Mike Doyle
Personal information
Full name Michael Doyle[1]
Date of birth (1946-11-25)25 November 1946[1]
Place of birth Ashton-under-Lyne, England[1]
Date of death 27 June 2011(2011-06-27) (aged 64)
Place of death Ashton-under-Lyne, England
Position(s) Centre-half, midfielder
Youth career
1962–1964 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1978 Manchester City 448 (32)
1978–1982 Stoke City 115 (5)
1982–1983 Bolton Wanderers 40 (2)
1983–1984 Rochdale 24 (1)
Total 627 (40)
International career
1968–1969 England U23 8 (0)
1976–1977 England 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael Doyle (25 November 1946 – 27 June 2011) was an English footballer, who spent most 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 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 Manchester 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 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]

Personal life

Doyle's son, Scott Doyle, is married to Charlotte, the daughter of former teammate Glyn Pardoe, and his grandson Tommy Doyle plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers (on loan from Manchester City), and has played for England's U-17 and England's U-16 national side.

Career statistics

Club

Source:[12]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester City 1964–65 Second Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 — — 6 0
1965–66 Second Division 20 7 7 1 0 0 — — 27 8
1966–67 First Division 16 0 5 1 0 0 — — 21 1
1967–68 First Division 38 5 4 0 3 0 — — 45 5
1968–69 First Division 40 5 7 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 53 5
1969–70 First Division 41 4 2 0 7 2 9 1 1 0 60 7
1970–71 First Division 37 5 3 0 1 0 7 1 2 0 50 7
1971–72 First Division 41 1 2 0 2 0 — 1 1 46 2
1972–73 First Division 40 1 5 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 49 1
1973–74 First Division 39 1 2 0 11 0 — 1 0 53 1
1974–75 First Division 42 1 1 0 2 0 — 3 0 48 1
1975–76 First Division 41 1 2 0 9 1 — 2 0 54 2
1976–77 First Division 33 1 4 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 40 1
1977–78 First Division 14 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 18 0
Total 448 32 44 2 43 3 23 2 12 1 570 41
Stoke City 1978–79 Second Division 41 1 1 0 4 1 — — 46 2
1979–80 First Division 28 0 1 0 4 0 — — 33 0
1980–81 First Division 38 4 2 0 0 0 — — 40 4
1981–82 First Division 8 0 1 0 0 0 — — 9 0
Total 115 5 5 0 8 1 0 0 0 0 128 6
Bolton Wanderers 1981–82 Second Division 10 0 0 0 0 0 — — 10 0
1982–83 Second Division 30 2 0 0 2 2 — — 32 4
Total 40 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 42 4
Rochdale 1983–84 Fourth Division 24 1 2 0 2 0 — 1 0 29 1
Career Total 627 40 51 2 55 6 23 2 13 1 769 52
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.

International

Source:[13]

National team Year Apps Goals
England 1976 4 0
1977 1 0
Total 5 0

Honours

Club

Manchester City
Stoke City

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ a b Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. p. 72. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d "Blue Blooded Potter". The Oatcake Archive. 10 September 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Former Player Passes Away". bwfc.co.uk. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  12. ^ Mike Doyle at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  13. ^ Doyle, Mike at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

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