Full name Michael Doyle Name Mike Doyle | Role Footballer Position Defender, Midfielder | |
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Date of birth (1946-11-25)25 November 1946 Place of birth Ashton-under-Lyne, England Date of death 27 June 2011(2011-06-27) (aged 64) Place of death Ashton-under-Lyne, England Playing position Died June 27, 2011, Ashton-under-Lyne, United Kingdom | ||
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.
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Career
Ashton-born Doyle played for Stockport Boys as a junior, joining Manchester City in May 1962. At youth level Doyle played, at right back, but after breaking into the first team he was used in a number of roles. He made his senior debut against Cardiff City in March 1965, playing wing-half, which was followed by a number of appearances as a forward. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. He spent a season and a half at Burnden Park and ended his career with a season at Rochdale.
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.
Tributes to Doyle were made by his former clubs Manchester City, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers.