Tony Adams Is Gunner Bring in Reinforcements

New Portsmouth Manager Tony Adams has certainly had a whirlwind week since the departure of former boss Harry Redknapp.

After first announcing that players could go if they want, Adams has also made it clear that he's not going to be getting rid of players in a "fire-sale" come January, nor will he be letting the executives make that decision for him.

But Adams is firing back at the naysayers, with the most recent media reports stating that he is preparing to bring some more former Gunners to Fratton Park in the coming months.

First, it was reported that his former centre-back partner, Martin Keown has been approached by Adams to fill the vacant Assistant Manager position on the south coast. Adams is said to be meeting with Keown today to discuss the possibility of a return to football for the former Gunner.

In another move, speculation has been rife that Adams is also after former Arsenal team-mate and Captain Patrick Vieira, who is currently plying his trade with Serie A giants Inter Milan. Whether Vieira has actually enjoyed his stay with his third club in Italy is another issue entirely however, as his spell with Inter has been blighted by injury.

Whether or not boss Jose Mourinho will let the former Gunner leave the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is another question. Hopefully the sale of Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari to the Italian side this past summer will go a long way to convincing the Portuguese boss of allowing Vieira to leave.

It's still far too early in the season for any transfer speculation to  be considered legitimate. The thought of having Vieira and Diarra in a central midfield partnership, however, will certainly have Pompey supporters excited at the possibilities.

But while transfer talk is early, I am sure that much of this talk is coming in response to the constant media speculation that Redknapp plans to raid his former club for players. Specifically, the most often mentioned players are Jermain Defoe, Lassana Diarra, and Sylvain Distin.

The fires have again been stoked with the supposed report that Redknapp will have first right of refusal on player sales in January, a claim vehemently denied by all involved at Portsmouth.

In my opinion, such talk is absolutely mad. Why would Portsmouth, a club who didn't want to lose Redknapp to begin with, allow their former manager to pick and choose who he wants if someone comes up with an offer? Anyone who believes such an assertion must be having a laugh.

Still, the thought of losing Defoe and Diarra is a realistic one. It's an idea that leaves me concerned that two of the brightest stars at Portsmouth for a very long time may leave. The importance of Diarra to Pompey in particular can not be understated—he has bossed the midfield all season, and is always the most impressive Portsmouth player despite a loss.

As for Defoe, the immediate fear regarding him may be unfounded too. Premier League rules state that a player can not be transferred back to the club which they were bought from within one year of the transfer.

The odd deal that brought Defoe to the club originally was a loan-then-buy deal, and wasn't finalized until February. Hopefully, this rule will prevent Redknapp from poaching him, but these rules have been "bent" before.

Come January, we'll obviously be able to see which of these rumours comes to fruition and which end up as pure speculation. My prediction, however, is that Portsmouth and Tottenham's respective positions in the table come the second week of January are going to have a huge impact on what these players decide.

As a Portsmouth supporter, here's hoping that we pick up our form again soon, and that Tottenham run into a spell of bad luck.

And despite that the comments that our club is the "Arsenal retiring home" over the past year or so, I hope that these Vieira rumours end up having some truth to them.

After all, having players with the credentials and leadership of Arsenal's most successful team in decades isn't that bad, is it? And we certainly seem to be building up enough of a rivalry with Tottenham without them.