Tony ADAMS

Somehow there is a nagging feeling in the pit of many an England observer's stomach that Tony Adams' international career was one of unfulfilled promise. Certainly there is a huge sense of achievement enveloping the Arsenal legend's time in the national shirt - thirteen years' worth of matches, a proud captaincy of his country in only the second major tournament hosted at home, a place (for the moment) in the top 20 of all-time England appearance makers and a prized role in a definitive England defence (alongside Bobby Moore, George Cohen and Stuart Pearce) chosen by the supporters. Yet those of a half-empty persuasion will cite personal problems off the pitch curtailing his career, omission from two major tournament squads for the simple reasons that the coaches in question thought there were better defenders available, a controversial and blameless relieving of the captaincy and a very sudden departure from the England scene. Whatever the personal viewpoint you hold, it's not in dispute that Adams' career for his country was eventful.

Having emerged through Arsenal's stunningly productive youth ranks in the 1980s, the stooping but extremely fit young central defender quickly established his reputation as a loud-talking, uncompromising and mature stopper. His announcement on the scene was timed well for an early achievement of international ambition, given that Bobby Robson was looking for new defensive blood to partner the masterly Terry Butcher after the exposure in the 1986 World Cup of Alvin Martin and Terry Fenwick as centre backs not of world class stature. Robson still had the relative youth of Mark Wright and Dave Watson to call upon, but found Adams impossible to ignore and in 1987 called up Arsenal's newest star, just 19, for a friendly against Spain in Madrid. The game became known for Gary Lineker's single most potent scoring match for England as he put away all four in a 4-2 win, but Tony received enormous plaudits for his handling of the occasion to the extent that Robson kept him in the squads for the two qualifying matches for the 1988 European Championships which were due two months later. Wright was preferred as Butcher's partner as England beat Northern Ireland 2-0 at Windsor Park, but then Adams came in for a poor goalless draw in Turkey and stuck around for the summer Rous Cup match at Wembley against Brazil (see photo above), which ended 1-1. (Matthew Rudd)

A crucial event occurred during the summer of 1987 which raised Tony Adams' standing within the game and arguably took his credentials as a fine England prospect for the next decade up a notch - Arsenal manager George Graham fell out with Kenny Sansom and handed the captaincy to his young centre back, not yet 21 years old. Adams, always a shouter and leader, took to it like a duck to water and Robson consequently could not afford to keep him out of the team. He won his fourth cap in a 3-1 friendly defeat in Dusseldorf against the West Germans and stayed in the team for the two European qualifiers which followed. The first was a quiet one for Adams as England routed Turkey 8-0 at Wembley; the second a triumphant 4-1 victory over Yugoslavia which secured England's place in the finals and produced Tony's' first international goal - a brave header from a corner which put England four up with barely half an hour gone. Shortly afterwards, Butcher broke his leg playing for Rangers and while some bemoaned the loss of an experienced guide at the back for Adams, he'd already got to the stage where it appeared he didn't need one.

Tony won his seventh cap on an eventful Wembley night against the much-heralded Dutch in March 1988, three months before the two would meet in more trying circumstances at the European Championships. After Lineker had put England ahead, Holland equalised when Ruud Gullit dummied a near post cross and Adams, not expecting the Dutch skipper's innovation, was powerless to stop the ball striking his shins and going into his own net. The Dutch then put more than 20 passes together to get a second, but Tony ventured forward in the second half to glance home a header from a set-piece which evened up the score in more ways than one. Adams started all four of the remaining matches (the photo above shows Tony in familiar pose - barking out orders - during the 0-0 draw against Hungary) leading up to the finals and England didn't concede a goal. In Butcher's sorry absence, Mark Wright and Dave Watson were both selected by Robson for the finals in Germany, but Adams was the only one assured of his place in the opening game against the Republic of Ireland, despite being the youngest player in the whole squad. (Matthew Rudd)

The 1988 European Championships was catastrophic for England and Tony Adams Adams shouldered some of the blame as Ireland beat them 1-0 and then the Dutch tore England's defence apart. Adams was turned inside and out by the outstanding Marco van Basten for the Dutch striker's first goal of a stunning hat-trick as England exited the tournament on a 3-1 hiding. The last group game against the Soviet Union offered only pride as a potential reward, but there was nothing proud about the performance as England lost 3-1 again. Adams, however, scored England's goal from the now familiar method of winning a header from a set piece. Butcher's return to the team after the summer helped Tony maintain his status as the established partner for the veteran of two World Cups with a third to come. Adams scored again - a header from a set piece, no less - as England avoided an embarrassment in Saudi Arabia with a 1-1 draw (it was his fourth goal in just 17 matches; impressive for a defender but there wouldn't be another one for almost 12 years) and with Arsenal subsequently winning the 1989 League championship and putting Tony on a higher pedestal, it looked rosy.

Injuries dogged him to an extent, but it's still astonishing the way Adams, proven as a defender and leader, was suddenly cast aside by Robson as 1989 began. His club performances made no difference as the youthful Nottingham Forest centre back Des Walker, a wholly different defender to Adams in that he was mostly reliant on pace rather than positioning, earned himself a regular starting role. That said, Robson was proved right as England bypassed Albania twice in qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, scoring seven and conceding none, and went on to keep clean sheets for a total of five games in a row, including a fine win against Scotland at Hampden in the Rous Cup and a 3-0 mauling of Poland in a qualifier at Wembley. Adams would not return to the international side as Robson shaped and sorted his final squad for the World Cup in Italy, losing just one of the seven pre-tournament warm-up games, all of which began with a Butcher/Walker partnership in place at the back. That said, it still made headlines when Robson announced his squad and Butcher, Walker and Wright were all in it while Adams wasn't. It remains a mystery why Tony's standing had sunk so suddenly and devastatingly. (Matthew Rudd)

After the World Cup and Bobby Robson's departure, Tony Adams' return to the international scene was fairly inevitable due to the retirement of Terry Butcher and a consequent shortage of natural leaders at the back. New manager Graham Taylor kept Des Walker and Mark Wright on the park and used Paul Parker in a central role too - eclipsing the successful sweeper system Robson had switched to midway through the World Cup - but a massive qualifier for the 1992 European Championships in Dublin (see photo above, Tony marshalling the defence) loomed and Adams was brought into the squad. The game ended 1-1 but Tony's renaissance would not last, not through loss of form but because of his imprisonment for drink-driving just before Christmas of that year. He only missed one England game during his spell inside and by the time the next qualifier - the return at Wembley against the Irish - came along, he was released, fit and in immense form as Arsenal began to run away with the League championship. Unfortunately, a weakness in Adams' marking led to an Irish equaliser for Niall Quinn and the game again ended 1-1. Taylor subsequently took a look at Gary Pallister as Tony sat out the 1-0 win over Turkey in Izmir which enhanced England's qualification position further, then recalled Wright for the summer mini-tournament games at Wembley versus the USSR and Argentina.

Immediately afterwards, a squad left for a June tour of Australasia and the Far East, and the Wright/Walker duo blossomed, with Adams not making the trip. Even when the last two qualifiers came at the end of 1991, Arsenal's title-winning skipper was not considered, with Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt making a surprising return for both games - a 1-0 win over Turkey and a 1-1 draw in Poland which secured England's place in the finals. Adams took no part in the warm-up matches and it was no surprise that he was not selected for the second major tournament in a row, though that would bring one last twist when Taylor, who had put Tony on standby, asked UEFA for permission to call up the Arsenal captain at a post-deadline stage when Wright suffered an injury. The day after England drew 0-0 with Denmark in the opening group game, UEFA denied the request. It remained inexplicable (and more so when England exited at the group stage without a win) that the only internationally-acclaimed central defender in the squad was Des Walker, and that Taylor preferred the effective but limited Martin Keown (then of Everton, later to partner Adams with great effect at Arsenal) and the untried and indelicate Keith Curle to a much decorated and respected defender and leader like Adams. (Matthew Rudd)