Forever immortalised for being the first player to be sent off in the Premier League era (Southampton v QPR 19.08.92),

Micky Adams was originally an orthodox left-winger, but had tried all of the left-sided positions by the time he arrived at The Dell, just before the 1989 transfer deadline, for the sum of £250,000. He initially settled in as an attacking left-back, in succession to Derek Statham. Soon, though, while still wearing No.3, he would often feature as the left-sided midfielder, in front of Franny Benali. He also coached the Under-11s at the club’s Centre of Excellence, to which he brought Wayne Bridge, after spotting him playing at Oliver’s Battery.

His final game for the Saints coincided with the club’s termination of Ian Branfoot’s contract. Having been more comfortable than some of his team-mates with Branfoot’s coaching methods, he was a natural candidate to follow him to Craven Cottage, albeit via Stoke. Then, when Branfoot moved “upstairs”, the protégé filled the managerial vacancy and, in his first full season, took Fulham up to Division II. Micky would repeat that act at Leicester, assuming control when Dave Bassett became director of football and instantly taking City into the Premiership. In between those two promotions, he won the Third Division championship with Brighton. At both Brighton and Leicester, he achieved these successes amid financial turmoil, so it is ironic that when Fulham’s promotion was shortly followed by the arrival of Mohammed Al Fayed, Adams was obliged to make way for the high-profile pairing of Kevin Keegan, as director of football, and Ray Wilkins as head coach.

He thereupon signed a two-and-a-ha1f year contract at Swansea, taking Branfoot with him as chief scout, but resigned after 13 days, when the promised transfer-kitty had not materialized. Brighton’s promotion in 2001 inevitably sparked speculation that he was the man Rupert Lowe should be looking for that summer. But Micky had heard that he “wasn’t the Chairman’s type – I had an opinion,” so he never applied, but he was, however, interviewed in 2008 when Burley departed to manager Scotland. But he did get to manage two clubs where he had been a player: Coventry in 2005; and, as 2010 ended, Sheffield United, his home-town club who had released him as a teenager. Unable to save the Blades from relegation to League One, he was sacked. He returned to Port Vale. The club were in sight of the League Two play-offs when they went into administration in March 2012, incurring a 10-point deduction. That postponed for a season Micky’s chances of yet another promotion. That had to wait until 2013.

Next stop was Tranmere and then he crossed the Irish Sea for a successful short stint with Sligo. Back in England, Mick set up his own football consultancy business, which included lecturing on the Wales FA pro-licence course and mentoring youth football in Kyrgyzstan. He also released his biography ‘My life in football’ in 2017