Mike DOYLE | 1967-1970 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)

DOYLE PES STATS | 1967-1970

electric_trigger Mike DOYLE | 1967-1970 Club: Manchester City Number: 4 Positions: DM*, CM Nationality: English Foot: R Side: R Height: 183 Weight: 83 Attack: 69 Defence: 80 Balance: 85 Stamina: 85 Top Speed: 80 Acceleration: 81 Response: 83 Agility: 78 Dribble Accuracy: 78 Dribble Speed: 78 Short Pass Accuracy: 78 Short Pass Speed: 79 Long Pass Accuracy: 79 Long Pass Speed: 80 Shot Accuracy: 73 Shot Power: 80 Shot Technique: 73 Free Kick Accuracy: 66 Curling: 76 Header: 83 Jump: 82 Technique: 80 Aggression: 77 Mentality: 90 Keeper Skills: 50 Team Work: 84 Injury Tolerance: B Condition/Fitness: 6 Weak Foot Accuracy: 5 Weak Foot frequency: 5 Centre* Sliding* Marking* Positioning* If there ever was a footballer whose blood ran blue it was Mike Doyle (born 25 November 1946) The Manchester born player was idolized by the fans for his tough combatant play, and his hatred against United. Mike Doyle main contribution in City's champion team was in the engine room. He had balance and strength, winning the ball with firm tackles and then using the ball with accuracy and speed. Later he moved into defence. He had a hatred of George Best going back to youth team days. Along with Tommy Booth he played in more cup finals for the Blues than any other player, and he was an important member of the team that swept all before them during the Mercer/Allison era. He made more than 500 appearances for the Blues and scored 40 goals from his defensive position. Doyle signed for City as an apprentice in 1964, together with a couple of the other lads from his Stockport Boys outfit. In the beginning they were doing groundstaff work, clearing the pitch and making the training gear ready. He also was selected to clean Bert Trautmann's boots and on one occasion, after City had lost 8-1 against Wolverhampton, Doyle asked Bert in a cocky way how his back was after the weekend. No wonder Bert exploded against the young rookie lifting him up against the wall by the collar telling him to shove his mouth where the sun doesn't shine. You just didn't f**k around with Bertie that way, and Doyle was assigned to wash the German legends car for the rest of the summer. In 1965 at the ripe age of 18, Doyle made his debut for City in a draw against Cardiff, although he almost missed the plane due to bus-strike. This was not the first time Doyle was not on friendly terms with the Union, as another bus-strike ruined his Testimonial match, giving only 10,000 the opportunity to pay their respect to the loyal servant. Right from his debut it became apparent that the local lad was going to break his way into the team, and together with other youngsters like Neil Young, Glyn Pardoe and Colin Bell he formed the new generation of players taking over at Maine Road. During the Mercer/Allsion era, Doyle was a certain starter and from 1967/68 to 1975/76 he was present in 363 out of 378 league games. Most of his games he played as a left wing half or wing-back. His unorthodox play often saw him challenge for the oppositions 18 yard box during attacks, resulting in quite a few goals for the Blues. He was on friendly terms with many of the United-players during the 60's, but after being slammed in the press by George Best, he started his own whacking campaign of the reds. This spun off what was to become a war between Doyle and the red half of Manchester, resulting in broken car windows, nasty letters and even death threats. Doyle was not the one to back down neither on the pitch or outside it, and his hatred for United as an institution grew, while he still remained friendly with many of the players. He was even instrumental in bringing former red Brian Kidd to the club, luring him from Arsenal in 1976. One of Doyles greatest moments came during the 1976 League Cup victory at Wembley. By this time Doyle was made Captain by Manager Tony Book, and during a corner the team made a pre-arranged move that saw Doyle collect the ball at the far post. His header found Peter Barnes who scored the opening goal. Of course most people only remember the fantastic overhead kick by Dennis Tueart that settled the victory, but the move was not gone unnoticed by England Manager Don Revie. All in all Doyle was picked to represent England on five occasions. In June 1978 his days at City were finally over, and when Stoke City made an offer for the third time in his career he decided to go. That also marked the start of the downfall of the great team, as one year later Malcolm Allison returned to cut the roots off what had been built during the 60ies and 70ies and send City tumbling into the dark ages. Doyle stayed with Stoke for a couple of seasons, but in January 1982 he was picked up by Bolton Wanderers where he was given the task to organize the defence. In the team were a future City-player and Manager; Peter Reid. The next season saw Doyle out with injuries both to his ligament and cartilage. He quit Bolton and for a short while he was associated with Rochdale before hanging up his boots for good. Honours won As a player Manchester City F.C. Division 1 winner 1968 FA Cup winner 1969 ECWC 1970 League Cup 1970 & 1976 Mike DOYLE | 1967-1970 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)