Charlie Adam: sitting pretty

[ian1964 10,486]

AT first, Charlie Adam was reluctant to leave Rangers.

 

Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, even accused the midfielder of refusing to answer his phone calls. But having watched DVD footage of Adam in action, and heard around the seaside town how popular, and influential, the player had been during his loan spell at the club the previous season, Holloway persisted.

 

When they eventually met, it was Holloway who was blunt. ââ?¬Å?You know, I want to get to the Premier League,ââ?¬Â he said to the young Scot. ââ?¬Å?And I want to get you to a top-four club.ââ?¬Â Adamââ?¬â?¢s reaction was to submit to the managerââ?¬â?¢s charisma and bluffness; he signed, in a Ã?£500,000 transfer, and now 17 months later he is valued again, this time by other Barclayââ?¬â?¢s Premier League sides.

 

ââ?¬Å?I want him to go to a much bigger and better club,ââ?¬Â Holloway said earlier this week. ââ?¬Å?But until I get the right phone call, he will crack on with us.ââ?¬Â A bid of Ã?£2m from Birmingham has been rejected, and another of Ã?£2.5m from Aston Villa, but now Liverpool are said to be interested and it seems inevitable that Adam will move on again. For Rangers, the only consolation is 10% of a fee that might even rise as high as Ã?£5m, to accompany a few regrets about the way a talent has flourished since leaving Ibrox.

 

Adam was pigeon-holed by the time he left: a thickset, sedate midfielder capable of passes that were imaginative, in scale and ambition, and crisp shooting with his left foot, but also an imprudent lack of judgment and an air that could become melancholy on the field. Supporters began to distrust him, and he seemed stalked by jibes about his figure (not helped by a comment he once made about never having considered eating salad).

 

Yet if it was enough just for Adam to break out of a rut in Glasgow, he would still occasionally reveal the player he was then: wistful as much as incisive, a kind of compromise between the great sweep of his passing ability and a skittery poise. Instead, Adam has developed into a shrewd midfielder, his play shaped by aplomb, a sense of belonging and, most emphatically, of confidence.

 

Holloway has allowed a surge in the midfielderââ?¬â?¢s esteem, so that he is now considered a significant player in Craig Leveinââ?¬â?¢s Scotland squad, and an accomplished enough performer in the Premier League for Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, to remark: ââ?¬Å?Ian Holloway has done a fantastic job. He brought Charlie Adam down from Glasgow when nobody seemed to want him and he is one of the best players in the league.ââ?¬Â

 

What is at the root of this progress? In part, it is Holloway�s willingness to confound. At his first Blackpool training session, he told the players they were going to play like Barcelona. He lined them up in a 4-3-3 shape, asked them to keep the ball and to attack sides. In essence, he granted his players freedom, not only to express themselves, but also from trepidation.

 

For all that Adam sought to prove himself at Ibrox by hitting long passes that were too ambitious and too ill-conceived, he is not a cocky, arrogant figure. Holloway�s management rescued him from the doubt that left his composure so diminished. Even now, as captain of a Premier League team, and the player so central to Blackpool�s fortunes that their entire approach is moulded around him, Adam can still be fretful.

 

ââ?¬Å?He needs to believe in himself a bit more,ââ?¬Â Holloway said. ââ?¬Å?He says he does, but he doesnââ?¬â?¢t really. You wonââ?¬â?¢t get him strutting round the place like heââ?¬â?¢s a chocolate bar, licking himself. Heââ?¬â?¢s not like that, but he is a fantastic footballer.ââ?¬Â

 

There is a stubbornness to Adam ââ?¬â?? he fought Blackpool over a bonus clause in his contract that they were not willing to honour, and won ââ?¬â?? but his development can also be traced to something less acute: maturity. At Ibrox, he was a young player trying to make his way in the game, at a high-profile, intense level. Now 25, with a son, a fiancee and a less frantic nature, he is a more measured individual.

 

Blackpool have contributed to this. The players wash their own kit, and Adam tells stories of occasions when the team bus has caught fire or broken down. Yet so much of the clubââ?¬â?¢s maverick, homespun nature is a consequence of Holloway that their success ââ?¬â?? individually (Adam is among many cast-offs or players with a point to prove at the club) and collectively ââ?¬â?? seems an aspect of his own character. Ahead of a game against Stoke City earlier this season, he took the players on a midweek trip to a casino. He has danced to Ghanaian gospel music in the Upton Park dressing room, and made the players dress in drag for a charity calendar (Holloway wore a penguin suit).

 

It is the trust he grants them that is crucial; it is as if he shoulders the responsibility so that the players can perform above themselves. A form of man-management, certainly, but few have taken to it so readily as Adam. So what is at the heart of this resurgence, this marked rise?

 

ââ?¬Å?I am a better player,ââ?¬Â Adam says. ââ?¬Å?Itââ?¬â?¢s as simple as that.ââ?¬Â

 

Hands off, says Holloway

 

Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, has rejected Aston Villaââ?¬â?¢s Ã?£3.5m bid for Charlie Adam because he says, ââ?¬Å?you donââ?¬â?¢t get genius cheapââ?¬Â, writes Mark Walker.

 

The Blackpool and Scotland midfielder is a wanted man with several Premier League clubs lining up a bid for the former Rangers player.

 

Gerard Houllier, the Villa manager, had an offer rejected this week and Liverpool are also said to be interested in the playmaker but Holloway is determined to hold on to his captain.

 

He said: ââ?¬Å?They can shove their bid wherever they like it because if they think he is only worth Ã?£3.5m they are watching a different game to me.

 

ââ?¬Å?If they want to insult me by offering Ã?£3.5m then, sorry, they are barking up the wrong tree. Iââ?¬â?¢ve seen what he does and some of it is genius ââ?¬â?? and you donââ?¬â?¢t get genius cheap.

 

ââ?¬Å?I think Charlie owes it to us to stay and then he will have a choice of clubs to go to as long as his arm. I want him to go to a club which is not struggling. It has always been my goal to get him to one of the top five or six clubs. If Manchester United ring me and make me a realistic offer, I might have to consider it but until then heââ?¬â?¢s staying put.ââ?¬Â

 

Meanwhile, the Blackpool striker DJ Campbell insists Adam must remain at Bloomfield Road. The Scotland midfielder produced another impressive display as Holloway�s side completed the double over Liverpool, winning 2-1 at home in midweek.

 

Campbell insists itââ?¬â?¢s vital to the Lancashire side that Adam remains at the club. He said: ââ?¬Å?Charlie played really well again, despite the speculation.

 

ââ?¬Å?Weââ?¬â?¢ve got genuine people in the Blackpool team. Thatââ?¬â?¢s the key to it, but weââ?¬â?¢ve also got good players.

 

ââ?¬Å?Obviously, thereââ?¬â?¢s been a lot of talk about Charlie, but itââ?¬â?¢s really important that we keep him here.ââ?¬Â

 

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/english-football/charlie-adam-sitting-pretty-1.1079874

[Danny 0]

Always had talent, but simply wasn't coached right at Ibrox. Always trying Hollywood passes which rarely came off, and appeared to lack the basics of the game. Also had a nasty thuggish side to his game.

 

Looks like Holloway has managed to get rid of the majority of the rubbish from him, and has cultivated his talent well. Doesn't often happen in football that an average player becomes far more, but it has in this case.

[JMS 0]

Always had talent, but simply wasn't coached right at Ibrox. Always trying Hollywood passes which rarely came off, and appeared to lack the basics of the game. Also had a nasty thuggish side to his game.

 

Looks like Holloway has managed to get rid of the majority of the rubbish from him, and has cultivated his talent well. Doesn't often happen in football that an average player becomes far more, but it has in this case.

 

 

Yes he always had talent and quite possibly wasn't coached right, don't agree he always had a nasty thuggish side to his game,as all through his youth playing days can recall only twice when he went in to let's say take the ball and man, but as he wasn't the fastest he mistimed it and got sent off on one off those occasions.

Never thought at any stage was he an average player, an average player doesn't have the vision that he's always possessed and as you alluded to earlier in your post he simply wasn't coached properly, as he certainly had the tools and arrogance to become a good football player.