Jimmy Adamson: The Man Who Said No to England

Product Information

After leaving Turf Moor in January 1976, Adamson then had a short spell with Sparta Rotterdam before returning to English club management to take over at Sunderland in December 1976. An elegant right-half of distinction, Adamson was the heartbeat of Burnley teams through the 50s – and in 1959/60 he was an ever present in the greatest side in the club’s history. The team of brilliant young players roared to sixth place in 1974 and also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup – but that day at Hillsborough ended in tears with a defeat at the hands of Newcastle United. Jimmy Adamson was very much an enigma, a great player of the 50s and early 60s, a title winner, man-of-the-match in the 1962 Cup Final, a revered coach whose name is still remembered in the game, but a manager who was sometimes not the easiest to get on with, and whose spirit was shattered by his dismissal as Burnley manager. He was an ever-present as Burnley won the First Division in 1959–60 and captained the side to the 1962 FA Cup Final which they lost against Tottenham Hotspur. He was also named Footballer of the Year in 1962. [2]

Though 1962 was a landmark year for Adamson, he will be best remembered as the ever-present captain of the Burnley team which won the League Championship in the 1959-60 season. This was a tremendous achievement for a small, unfashionable club that lived on its wits, the generosity of its pork butcher chairman, Bob Lord, and the skill of its scouts and coaches.Perhaps he should have stayed. After only a month in charge of Sparta Rotterdam and two years at Sunderland, in 1978 he accepted the challenge to manage Leeds United, a kind of Sargasso Sea for the managers trying to follow in the giant footsteps of Don Revie, who had built such a formidable team in the 1960s and early 70s. Given his distinguished playing and coaching career, it was a surprise that Adamson spent the rest of his life in Burnley without any further involvement in the professional game. He was predeceased by his wife, May, and his daughters, Julie and Jayne. He is survived by three granddaughters and two grandsons. At Leeds, Adamson seemed to lose his touch. Always at his best out on the training field, he was said to become increasingly and untypically remote, and he left, after considerable vocal encouragement from Leeds fans, in 1980. He retired in 1964, having played 426 league games, and joined the Burnley coaching staff. He had previously coached the England team in the 1962 World Cup in Chile and was the Football Association's preferred choice of manager ahead of Alf Ramsey but declined the offer. [2]

Two years later the Clarets were beaten at Wembley by Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup final – but the brilliant Adamson was still honoured as player of the year. On 1 August 2013, his biography, written by Dave Thomas, was published. [4] Honours [ edit ] Burnley In February 1970, when Burnley manager Harry Potts was made general manager, Adamson stepped up to become team manager. Burnley were relegated at the end his first full season in charge, but returned to the top-flight in 1973, winning the Second Division title. [2]

More in Offers

Competing in the European Cup the following season, Burnley were not disgraced. They eliminated Reims, twice previously beaten finalists against the mighty Real Madrid, and looked set for the semi-finals after defeating Hamburg 3-1 in the first leg at Turf Moor. But having reached the semi-finals of both the League and FA Cups, Burnley paid the penalty for their success, being obliged to play five matches in 14 days before the return leg in Hamburg. They went down, and out, 4-1 – to give an aggregate of 5-4 – with Uwe Seeler, Hamburg and West Germany's prolific centre-forward, scoring twice. This is a poignant story of broken dreams, failed ambitions and personal tragedy, ending in estrangement from the club he loved. A story of what might have been. Written with the support of his five grandchildren, this is a poignant story of broken dreams, frustrated ambitions and personal family tragedies. In his final years he was totally estranged from the club he had once loved so much. At the very end he was almost reclusive until in 2011 the Jimmy Adamson Suite was opened at the club. With his five grandchildren, Jimmy frail and ill, attended the opening, and received the acclaim of the matchday crowd. It was a healing moment. He died not many months later. Recruited from youth football in Northumberland, Adamson joined Burnley's groundstaff before signing a first professional contract with the Clarets in 1947, aged 17, although he did not make his senior Clarets debut until 1951. Adamson was the Burnley captain that season and led them all the way to the Holy Grail of the Football League championship.

Burnley football club is sad to confirm the passing of a true club legend in Jimmy Adamson," said a statement on www.burnleyfootballclub.com. "Ashington-born Adamson gave three decades of magnificent service to the Clarets." I only saw him once or twice a year but I never forgot to tell him that he made my career in football. Playing under Jimmy Adamson was an honour. He made me a better player. Recruited from youth football in Northumberland, Adamson joined Burnley's groundstaff before signing a first professional contract with the Clarets in 1947, aged 17. However, he did not make his senior debut until 1951.Winterbottom resigned after the tournament and FA bosses turned to Adamson. He didn’t want the job and instead carried on playing at Burnley while Alf Ramsey became England manager. In 1962 Jimmy Adamson had the football world at his feet; a supremely elegant player respected throughout the game, Footballer of the Year and invited to become England manager having been assistant manager in Chile during the World Cup. He turned it down. Appointed Burnley coach in 1965 he oversaw the 1968 Youth Cup Final victory and made a bold prediction that Burnley would become the ‘Team of the Seventies,’ but relegation soon followed. Then came the promotion season of 1972/73 to restore the club and repay the faith that Bob Lord had kept in him. He came so close to his dream but Chairman Lord then sold the best players one by one to pay the bills. After a golden three-year period, his vision faded and died. We will never know what may have happened had he said yes but some 486 games on from his debut Adamson retired from playing as one of Burnley’s greatest – and when he became manager in place of Harry Potts in 1970 there was more glory to come. As a Burnley player, Adamson's closest friend and companion was the gifted Northern Ireland inside-right, the ebullient Jimmy McIlroy. They complemented one another perfectly both on and off the field, Adamson's dry humour a foil for McIlroy's exuberance.