Former Sunderland full back Adam Matthews was born on this day in 1992. He joined the club in 2015 in a 2 million pound deal from Celtic, where he had spent four successful years, making Europa League and Champions League appearances.
He began his career on trial in Swansea City’s youth system before a broken arm injury meant that he was eventually turned away. After being told to return after the injury, Matthews was informed there was no space for him and he decided to join rivals Cardiff City, possibly out of spite. He became a regular starter for the Welsh side in 2009. In his debut season, he scored a 50 yard free kick after keeper Scott Loach completely misjudged the flight of the ball. He was named as Football League Apprentice of The Year in his time there and Manchester United were rumoured to have approached Matthews, but a deal never materialised.
At the end of his Cardiff deal he agreed terms with Celtic and joined in 2011. He would go on to make 150 appearances before falling out of favour due to the performances of Mikael Lustig. Before losing his place, Matthews once had Lionel Messi in his back pocket in the Champions League at Parkhead as Celtic triumphed 2-1. On the back of this, Sunderland fans would be forgiven for thinking we had got a bargain when he joined for 2 million; however Matthews never really repeated his Celtic form in a red and white shirt.
He made his debut on opening day but then was injured for six weeks. After just two appearances he was loaned out to Bristol City. Despite his early promise, when Wales qualified for Euro 2016 Matthews was not called up. When his loan expired, David Moyes was now manager and he promptly sent Matthews back to Bristol. When he returned after just 12 appearances at Bristol City, Moyes was gone and we were relegated to the Championship. Matthews featured heavily in our doomed campaign, where he was steady if not brilliant.
His career at Sunderland was hampered with injuries. No doubt when we found ourselves in League One, he was among the highest earners, having signed when we were in the Premier League. Therefore, it was for the best that he was released at the end of his contract, where he then went on to join Charlton.
Matthews is one of those signings symptomatic of our turbulent recent history. Among the Rodwell’s and Donald Love’s of this world, he ranks somewhere in the middle. A high earner, but not egregiously bad as a footballer. His career took a nosedive that almost perfectly matched our own downfall and he was never able to string too many appearances together. An incredibly forgettable footballer. He was the best singer at the club though, if that counts for anything.
