Adams Offers Terry Support
Former England captain Tony Adams has told TJ how if he was the England manager, he would have offered his support to John Terry.
MILLET SPORT
He said: "I think on a professional basis it hasn't helped England's cause, it's not as it was [the morale around the England set-up] so it has changed.
Whether it's for the good or not, I suppose if he's part of the squad who lifts the World Cup in South Africa then it's the right decision to take away the captaincy, the manager's made a decision but I don't agree with it. You don't know because you're not in that scenario but I would have made my decision purely on a professional basis and if he turned up to train, to work, was always professional and did his job, then for me as England manager I would have supported him. I would even have offered him help if he wanted it in regards to his private life, but I would have steered clear of it [taking the captaincy away from him] and judged him purely on his professional ability."
Adams is though confident that while the Terry furore hasn't helped the England camp, Capello's man can have a good showing in the summer. "I think we've got a good chance at the World Cup," he said. "It's a cup competition so there are a lot of factors that can come into play. But if we get out of our group, which I think we should be able to, I don't think it's a particularly great group, then you're into the last 16 and then as I say it's a cup competition. If you get good draws and keep people to stay fit then you've got a very good chance.
"If you're looking at favourites, I don't think you could go past Spain or Italy who are the world champions. Then you've got people like Brazil, and as an outside tip an African team to maybe get to the semi's."
Confident of what England can achieve, Adams is even more hopeful for his former Arsenal side whom he believes can end a barren five-year spell by winning the premier league this season. He said: "I think they can win the title, they have every chance. They've got a fantastic run-in and if they win their remaining ten games they'll win it and I don't see any reason why they can't go on a run like that. They have to stay focussed but they have a very good chance and they know that. If they stay injury free and get their proper team on the pitch more often than not, then they've got a very good chance of winning the league."
And while he's talking up the chances of England and Arsenal, he also spoke glowingly of Israeli manager Avram Grant, whom he worked with at Portsmouth. Adams managed the side when Grant was Director of Football at the club and said: "Avram's a lovely fella. I worked for a year with him, he's a super guy, and was very supportive. When I was at Portsmouth, he didn't do a lot of coaching, but let me get on with it. He's a nice man, good man, honest guy and I really liked him.
"We're very blinkered, us English people think people come to this island and that's the first time they've been working. He's been around the block, has been incredibly successful in his homeland and he's a good manager."
MILLET SPORT
