Neil Adams (footballer)

For other people named Neil Adams, see Neil Adams (disambiguation).

Neil Adams

Personal information
Full name	Neil James Adams
Date of birth	23 November 1965 (1965-11-23) (age 45)
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1986	Stoke City	32	(4)
1986–1989	Everton	20	(0)
1989	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	9	(0)
1989–1994	Oldham Athletic	129	(23)
1994–1999	Norwich City	182	(25)
1999–2001	Oldham Athletic	47	(4)
Total		419	(56)
National team
1986	England U21	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Neil James Adams (born 23 November 1965 in Stoke-on-Trent) is a former professional footballer and current Academy football coach for Norwich City.

Career

Adams, a right-sided midfield player who could also play in central midfield, began his career with hometown club Stoke City and his performances on the right wing for the Potters and deadly accurate crossing ability soon earned him an England U-21 call-up as well as attracting the attention of a number of top-flight clubs.

At the end of his first full season as a professional, Howard Kendall moved to take him to Everton in June 1986 for a fee of £150,000, and in his first season at Goodison Park he won a league championship medal as the Toffees cruised to the title in 1987.

During his three years on Merseyside, he also appeared in two Charity Shields, the Football League Centenary matches at Wembley and a Screen Sport Super Cup Final for the Blues, before moving to Oldham Athletic - in 1989 in a £100,000 deal.

The five seasons that Adams spent at Boundary Park was to coincide with the club's golden period. In 1990 he played for the Latics in the League Cup Final against Nottingham Forest, and the following season he picked up a second division championship medal as Oldham won promotion to the Premier League.

Adams' contribution from the right flank helped Oldham establish themselves against the best sides in the country, and he was influential in helping the Latics maintain their top-flight status during their 92-93 campaign by scoring 9 goals - including crucial strikes against Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea and most memorably the only goal in a 1-0 defeat of soon-to-be-crowned double winners, Manchester United.

Whilst at Oldham he also picked up a Carling No. 1 Award - selected by a Premiership committee before the start of the 1993-94 season.

In early 1994 Norwich City made inquiries about acquiring his services, and after protracted negotiations between the two clubs he eventually signed for the Canaries for a fee of £250,000 in mid-February.

Adams was to become a regular in the Norwich side during his time at Carrow Road. He assumed the role of penalty taker and dead ball specialist for the Canaries, and in his career he only missed from the spot once, in a league cup game against Swansea.^{[citation needed]}

He started in all but one of Norwich's games during the 1996-97 campaign, and completed that season as the Canaries' second top-scorer with a total of 16 goals.

In 2002, Norwich fans voted Adams into the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

After leaving Norfolk in the summer of 1999, Adams returned to former club Oldham for two seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire.

A holder of the UEFA 'A' Coaching Licence, he returned to Norwich where he now coaches the club's U-18s, and he also works on the BBC Radio Norfolk commentary team for Norwich City matches and hosts Canary Call, the post-match phone-in.^[1]

References

• Davage, Mike; John Eastwood, Kevan Platt (2001). Canary Citizens: The Official History of Norwich City F.C.. Jarrold. ISBN 0711720207. 

1. ^ "Canaries seal BBC commentary deal". BBC Sport. 6 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/norwich/8188494.stm. Retrieved 16 August 2009. 

External links

• Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
• Neil Adams career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Adams, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 November 1965
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Date of death
Place of death