Addicted
 
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HarperCollinsWillow Number of pages: 288 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) |
Thrust into the Arsenal first team at 17, his tenacity and enthusiasm made up for initial technical shortcomings and his leadership ability inevitably saw him made captain. But off the pitch things were not so straightforward. His marriage was in disarray and his drinking out of control. After a particularly intense period of "research into the illness"--a day-long bender following England's defeat on penalties to Germany in Euro 96--Adams sought help and while his account of his ongoing AA-aided recovery occasionally lapses into clichéd therapy-speak, there is a raw honesty to it that makes it both moving and affecting. Much has been made of Adams' apparent criticism of Glen Hoddle's handling of England's 1998 World Cup bid, but in reality the strength of this book comes not from the spilling of dressing-room secrets, but from its powerful depiction of the price one man continues to pay for success. --Nick Wroe
RRP: £16.99
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Arsenal and England stalwart Tony Adams combines two very '90s preoccupations in these memoirs: football and the confessional. Alongside the story of Adams' hugely successful career for Arsenal and England, Addicted also charts his decline into alcoholism and subsequent efforts at rehabilitation. The combination works surprisingly well with Adams new-found self-awareness enabling a far more thoughtful and mature insight into his footballing life than you suspect would otherwise have been the case.
Fabtastic
Review date: 2007-10-09 Rating: 10 out of 10
I love autobiographies and this is as good as any. The most important thing for me is that an autobiography is revealing. This is life as a footballer warts and all.
Reviews
Adams lunges forward and turns the corner
Review date: 2007-02-24 Rating: 8 out of 10
I've always been a Tottenham fan and you can probably understand that i was a bit skeptical using up my quality time in reading the autobiography of an Arsenal player.How I was wrong..very wrong. I always admired Tony Adams mastery amongst the famous Arsenal Back Four (Adams, Winterburn, Dixon, Keown. I never liked the Donkey chants even those by the Spurs fans because he a vision which even the legendary Gary Mabbutt didn't have. His description of his failings and how he adapted his style of play as per George Graham's edict was very interesting.
His candid description of his fall into alcoholism is the best part of the book and like his footballing attitude, he had the guts to move forward.
It's good to laud a player who plays for your favourite team but its better when you respect a player from the other side. That said, Tony Adams falls in this category.
Don't Call Him Donkey
Review date: 2007-01-12 Rating: 8 out of 10
'Addicted' is a thoroughly enjoyable read, Tony Adams delivers one of the most engaging and brutally honest autobiographies in print. In many autobiographies, particularly those of footballers, the subjects are often at pains to portray themselves in a good light, skirt over indefendable controversies and pass the blame for their failings, this is not the case with 'Addicted'. Charting his descent into alcoholism, detailing his beliefs and thought processes of the time, with somewhat staggering honesty. The book really allows the reader a sense of the man, then in his darkest days, and also of the recovering athlete re-enagaing with his first love. Some readers may feel there to be too much space and detail afforded to match descriptions and routine footballing information, however this serves to highlight the incredible acheivements and longevity of his career whilst all the while abusing his body to extreme levels. 'Addicted' is essential reading for football fans, and in fact anyone as it encourages self evaluation through its brutal honesty whilst charting the career of one of Englands finest defenders, which also consequently renders the subject, former England captain Tony Adams both intriguing and endearing.
'Addicted' reaches the parts others can't reach!
Review date: 2007-01-09 Rating: 8 out of 10
A truly honest account of the career of Tony Adams including his infamous battle with the booze.
Adams talks openly about his addiction to alcohol and the effects it has had on his life and as such the book is just as much an insight into his off field problems as much as his footballing career.
A great read but it is a pity his story stopped after the 1998 World Cup Finals in France as it would have been interesting to read in more detail of his time under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and to read about his brief managerial spell at Wycombe.Maybe an updated version will appear in the future?
For that reason i only give this book 4 stars rather than 5.
Very Good, but some failings...
Review date: 2007-01-08 Rating: 8 out of 10
All that has been written in terms of the honesty and revelations are true, and Adams must be commended for the transparency shown here - if your going to do a book, do it right (It annoys me when i see guys like Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen barely in their 20's bringing out Books of their 'life'!!).
My only criticism is that Adams seems to be very arrogant, and I wonder how much of the book was written directly by him, and how much by his co-writer. To me, he came across quite big headed on many occasions - I would recommend the book, but I have to admit i believe the PAUL MCGRATH book, whilst strikingly similar in content, was a much better read, and a better written book.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
Tony Adams
Ian Ridley
Recording label: HarperCollinsWillow
Manufacturer: HarperCollinsWillow
EAN: 9780002187947
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey decimal number: 790
ISBN: 0002187949
Number of pages: 288
Publication date: 1998-09-07
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)
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