FACE OF DESPAIR - Tony Adams during Portsmouth's 3-1 defeat
to Fulham.
There is a belief within the club Adams is out of his depth
after replacing Harry Redknapp.
Adams is even questioning his own position after a humiliating
3-1 defeat at Fulham which could bring the curtain down on his
three-month reign at Fratton Park. He still retains some support
within the Portsmouth boardroom but after failing to win in the
league since November 30, the tide has turned.
Eight matches without a win has seen the club plummet to within
a point of the relegation zone and seems to have sealed the former
England captain’s fate.
Pompey’s dismal run also saw them crash out of the FA Cup to
Swansea last weekend. Adams considered resigning after the debacle
at Craven Cottage but was persuaded not to make any rash decisions.
He will have talks with chief executive Peter Storrie today before
the board meet to decide his future. Sources close to the club
believe it was only Storrie’s intervention which saved Adams from
the exit immediately after the Fulham defeat.
One said: “The chairman thinks there are huge question marks
over Tony’s ability to turn things around. It was as bad as it can
get against Fulham and there is a major problem that needs to be
sorted out quickly.”
Adams said after the game: “I do my job to the best of my
ability but it has been a tough period. The last two months have
been difficult both on and off the pitch.”
Adams has lost the likes of Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe in
the transfer window for around £34million but has spent just a
fraction of that on replacements Hayden Mullins and Pele, with
Giovani Dos Santos looking likely to follow.
There is little doubt he is a victim of a lack of investment
through Gaydamak’s determination to sell up. But there is also a
belief within the club Adams is out of his depth after replacing
Harry Redknapp in October last year.Morale is at rock bottom and
that has left even the normally confident Adams doubting his own
ability.
He was at his wits’ end in the aftermath of yesterday’s defeat,
believing the axe would fall. But he calmed down enough to wait for
a boardroom decision, which is likely to come tomorrow, if not
before.
Rumours surfaced last weekend that Feyenoord were ready to
provide Adams with an escape route from Fratton Park. He may now
need it.
