Mike Doyle (footballer)

Mike Doyle
Personal information
Full nameMichael Doyle[1]
Date of birth25 November 1946[1]
Place of birthAshton-under-Lyne, England[1]
Date of death27 June 2011 (aged 64)
Place of deathAshton-under-Lyne, England
Playing positionCentre-half, Midfielder
Youth career
1962–1964Manchester City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1965–1978Manchester City448(32)
1978–1981Stoke City115(5)
1981–1983Bolton Wanderers40(2)
1983–1984Rochdale24(1)
Total627(40)
National team
1968–1969England U238(0)
1976–1977England5(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Michael "Mike" Doyle (25 November 1946 – 27 June 2011) was an English footballer, who spent the majority of his career with Manchester City and also played for Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers and Rochdale.[1]

Career

Ashton-born Doyle played for Stockport Boys as a junior, joining Manchester City in May 1962.[2] At youth level Doyle played, at right back, but after breaking into the first team he was used in a number of roles.[3] He made his senior debut against Cardiff City in March 1965, playing wing-half,[3] which was followed by a number of appearances as a forward.[2] However, most of his appearances later in his career were in central defence.

Doyle won 5 caps for the England national football team and 8 England under 23 caps. At club level he played 448 league games for Manchester City, scoring 32 goals and was voted as the club's hardest player in the club's official magazine.[4] He scored for City in the 1970 League Cup Final win over West Bromwich Albion, and captained the side in the 1976 League Cup Final.[5]

Doyle made a total of 570 appearances for Man City scoring 41 goals before joining Alan Durban's Stoke City for a fee of £50,000 in June 1978.[6] He slotted into the Stoke defence with ease and was played in 46 matches in 1978–79 as Stoke gained promotion to the First Division and was part of the defence which kept 21 clean sheets.[6] Stoke fought off relegation in 1979–80 and Doyle was then a was a regular in 1980–81 making 40 appearances as Stoke finished in mid-table. Following the departure of Durban to Sunderland Doyle was not wanted by new manager Richie Barker and left for Bolton Wanderers in January 1982.[6] He spent a season and a half at Burnden Park and ended his career with a season at Rochdale.[6]

After football

Mike continued to attend Manchester City games regularly after his retirement as a player, but also became a heavy drinker after his playing days were over. In 2007, he attended the Sporting Chance Clinic which helped him give up alcohol for a short time. He died on 27 June 2011 of liver failure after several weeks of treatment in Tameside General Hospital.[7][8]

Tributes to Doyle were made by his former clubs Manchester City, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers.[9][10][11]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City 1964–65 Second Division 600000––60
1965–66 Second Division 2077100––278
1966–67 First Division 1605100––211
1967–68 First Division 3854030––455
1968–69 First Division 40570302010535
1969–70 First Division 41420729110607
1970–71 First Division 37530107120507
1971–72 First Division 4112020–11462
1972–73 First Division 40150102010491
1973–74 First Division 39120110–10531
1974–75 First Division 4211020–30481
1975–76 First Division 4112091–20542
1976–77 First Division 33140102000401
1977–78 First Division 14000301000180
Total 4483244243323212157041
Stoke City 1978–79 Second Division 4111041––462
1979–80 First Division 2801040––330
1980–81 First Division 3842000––404
1981–82 First Division 801000––90
Total 1155508100001286
Bolton Wanderers 1981–82 Second Division 1000000––100
1982–83 Second Division 3020022––324
Total 40200220000424
Rochdale 1983–84 Fourth Division 2412020–10291
Total 24120200010291
Career Total 6274051255623213176952
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, FA Community Shield, Football League Trophy and Texaco Cup.

Honours

Club

Manchester City
Stoke City

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. p. 72. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Penney, Ian (1995). The Maine Road Encyclopedia. Edinburgh: Mainstream. p. 60. ISBN 1-85158-710-1.
  4. ↑ Turner, Ric. "The 50 greatest Manchester City players". The Times (London). Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  5. ↑ James, Gary (2005). The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame. Hamlyn. p. 82. ISBN 0-600-61282-1.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Blue Blooded Potter". The Oatcake Archive. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Manchester City legend Mike Doyle loses his battle for life". Manchester Evening News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Manchester City legend Mike Doyle dies at the age of 64". BBC Sport. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Mike Doyle 1946 – 2011". mcfc.co.uk. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "City Mourn Death of Mike Doyle". stokecityfc.com. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "Former Player Passes Away". bwfc.co.uk. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

External links