Jimmy Adamson: The Man Who Said No to England

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Adamson formed a midfield partnership with inside-forward Jimmy McIlroy, around which much of Burnley's creative play was centred. By all accounts a complex and private man, all who knew him would describe him as a marvellous coach but as a manager not everyone’s favourite person. “Not everyone’s cup of tea,” was the nicest way it was put by one of his most loyal disciples. 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. Adamson was the Burnley captain that season and led them all the way to the Holy Grail of the Football League championship.

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. Having been coach to title-winning Burnley manager Harry Potts, Adamson took over in the hot seat at Turf Moor.Jimmy Adamson was a football enigma, revered by some, disliked by others – a supremely elegant player of the ’50s and early ’60s, a title winner and a respected coach, but a manager whose spirit was ultimately shattered.

Despite finishing on the losing side in the 1962 FA Cup Final, Adamson was named footballer of the year and, at the age of 33, was included in England's World Cup squad for the tournament in Chile that summer.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. It is a story of the changing relationships between three men: Harry Potts, Bob Lord and Adamson himself, the three of them once the inseparable and on-going heart of the club, but who eventually could not speak to each other. In 1962, Adamson had the world at his feet: FA Cup finalist, Footballer of the Year and invited to become England manager, having been assistant at the World Cup in Chile. But Adamson said ‘no’.

James Adamson (4 April 1929– 8 November 2011) [1] was an English professional footballer and football manager. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland. [2] He made 486 appearances for Burnley, ranking him sixth in their all-time appearance list. [2] Playing career [ edit ] 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.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] 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. 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.

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. He was an incredibly loyal man too because he turned down the England manager's job to remain at Burnley." Burnley were relegated again in 1976, although Adamson had already left that January. In May 1976 he was appointed as manager of Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam, but left the following month. In November 1976 he was made manager of Sunderland, but was unable to prevent them from relegation from the First Division. [2]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. 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. 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. The players who were around at that time got the benefit of his knowledge and were taught to play the right way. 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]