Adams and Scolari: Victims of Modern Football

Tony Adams and Luiz Felipe Scolari were both relieved of their jobs on Monday after a run of poor performances. Adams and Scolari were both dismissed by the owners of their respective clubs, neither of whom were football experts, but merely rich, rich men who had bought football clubs so that they had something to do of a Saturday afternoon.

Tony Adams took the reins at Portsmouth having previously served as Harry Redknapp’s assistant. Almost as soon as Adams took over, Pompey owner Alexandre Gaydamak stopped pouring his money into the club.

Adams was forced to sell star striker Jermaine Defoe to Tottenham and midfield stalwart Lassana Diarra to Real Madrid. In turn, he replaced the star duo with Greek pair Theofanis Gekas and Angelos Basinas on the cheap.

With an inadequate squad, Pompey’s results began to suffer. Results like the unlucky 2-2 draw with AC Milan went out the window once Adams’ two best players left the club, and Pompey endured a disappointing run of games which ultimately cost Big Tone his job.

The ninth-placing achieved by Harry Redknapp last season was the highest in the club’s history. You couldn’t expect Adams to replicate that in his first season as a top-flight manager, much less when the owner pulls the plug and he is forced to sell his best two players.

Had Noe Pamarot not decided to head the ball back into his own net a couple of weeks ago, and had Fernando Torres not popped up with a last-gasp header at Fratton Park on the weekend, Pompey would have found themselves a lot further up the table.

Despite all of that, Adams was still relieved of his duties just months after taking the hot seat at Fratton Park.

The case of Luiz Felipe Scolari bares many similarities to the tale of Tony Adams. ‘Big Phil’ walked into Chelsea following the acrimonious departure of Avram Grant. Scolari was in a similar position to Tony Adams in the sense of having owner not willing to put as much money into the club as he had previously.

Chelsea were subsequently outbid by Manchester City for Robinho, a transfer that ultimately cost Scolari his job – had Robinho’s eleven league goals come in a Chelsea shirt this season, the Blues would arguably be on top of the Premiership.

Even without Robinho, Chelsea still have found themselves in only fourth place and within touching distance of pace-setters Manchester United. Still, Scolari was relieved of his position just like Tony Adams, just months after taking over.

Both Scolari and Adams were sacked as soon as their side’s fortune dipped. The owners of their respective sides, only looking at the short term, may have jumped the gun in letting go Scolari and Adams.

History shows that the most successful managers were given time at their respective clubs, despite the fact that some may have had a rocky start. The key is often stability.

A prime example of this is Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie’s job was on the line four years into his tenure at Old Trafford, following a poor run of games in late 1989 in early 1990. Many fans and journalists called for Ferguson to be sacked, but the Manchester United board showed patience and stuck behind their man.
Sir Alex subsequently became arguably the greatest manager in the history of the beautiful game.

Had Adams and Scolari taken up their jobs twenty years ago, they would both still be there. The pair of them would be given the time (and funds) necessary to build a squad and turn them into a cohesive unit, just like Ferguson was.

Unfortunately patience is a rare commodity in modern football. Multi-million pound buy-outs are now common place and the cashed-up businessman rarely show the patience that is needed to turn a mediocre football club into a success.