Cyril Done
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Cyril Charles Done (21 October 1920 – 24 February 1993) was an English
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
. A
centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
, he scored 127 goals in 232 league appearances in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
. He began his career at
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
just before the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was a prolific goalscorer at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
throughout the war. After the war, he helped the "Reds" to the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
title in 1946–47 before falling out of the first-team picture until his departure to
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
in May 1952. He hit 61 goals in 87 league appearances at
Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...
, before he moved to
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
in December 1954. He hit four goals against Liverpool and hit 34 goals in 52 league games before switching to
non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883, they're nicknamed ''The Blues'' and their home ground is ''Barton Stadium''. Their all-time top scorer is Perry Plowman with 25 ...
in May 1957. He later served
Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the Liverpool County Premier League and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool Count ...
as
player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
from 1959 to 1962.


Career

Born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Done played for Bootle Boys' Brigade before being spotted as a 17-year-old by "Reds"
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
George Kay George Kay may refer to: * George Kay (footballer), English footballer and manager * George Kay (minister), Scottish minister * George Kay (writer), English screenwriter * George Frederick Kay, American geologist See also * George Kaye (disam ...
who took him to
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
in January 1938. He made his debut 18 months later, on 2 September 1939, in a 1–0 home win over Chelsea; Done got the winner, thus opening his account in the same match. This game was the last 'official' game for six years due to the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
; he scored 147 goals in 137 games during the war. Done rejoined Liverpool after the war; after missing the first nine games of the 1946–47 season, he made an impact on the side by scoring the "Reds" goal in their 1–1 home draw with Charlton. He then followed this up by scoring his first
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
for the club on 19 October 1946 at
Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home ...
, his goals, which came in the 29th, 43rd and 76th minute, along with a
Jack Balmer John Balmer (6 February 1916 — 25 December 1984) was an English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool. Life and playing career Born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, Balmer came from a family of footballers: Billy and Bob bo ...
last-minute strike helped humble their hosts,
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
, by a 4–1 scoreline. He repeated this feat, this time at Anfield on 12 February 1947 in a 5–0 victory over
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
; his goals came in the 24th, 40th and 85th minutes, Willie Fagan scored the other two in the 30th and 32nd minutes. Done's contribution in his 17 league appearances, scoring 10 goals, went a long way in helping Liverpool go on to win the first post-war
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
. Liverpool dropped to 14th in 1947–48, and Done played just six games. The club finished in mid-table again in 1948–49, with Done scoring 13 goals in 28 games. Done struggled to hold down a place in the Liverpool starting line-up and completely missed out on the
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
run; he scored five goals in 16 league games. He scored three goals in 25 games in 1950–51, and got four goals in 12 games in 1951–52. Done was allowed to leave Anfield in May 1952, having played 111 games in official league and cup competitions, scoring 38 goals. He joined Merseyside neighbours
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
of the
Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
, where he made more of an impact, scoring 61 goals in 87 league appearances in his time at the club. During his time at
Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...
, Tranmere were a mid-table club under the stewardship of
Ernest Blackburn Robert Ernest Blackburn (23 April 1893 – 13 July 1964) was an English football player and manager. Career Playing career Born in Crawshawbooth on the edge of the Pennines in England, Blackburn played as a full back for Loveclough, Mancheste ...
. Cyril transferred to
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
in December 1954, when manager Freddie Steele paid out a four-figure fee. He scored in five consecutive games, as the club struggled in front of goal; he bagged six of Vale's eight goals in a run of just one win in nine games. He then faced his former employers, Liverpool, and gave them a reason to think that they had let him go too soon, as he got all four goals in Vale's 4–3
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
home win. He was the club's top scorer in 1954–55 with 13 goals in 18 appearances. Done then found the net 12 times in 18 games in 1956–57, with teammate Len Stephenson only scoring two more goals in almost twice the number of games. He hit nine goals in 16 games in 1956–57 to become the club's top-scorer in a dismal season at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...
, which saw the "Valiants"
relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
in last place. In May 1957 he was given a free transfer to
non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
side
Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883, they're nicknamed ''The Blues'' and their home ground is ''Barton Stadium''. Their all-time top scorer is Perry Plowman with 25 ...
, and later became
player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
of
Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the Liverpool County Premier League and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool Count ...
.


Style of play

Done was a "strong
centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
, who was feared by opposing defences".


Post-retirement

Upon retirement from the game, Done worked raising awareness for a cancer charity. He died on 24 February 1993, the same day as fellow footballer
Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...
.


Career statistics


Honours

Liverpool *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
: 1946–47


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Done, Cyril 1920 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Liverpool F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Winsford United F.C. players Skelmersdale United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football player-managers English football managers 20th-century English sportsmen