Arsenal legend slams the club’s recruitment record over last decade

Tony Adams rips into the recruitment at Arsenal over the last ten years.

The former Arsenal captain has been less than impressed with Arsenal’s nature of business in the transfer market over the past ten years and has blamed bad signings for the club’s current predicament.

The Gunners managed to sign two defenders last month in their bid to solve the current problems at the back.

They plan to splash more money in the summer but Adams doesn’t seem optimistic about their chances of making good signings.

Adams blames the club’s sacking of some of it’s best scouts just to rely on agents in their bid to sign players for the erratic signings they have been making recently.

“It’s been bloody depressing the last 10 years” Adams said per Goal.com

“All us Arsenal fans are like: ‘Oh my God, we concede so many goals’ — going from the extreme that we were so fantastic in that department to what we’ve been seeing.

“The main problem has been recruitment. It’s been very poor.

“And I don’t think running with agents is the way to do it.

“Seventeen backroom staff have gone, six scouts gone. Stevie Morrow, probably the best academy scout in the country, has been sacked.

“Bringing in players through agents is not how I would build.”

He also added that Arsene Wenger overstayed as the Gunners’ manager and he may have undone the good work he started for the club.

“I think he has so much identification with me because he was probably an addict,” said Adams, who was Gunners captain under Wenger.

“He couldn’t let go at the end, he’s a typical addict.

“He’s completely obsessed with the game, every single minute. It maybe cost him relationships and other stuff and I think it cost him his job by not being able to let go.

“I think the legacy could have been different. I honestly feel he needed to be more open and needed more winners around him.”

Hard to argue with Adams, the recruitment has been horrendous overall and the way contracts have been allowed to be run down or renegotiated on such an amateurish level has hurt the club deeply.

We can only hope it improves going forward.

10 Comments

  1. I am obviously being thick here
    I thought that agents were all about feathering their own nests with the by product being facilitating lucrative deals for their clients
    I did read that a lot of staff were released, but apparently the club was top heavy. Sad then that Adams who clearly rated Steve Morrow, was sacked. Surely this wasn’t a cost cutting exercise ?!

    1. So do I; “Diamond Eye” Mislantat didn’t last 5 minutes and then the Arsenal Board dispenses with long term scout Steve Morrow.

  2. Cant disagree with big Tone, i know he has a beef with Arsenal but that aside, what he says id correct. The set up of Arsenal football club is strange to say the least.

  3. THE EVIDENCE OF THE LAST DECADE BEARS OUT ADAMS AS TELLING THE PLAIN TRUTH. IF ANYTHING, HE UNDERSTATES IT!

  4. Agree with Tony. When you have people who know nothing about football running the club what can you expect.

  5. Does the bear shit in the woods?

    Adams doing his usual shtick of expressing what is common knowledge and has been said a gazillion times already.
    I bet he says we needed a DM a long time ago next.

    1. Diogenes, it doesn’t matter how much credibility you have and Tony Adams does know a bit about what a great defense looks like, the muppets on the Board at Arsenal obviously don’t know and don’t accept advice.

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