Adam Drury was at Norwich City with Kit Carson before arriving at Peterborough United as a 15 year-old, and his London Road teammates were quick to take the mickey out of the young left back’s bandy legs so they aptly named him after one of Hollywood’s most celebrated cowboys - John Wayne. The full back emerged as arguably Posh’s most consistent performer since making his senior team debut as a substitute in the end of season 4-0 defeat against Oxford United under manager and former player Mick Halsall. Barry Fry was quick to note Drury’s precision in the tackle and abundance of pace during his first season in charge when he handed the Cottenham born youngster his first full League appearance at Watford.

Noted for his complete professionalism on and off the field, Drury grew quickly in confidence and stature before coming to prominence when he pocketed the Supporters’ Club ‘Player of the Year’ award following some stunning displays in the left back berth. ‘When I first came to Posh I played in centre midfield under youth team coach Jim Walker before he converted me to the left back slot during my second year as a YTS. The move was good for me as I went on to play for England Under 18s against the Football League eleven. It’s a position I enjoy playing in although I’d like to claim the odd goal. I haven’t scored since at Brentford when we were relegated, and I want to improve a little more on the ball but I don’t think I’ve looked back since turning in a series of consistent displays a couple of seasons ago.’

Drury finished the 1999/2000 campaign behind Simon Davies and Andy Edwards with 45 senior appearances in all competitions under his belt. It was an achievement noted by all at London Road after the young defender was sidelined with a dislocated shoulder injury during the previous season. He first injured himself at Mansfield during the 1997-98 campaign and underwent a week of physiotherapy on his shoulder before returning to action. Pledged the next five years at Posh after putting pen to paper in May 1999.

In July 2000, newly promoted Gillingham made an offer for Adam to boost their chances of staying in Division One. Drury revealed in May 2020 that Ipswich were also interested but signed Gary Croft instead.

In February 2001, the Peterborough Evening Telegraph speculated that Adam would be moving to Norwich prior to deadline day in late March. This came true with Drury signing on 21st March for approximately £500,000

Adam made his Norwich debut in the 2-1 victory over Grimsby at Carrow Road on 31st March 2001. Observing his performance, I felt that he started hesitantly probably due to his lack of knowledge of the Norwich playing style. However as the game progressed, he grew in confidence, linking well with Chris Llewellyn, the central midfield and the defence. He was a key player in Norwich's promotion challenge in 2001/02 and in the dozen matches he missed through injury, his absence was noted.

Adam's fine form during 2002/03 led to media speculation that Premiership side Southampton had been watching him and were planning a swoop during the January 2003 transfer window. However Adam finished the season at Carrow Road, made 49 appearances out of a possible 50 during 2002/03 and was named Player of the Season.

Drury extended his contract to 2011 in May 2007.

After an injury sustained in October 2007 against Bristol City, Adam needed surgery on his knee and will miss the remainder of the 2007/8 season

Drury played a key role in City's League One championship win in 2009/10

On 23rd December 2010, City reported that Drury had signed a one year contract extension until 30th June 2012 and would receive a testimonial for his 10 years' service.

Norwich won a second promotion, moving up to the Premiership, on 2nd May 2011 with a 1-0 win at Portsmouth with Drury playing a key role (22 games, 1 goal) for the Canaries in the first half of the season

At the end of February 2012, Adam was voted into Norwich City's Hall of Fame. He had made over 350 appearances at that time. He finished the 2011/12 season with 16 appearances as Norwich finished 12th in the Premier League. Adam's testimonial match took place against Scottish champions Celtic on 22nd May 2012. Approximately 19,000 people attended his testimonial which Norwich won 2-0 and featured cameos from Darren Huckerby, Michael Nelson, Dani Pacheco and Henri Lansbury.

Despite being offered a new contract by Paul Lambert (who departed for Aston Villa soon afterwards), Drury signed a two year deal with Leeds United on 19th June 2012 despite offers from other clubs at home and overseas. “Leeds United is a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I had offers to go abroad or to other clubs, but Leeds was the stand out choice. I had other options, but the challenge of going to Leeds really appealed to me. My medical was on Tuesday morning, and it was weird really, because I haven’t had a medical for 11 years, so I was thinking, ‘What actually happens in these things?’ It was a similar sort of feeling I had to when I joined Norwich in 2001 –feelings of excitement at a fresh start. This was the first time I’ve met Neil Warnock, and it was good to hear what he had to say. I’ve played against his teams before and you know what you’re going to get. “He won’t settle for anything less than challenging for promotion, so he’ll want the same next season and it’s something I want to be part of.”

The 33-year-old conceded it will be a huge wrench to leave that sort of support behind in Norfolk. “The club have always been brilliant to me and I’d like to think I’ve done all right for the club in return. I’ve had 11 great years, but it had to come to an end at some point, and I’m happy to be leaving the club in a healthy position in the Premier League. Having a testimonial was a fantastic way to end things at Norwich City, and I could think of no better way to finish. I’ll always look to see how Norwich City get on - their result will always be the first result I look for, without doubt. Being a Norwich City player was a huge honour, and a part of my career that I’ll look back on with pride. It’s a wonderful club with an incredible set of supporters. "

On 7th March 2014, Drury joined League One Bradford City on a one month loan deal. Drury had struggled with injuries and had only made three appearances for Leeds in 2013/14. "We're pleased Adam is able to go on loan, he hasn't played much this season and he needs to be playing games," said Leeds manager Brian McDermott . Druty made his debut for Bradford on 8th March in a 2-0 defeat at Brentford, coming on as a 84th minute substitute and still managing to get booked.

Drury was released by Leeds at the end of the 2013/14 season, He announced his retirement at the end of September 2014.

Drury came out of retirement in January 2015 to play for his home village side Cottenham United managed by long-standing friend Chris Tuck. "I've know him for years and I've been asking him to play for us ever since he retired in the summer" said Tuck. Drury made his debut in the Cliff Bulen Challenge Cup but lost 2-1 in extra time.

On 31st May 2018, Wroxham announced a new management team of Jordan Southgate and Adam Drury, replacing Lowestoft bound Jamie Godbold and Andy Reynolds. Drury and Southgate both worked full-time for two seasons on Norwich's Elite Football & Education Programme at the Community Sports Foundation (CSF) and had recently completed their Uefa B licence qualification. Drury is head coach of CSF’s Elite Football & Education Programme, which allows players aged 16 to 18 the chance to further their football development with an extensive training and fixture programme, while continuing their education with a BTEC Level Three Extended Diploma in Sport.