Former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams has opened up about his decades-long battle with addiction, admitting that prison failed to address his drinking problem. Speaking about his 1990 drink-driving sentence, Adams said: 'Prison didn't touch the sides. I was in there because I was four times over the legal limit. I went straight across an A road, doing 80mph, out of control for the length of a football pitch.'
Adams, now 58, revealed that his lowest point came in 1996 when he was 29 and 'didn't want to be on the planet'. He described a 44-day drinking binge after England's Euro 96 semi-final defeat, during which he experienced paranoia and hallucinations. 'I've seen things come out of the cupboard. I thought someone was in the house. I thought I was killing people,' he said.
The former defender credited a man named James W, his therapist and sponsor, with saving his life. James W guided Adams through the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous in August 1996, leading to 28 years of sobriety. 'He saved my life, and got hundreds of other people clean,' Adams said, becoming emotional as he discussed James W's recent death from lung cancer.
Adams has been named chair of The Forward Trust, a national addiction and recovery charity. Reflecting on his journey, he said: 'I've got no angst of the past any more. I've cleaned that up – I'm 28 years without a drink or a drug. I'm comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my life. I've grown up. There are no tentacles from the past now.'
