Obituary: Charlie Adam, footballer and publican

For the second time in less than a fortnight, Scottish football and the city of Dundee are mourning the loss of a favoured son. The death of Charlie Adam snr following just 12 days after the loss of Doug Smith has affected Dundee United in particular, both players having turned out in the tangerine.

In the case of Adam, his career at Tannadice Park was very much shorter than Smith’s, but he did enjoy many years in professional football with clubs around the Dundee area, though latterly was best known as the father of Scottish international and Stoke City midfielder Charlie jnr, while another of his sons, goalkeeper Grant, is on the books of St Mirren and is currently on loan to Airdrie United.

Charles Adam – always known as Charlie – was born in the very month that Dundee FC won the Scottish League championship during the club’s golden era.

Born and raised in Fintry, a council housing estate on the north side of the city, Adam recently recalled to a journalist that he had been a Dundee supporter as a boy and ironically it was the only local team for which he did not play professional football.

One of the rash of similar housing schemes built across Scotland in the post-war era, Fintry has produced several well-known footballers such as Derek Johnstone of Rangers and Scotland and Stephen Glass, the former Aberdeen and Newcastle player who also turned out for Scotland.

Adam might well have been the best of them had his ambition and dedication matched the talent which he began to show as a schoolboy.

It was only when he graduated to possibly the toughest of all sporting finishing schools, Scottish Junior football, that Adam began to flourish and he was reported to have had an early involvement with Montrose FC that came to nothing.

Playing for Downfield, the Juniors East Region team known as The Spiders, because they have the same colour of shirts as the original Spiders, Queen’s Park, Adam made an impact as a strapping six-footer, who earned a reputation for being a skilful two-footed player who was also able to handle the hurly burly of the junior game.

It was at the fairly advanced age of 23 that Adam made the long-term transition to the senior ranks. St Johnstone’s then manager Ian Gibson admired his skills, and in his single complete season with the Perth club, Adam made 28 appearances and scored eight goals for the then Second Division club whose fortunes were at a very low ebb.

Arguably his most successful period followed at Brechin City where Adam delighted the fans with his skills, especially in dead ball situations. Over three years at Glebe Park, Adam made almost 100 appearances and scored 35 goals, a remarkable return for a player who began as a midfielder, but made his mark as a striker for the Angus club.

His performances with the Second Division side attracted the attention of Jim McLean, then manager at Tannadice. McLean recalled this week: “I thought I’d found a gem in Charlie. He arrived at Tannadice as a striker but I saw something in him that made me believe he would make a great inside left.

“He was tall, had a great technique and could use both feet. His touch was very good and like his boy he had an excellent range of passing. Charlie’s shooting was also very powerful.

“He had all the attributes you wanted in a player, including bravery. He was a decent bloke who was well liked by his team-mates.

“Charlie could have been even better than his boy, but liked to enjoy himself and maybe that cost him a shot at the highest level.”

Adam was indeed a gregarious character who perhaps over-enjoyed socialising with fellow players and fans, and in later years he would preach to his sons that they should not do what he did. Charlie jnr often credits his father for that advice.

Given McLean’s reputation as a disciplinarian, it is perhaps unsurprisingly that Adam played only six games for United before he moved to Partick Thistle.

Again, his stay at Firhill was short, the travelling to and from Glasgow being blamed for his eventual move – after eight games and two goals – to another Angus club, Forfar Athletic.

In two seasons with the Loons, he scored seven goals in 36 matches before moving to a third Angus club, Arbroath FC. In just under three seasons with the Red Lichties, Adam played 81 times, scoring ten goals. Latterly managed by Celtic legend Danny McGrain, Adam had many fond memories of his time at Arbroath where the fans used to wear beards in tribute to the manager – Adam himself was noted for his bristling moustache as a younger player.

At the age of 32, Adam quit the senior game and in later years contented himself playing for junior and amateur sides, and was always a welcome guest playing in charity matches.

Like so many footballers, he went into the licensed trade, and was best known for his time as “mine host” at the Star & Garter public house in Dundee.

He continued to take an interest in coaching and encouraging young players, none more so than Charlie jnr and Grant. He liked nothing better than to go south to watch Charlie play at Rangers, St Mirren, Blackpool, Liverpool and Stoke.

Adam was well aware that he did not make the most of his undoubted talents, but he certainly ensured that his sons knew the importance of working hard at the game. He is survived by Charlie Jnr, Grant, their mother Ellie, their brothers Gary and Connor and their sister Nicola.

His death came as a shock to all his family and friends, and among the tributes from the clubs he was associated with were these words from Dundee United: “Charlie was not only a great footballer but a great character within the city of Dundee and he will be sadly missed.”

Two of his former clubs will meet on Boxing Day when Arbroath travel to Brechin. An appropriate tribute is likely to be paid at that match.

MARTIN HANNAN