A

rsenal and England legend Tony Adams has thrown his hat into the ring as Singapore looks for a new national soccer coach in the wake of the departure of V. Sundramoorthy.

Adams, 51, was most recently caretaker manager of La Liga struggler Granada CF at the end of the 2016-17 season. But he’s now back at his home in England, as he weighs up his next career move.

The Jakarta Post understands that Adams sent an e-mail application to Soccer Association of Singapore (FAS) president Lim Kia Tong and deputy general secretary Yazeen Buhari on Wednesday. He is interested in returning to Asia after a successful spell as sports director of Chinese Super League (CSL) side Chongqing Dandai Lifan in 2016-2017.

Chongqing is controlled by Chinese billionaire Jiang Lizhang, who also owns stakes in Granada, Italian side Palma Calcio and NBA franchise, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Adams has helped Jiang over the past couple of years since the pair met at a Euro 2016 game in France.

But Adams, who won 12 major trophies including four English titles with Arsenal during a storied 22-year career, is ready for a new chapter. He reportedly turned down the Malaysia national coaching position at the end of 2015 before Ong Kim Swee was appointed.

Arsenal is due to visit Singapore in July as part of the 2018 International Champions Cup (ICC), alongside Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners will be under the control of a new manager, with Arsene Wenger to step down at the North London club at the end of the season after 22 years in charge.

Ex-Sunderland boss Terry Butcher and former Wolverhampton Wanderers’ manager Dave Jones are among the English coaches who have expressed their interest in the Lions’ job. But getting someone of Adams’ stature — he also played in four major tournaments for England, earning 66 caps — could be just the boost that struggling Singapore soccer needs.

Adams could potentially help provide a pathway between Singapore and Arsenal for local coaches and aspiring players.

Singapore soccer, and the ailing national team, is in the doldrums. Sitting at a miserable 172nd in the FIFA rankings, the Lions won just three of 23 matches under Sundramoorthy, with five draws and 15 defeats. In the process, they scored only 14 goals, conceding 39, and were eliminated in the group stage of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup in the Philippines.

The debate goes on about whether another local coach like Young Lions’ boss Fandi Ahmad should be handed the job, given his familiarity with the nation’s senior players.

But, with the 2018 edition of the Southeast Asian tournament looming in November, a big-name foreigner like Adams would surely do better, on and off the field. His stature as Premier League royalty, and an inspirational leader, could generate fan and commercial interest on an island that remains obsessed with the English game. A reformed alcoholic for more than 20 years who set up his own British-registered charity, he could also help with corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

As far as his coaching credentials, Adams has had a mixed record, cutting his teeth at lower-league side Wycombe Wanderers in 2003-2004, before a spell in the Netherlands, overseeing the lower teams of Feyenoord and Utrecht.

His most high-profile managerial success came as assistant to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth between 2006-2008 when it won the FA Cup and finished ninth in the Premier League. However, when Redknapp stepped down and Adams took over the top job, he lasted only four months before being sacked after earning only 10 points from 16 games in charge.

Adams then quit the English game altogether to spend the next half a dozen years in Azerbaijan as head coach, and then sporting director, of local club Gabala FC.

Adams’ time in an Islamic country like Azerbaijan could be an advantage when he interacts with Singapore soccer players, the majority of whom are Muslim. Another plus is his vast experience coaching youth players in China, Netherlands and England — ex-Liverpool and S. League winger Jermaine Pennant was one of the rising stars he worked with at Arsenal and Portsmouth.

While it was big money that attracted him to the former Soviet republic, Adams is believed to be willing to temper his wage demands for an opportunity in expat-friendly Singapore. He would even consider a performance-based contract, as he tries to lift the Lions up the FIFA rankings.

As a player, a then 24-year-old Adams visited Singapore in 1991 as Arsenal beat a Liverpool side containing John Barnes and Ian Rush 4-3 after a penalty shoot-out in the Caltex Trophy at the old National Stadium.

More than a quarter of a century later, he’s open to making a return in a bid to reverse the island nation’s alarming soccer decline.
_____________________________

*Jason Dasey is Singapore-based TV broadcaster and event emcee. Twitter: @JasonDasey