brighton in May 2008, though his second spell in charge would only last nine months.

He was appointed as manager of Port Vale in June 2009, before he departed for Sheffield United in December 2010.

He failed to prevent United being relegated into League One, and was sacked in May 2011; this enabled him to return to Port Vale as manager.

Despite starting the season in administration, he led Vale to promotion into League One in 2012–13.

He resigned as Vale manager in September 2014, and took charge at Tranmere Rovers the following month.

He left Tranmere with the club bottom of the Football League in April 2015.

He was appointed manager of Irish side Sligo Rovers for a three-month spell starting in August 2015.

He has been married twice and has four daughters and one son.

After leaving management in 2015, he set up his own football consultancy business.

Adams was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, and was an associate schoolboy with Sheffield United from the age of twelve, where his boyhood idol was Tony Currie.