Charlie Adam
Birthdate: 10 December 1985
Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland
Other clubs: Rangers (2004-09), Ross County (loan 2004-05), St. Mirren (loan 2005-06), Blackpool (2009-11), Stoke City (2012-)
Bought from: Blackpool
Signed for LFC: £6.75m, 07.07.2011
International debut: 30.05.2007 vs. Austria
International caps: 23/0 (6/0 at LFC) - 26.03.2013
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Liverpool debut: 13.08.2011
Last appearance: 23.08.2012
Debut goal: 27.08.2011
Last goal: 29.10.2011
Contract expiry: 31.08.2012
Win ratio: 48.65% W: 18 D: 10 L: 9
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 3 / 1
LFC league games/goals: 28 / 2
Total LFC games/goals: 37 / 2
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Player profile
Adam’s path to Anfield was somewhat circuitous. Born in Dundee a fortnight before Christmas in 1985, he did not represent either of his local professional clubs but instead joined Glasgow giants Rangers shortly after his seventeenth birthday. George Adams, who was head of Celtic's youth programme, told the Daily Mail that Adam was quite a prospect back then. "At 13 or 14, everyone thought he would go right to the very top," Adams said. "He had a good work ethic, he never missed training and he had no airs or graces, unlike some of the boys now. Even then he worked on dead balls, free-kicks, corners. Every club in Scotland wanted him, and a few in England. Two of those clubs were Manchester United and Liverpool. But it came down to a choice between Rangers and Celtic." Adam did not become a regular in the Rangers team until the 2006/07 season but he was an immediate success, scoring 18 times from 74 competitive matches over two seasons. This success earned him a new five-year deal with Rangers in June 2007 but he failed to add to his goal tally in nine Scottish Premier League matches at the start of the 2008/09 season. Stuck on the left-wing and overweight Adam was subsequently loaned out to English Championship club Blackpool, for whom he was sent off during his debut! This lapse in discipline did not deter the seasiders from signing him permanently the following summer. Adam quickly became a firm fans’ favourite at Blackpool who were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2009/10 season. He scored a crucial penalty against Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the play-off semi-final before curling a wonderful free-kick into the Cardiff City goal in the final at Wembley, Blackpool prevailing 3-2 in an entertaining match.
At the turn of the year Blackpool looked to be in a comfortable position in the Premier League. Liverpool tried to buy 25-year-old Adam from Blackpool in the January 2011 transfer-window. Ian Holloway’s opinion at the time was that the offer was “disgraceful” for the key to Blackpool's survival. The club slid down the table with relegation confirmed on the final day of the season, despite Adam's efforts that got him nominated for Professional Footballers' Association's Player of the Year. Blackpool activated an option to extend his contract by another year, but six weeks later he had signed for Liverpool, despite Tottenham's last-ditch effort to steal him. Adam has gained a reputation as a dead-ball specialist corners, free-kicks and penalty-kicks, even scoring direct from a corner in February 2011. Alex Ferguson's quote: "Adam's corners are worth £10 million alone," didn't ring true as he struggled to impress Liverpool fans, although he did provide a few assists. He missed a penalty at Wigan in December and put another spot-kick into orbit during the shoot-out that followed the drawn League Cup final in February. Adam played in nearly 70% of Liverpool's first-team matches in 2011/12 but his debut campaign was ended by lateral knee ligament damage suffered against QPR on 21 March 2012. Maybe Adam was not suited to life at Liverpool where he was just a small fish in a big pond compared to life at Blackpool where he had been the big fish. Adam left Liverpool for Stoke City on the last day of the 2012 summer transfer window.