micky adams

Michael Richard Adams, better known as Micky Adams, is a former English footballer and manager.As a formidable full back, he made 438 appearances in the English football league, enjoying the peak of his 19 year career at Southampton.As a manager he has worked for various English clubs including Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Coventry City, leading teams including Fulham and Port Vale to promotion success.

Sheffield-born Adams started his career playing for the Sheffield United youth team, moving to Gillingham in 1979 where he began to play professionally and quickly earned a transfer to First Division Coventry, followed by a spell at Leeds. In 1989 he was bought by top-flight Southampton for£250,000, and he enjoyed a successful partnership with the club, only missing 4 games in the inaugural season of the Premier League and went on to make 144 appearances for the club.Adams already had a management career in his sights when he was transferred to Fulham in July 1994, signing up for a deal where manager (and his former Southampton boss) Ian Branfoot would begin to teach him coaching skills, and he was soon promoted to player-manager in March 1996.

Adams led the club out of the third division in 1996-97 and won the accolade of Third Division Manager of the Season.The following years saw Adams manage several English sides, guiding Brighton & Hove Albion to the Third Division title in 2000-1, and taking Port Vale from administration to promotion to League One in 2012-13.His autobiography, Micky Adams – My Life In Football was released in September 2017, and Adams has recently spent time mentoring youth football in Kyrgyzstan and has set up his own footballconsultancy business.