Matt Done

[Lane Ender]

Done looked impressive when he came as a lone front man put in good shifts in that position.
Is that the only position he can play?
He certainly is a finisher.
He had something going with Henderson at Rochdale that's what we bought him off.
Would it work in a three man attack Sharp and another?
For sure he's got to play central or there's no future for him here

 

[bricktop]

Do you ever post about anything other than Barney's season ticket?

I've made a few thousands posts on here over several years, so there might be something on there about subjects other than his season ticket.

However when he comes on here giving it big licks about players performance I don't take it seriously and don't think anyone else should as he make a big song and dance about not attending since October.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I don't see any first team role for him. He's not good enough.

The only role I think he could play is Sharp's. But Sharp is better than him, far more reliable. He does more than just poach goals - which Done only did for a relatively short period btw.

No way is he a partner for Sharp because he's completely useless outside the box. They were horrendous when they played together last season. Done's incapable of link up play and usually makes the wrong runs. I don't know how anyone could say he's the most intelligent player in the squad.

Utility player, impact sub and back up for Sharp. No more.

Absolutely agree with this. I like the lad and like his workrate. There’s an argument to say we didn’t need to sign Sharp as we had Done, Adams and McNulty who could all play that role to a decent standard. But we did sign him and he’s better than all three of them at what he does which makes it all the harder for those 3. Adams is trying to adapt to play alongside Sharp. McNulty looked awful when he was partnered with Sharp and bar 20 minutes at Wigan, the Sharp and Done partnership didn’t seem to work. With what we have, I would be tempted to play Done and Adams either side of Sharp in a 3 pronged attack as Done looked OK as an inside right forward when we played Steven Davies as the focal point. But given there will be incomings, I can see Done being predominantly a squad player. For what it’s worth, I think he’s a very useful player to have on the bench.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I think one of Done's strengths comes from chasing lost causes. I'm sure he turned some of those lost causes into goals and good chances last season. He can't defend though. "Chasing" should only be done while attacking.

Agreed, remember him mugging a Peterborough defender to score at the Lane under Clough. He also had one harshly disallowed in similar circumstances. Think it was the PO first leg v Swindon.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Done was at best a very average left winger / left back at both Barnsley and Rochdale, however he excelled when converted to a striking role. Adkins in his wisdom decided to move him back into a defensive role, where he again was at best very average. This decision appeared to destroy his confidence, as he put in a series of poor performances. This was another of Adkins bizare managerial decisions, during his nightmare of a season in charge. He has a lot to answer for.
I cant personally see how we can fit Sharp, McNulty, Done and Adams into the side. Sharp as captain, will always start and it appears likely that we will purchase a target man type striker also. Adams may revert to the left wing again, but I dont see both Done and McNulty getting regular starts in the team and I cant imagine that they will be content being a regular sub. Regarding Done and McNulty, I suspect at least one, if not both will be moving on.
As much as I rate Sharp and despite how well he has done, we were already well of for strikers, before Adkins signed him. The money should have been spent on defensive signings, where we were desperate for replacements. Adkins allowed his desire to sign Sharp to cloud his better judgement, ploughing ahead signing him, rather than considering how our limited transfer money could be spent on positions in the team, where we were clearly desperate for new players. This is in no way taking anything away from how well Sharp has performed, however it has left the squad top heavy with strikers, who are very similar in both stature and style of play.

I think a lot of us shared that concern re allocation of resources when we signed Sharp and Sammon but were reassured by Jim Phipps that we still had funds in reserve to sign the defensive reinforcments we needed. Unfortunately, that didn’t transpire until near the end of the season when Baptiste arrived and the fact he and Edgar were only signed on loan means we need to do it all over again this summer.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

After playing up front earlier in the season its clear that Done isn't a good fit with Sharp, and no doubt wouldn't fit with Mcnulty . Despite our strike force being slow, the fact that Done doesn't use his pace to stretch a back four with runs in behind, renders his pace ineffectual(when we've got the ball). He will use his pace to good effect when we haven't got the ball, in order to press back fours. He usually runs laterally , but he doesn't understand the runs a pacy striker needs to make in order to provide an option for a through ball (or to create space for the midfield or deep lying strikers to operate in). Adams has a similar problem - often refusing to play on the shoulder and coming too deep.To my mind Done is a box man(like Sharp and Mcnulty) who is better than them at pressing the ball, but having worse link play, hold up play and aerial ability. As for him playing left wing back: this was done due to long term injuries to Kieron Wallace and Bob Harris (he never really played at Fleetwood due to injury). His game is also extremely physical and his lack of preseason affected him more than most, particularly when we had to play more than one game in the week.

Also down to Woolford getting injured at Rochdale. We brought Done on for him in that role. I think that was the first time we played him there.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I once went to a soccer evening where Matt Le Tissier was one of the speakers who summed it up for me when he said managers should play people in their preferred positions, sticking Done as a left midfielder was one of many atrocious decisions that stupid scouse cunt Adkins made.

But to do that we would have had to play something like 2-4-4 with the squad we had. We needed a better balance to the squad. Hopefully we will achieve that this summer.

 

[sheffielder]

I see many people saying that sharp and done don't link up well but I can't remember a game where they played together upfront?

 

[Grappler]

I see many people saying that sharp and done don't link up well but I can't remember a game where they played together upfront?

Wigan away?

 

[Ricky]

I've made a few thousands posts on here over several years, so there might be something on there about subjects other than his season ticket.

However when he comes on here giving it big licks about players performance I don't take it seriously and don't think anyone else should as he make a big song and dance about not attending since October.

But how can you possibly care enough to post about it every single chance you get? I think everybody knows what you think by now.

You don't have to attend regularly to have opinions, and the players Barney criticises are the same players he's seen previously when, incidentally, they were performing in much the same way they've been performing more recently - badly.


As for Done, I can't believe how many people post his name and 'pace' in the same sentence. He wasn't even very quick when he first signed, and he seems to have lost a yard this season. If he's our 'pace option' then we must be one hell of a slow team. Like Adams, he can't even outrun average paced L1 defenders. People confuse his busy style for pace.

 

[sheffielder]

Wigan away?

Where Done scored twice and Sharp once?

 

[Ricky]

Absolutely agree with this. I like the lad and like his workrate. There’s an argument to say we didn’t need to sign Sharp as we had Done, Adams and McNulty who could all play that role to a decent standard. But we did sign him and he’s better than all three of them at what he does which makes it all the harder for those 3. Adams is trying to adapt to play alongside Sharp. McNulty looked awful when he was partnered with Sharp and bar 20 minutes at Wigan, the Sharp and Done partnership didn’t seem to work. With what we have, I would be tempted to play Done and Adams either side of Sharp in a 3 pronged attack as Done looked OK as an inside right forward when we played Steven Davies as the focal point. But given there will be incomings, I can see Done being predominantly a squad player. For what it’s worth, I think he’s a very useful player to have on the bench.

Done and Adams either side of Sharp in a three could be an option, but only if they're able to stay high up the pitch. This would mean playing a higher defensive line and ideally having midfielders mobile enough to cover the width of the pitch. If Done stays high up he can put a lot of pressure on defenders. If Adams stays high up he won't lose the ball in dangerous areas. Those three together should be able to defend from the front fairly well and be a handful for defences. But as I said, being able to stay up top depends on the rest of the team.

 

[DazBlade88]

I see many people saying that sharp and done don't link up well but I can't remember a game where they played together upfront?

I may be wrong about this but I don't recall Done being moved to left wing back until Port Vale in February, and he made a good 10-15 appearances after his injury up front with Sharp either starting or as a sub. I'm guessing he scored two, maybe three.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Done and Adams either side of Sharp in a three could be an option, but only if they're able to stay high up the pitch. This would mean playing a higher defensive line and ideally having midfielders mobile enough to cover the width of the pitch. If Done stays high up he can put a lot of pressure on defenders. If Adams stays high up he won't lose the ball in dangerous areas. Those three together should be able to defend from the front fairly well and be a handful for defences. But as I said, being able to stay up top depends on the rest of the team.

Agreed. I think we'd need a holding midfielder and 2 box-to-box midfielders as opposed to a Baxter-esque number 10. We'd need to sign at least 2 of those players. We'd also need a good athletic left back who can get up and down the pitch. Brayford satisfied that requirement on the right.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Where Done scored twice and Sharp once?

Didn't they also play together in the awful defeat at Crewe?

 

[mattbianco1]

The problem for him last season was that Adkins continually played him out of position. He was a striker at Rochdale, we bought him as a striker and he scored goals here, whilst playing as a striker. He hit the ground running right after he signed season before last.

I think he could be one to thrive under a good man manager and someone that knows where to play him and how those behind him can play to his strengths. Hopefully he'll get back to his scoring form and along with the midfield, Billy, and a target man to be signed, he can chip in with a nice handful of goals.

Was always a Left Back/Left Midfield at Rochdale and Barnsley before that. Neither fans rated him that highly until Keith Hill placed him upfront at Rochdale. A stroke of genius by Hill?!?

It could have been a case of Done putting himself forward to Adkins for the Left Wing Back role as he had previously played that position. The end of the day, before Adkins changed to 3-5-2, Done wasn't getting a look in. Nobody likes been sat on a bench.

 

[Bladesince59]

Done was at best a very average left winger / left back at both Barnsley and Rochdale, however he excelled when converted to a striking role. Adkins in his wisdom decided to move him back into a defensive role, where he again was at best very average. This decision appeared to destroy his confidence, as he put in a series of poor performances. This was another of Adkins bizare managerial decisions, during his nightmare of a season in charge. He has a lot to answer for.
I cant personally see how we can fit Sharp, McNulty, Done and Adams into the side. Sharp as captain, will always start and it appears likely that we will purchase a target man type striker also. Adams may revert to the left wing again, but I dont see both Done and McNulty getting regular starts in the team and I cant imagine that they will be content being a regular sub. Regarding Done and McNulty, I suspect at least one, if not both will be moving on.
As much as I rate Sharp and despite how well he has done, we were already well of for strikers, before Adkins signed him. The money should have been spent on defensive signings, where we were desperate for replacements. Adkins allowed his desire to sign Sharp to cloud his better judgement, ploughing ahead signing him, rather than considering how our limited transfer money could be spent on positions in the team, where we were clearly desperate for new players. This is in no way taking anything away from how well Sharp has performed, however it has left the squad top heavy with strikers, who are very similar in both stature and style of play.

Totally agree. Adkins was/is a complete tosser.

 

[Grappler]

Where Done scored twice and Sharp once?

Yep, that was the last time I remember them starting together up front, I am probably wrong though.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Yep, that was the last time I remember them starting together up front, I am probably wrong though.

I think the last time was actually the 1-1 draw at home to Swindon.

 

[sitwell]

Done looked impressive when he came as a lone front man put in good shifts in that position.
Is that the only position he can play?
He certainly is a finisher.
He had something going with Henderson at Rochdale that's what we bought him off.
Would it work in a three man attack Sharp and another?
For sure he's got to play central or there's no future for him here

'He certainly is a finisher' ,many people have forgotten that due to his lack of opportunities and form ,but that is a very good point he is a very good one on one finisher.

 

[PeteBlade]

'He certainly is a finisher' ,many people have forgotten that due to his lack of opportunities and form ,but that is a very good point he is a very good one on one finisher.

He proved he was a finisher during his time with Rochdale and the goals he's banged in with us.

 

[RMBlade]

I don't think he has a role upfront. I wouldnt mind seeing him just behind the strikers Billy is a hold up player and if we are insisting playing a target man next to him, the runs in behind from done could be lethal.

 

[sitwell]

He proved he was a finisher during his time with Rochdale and the goals he's banged in with us.

Agreed ,therefore he should be played right at the front ,because he lacks the ability on the wing or behind the front man. Billy could play just behind him ,as he is not blessed with pace and likes to get involved more ,plus he can score different kinds of goals to Done ,that could actually work, if he is going to play him.

 

[Bladezz]

Done has proven himself in League one whilst at Rochdale and at the start of his campaign with us.

So there is a player of real league one quality in there it's for CW to get that out of him. I have a feeling he will!

 

[AlienBlade]

Agree with most of what has been written can't see him as a partner for Sharp or Adams (or even McNulty). Was a shock signing (for me) when he came and I don't think we needed him even then but he seems a decent hard working lad with a reasonable turn of speed (2nd only to Adams in the seniors). Just stop him from wasting his energy chasing lost causes and there is maybe a super sub roll for him.

So we shouldnt have players chasing lost causes... I mean when a pass is misplaced... we shouldnt bother getting it back either... as thats a waste of energy...

Sharp scored 21 goals in 44 starts and 4 substitute appearences...Done last season (when played as a striker as opposed to a LWB etc.) Scored 22 goals in 43 plus 4 subs appearences (17 starts 4 sub appearences with scoring 8 for us.. extrapolated would give him 18 Blades goals in the same Sharp appearences... bloody useless only scoring that many... especially as he eneded up with 22 goals last season between us an Rochdale... one more than billy big bollox.. so if Done is shit... jeez...sharp scoring 1 less than he did the season before must mean he is also shit...)

If a player isnt coming off the pitch needing oxygen he hasnt tried nearly hard enough

 

[8lade]

So we shouldnt have players chasing lost causes... I mean when a pass is misplaced... we shouldnt bother getting it back either... as thats a waste of energy...

Now this is exactly one of those situations, where somebody makes a reasonable post and another poster comes along quotes it and makes a huge unconnected step to something unrelated. Chasing the ball is what 8 year olds do, closing down and pressing are different but one man chasing a ball across aback 4 is ridiculous. Are you Jeremy Hunt by any chance?

 

[1973Blade]

I'd have him on the bench to come on for the last 20 minutes (up front) to run at tiring teams. One of our problems last season was that we didn't have a strong enough bench (not literally, I've never sat on it!)

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I see many people saying that sharp and done don't link up well but I can't remember a game where they played together upfront?

Rochdale at home last autumn? Played up top with Sharp and also managed to give away a penalty with a clumsy challenge. Worked hard, but didn't look like scoring.

 

[Boxer Blade]

The done that first arrived at United was a good player, a player who reminds me of vardy, quick, at defenders all the time and scores, but is the done that first came the same now, I am not sure because we haven't seen him play in this position for some time, worth keeping for me, mind you I thought when he went to wing back it could be a good move, give him a chance.

 

[Rodley]

Done always strikes me as Dickov type player, abrasive full of running and a good one on one finisher.