Kevin Doyle

For other people named Kevin Doyle, see Kevin Doyle (disambiguation).
Kevin Doyle

Doyle training with Reading in 2008
Personal information
Full name Kevin Edward Doyle[1]
Date of birth (1983-09-18) 18 September 1983[1]
Place of birth Adamstown, County Wexford, Ireland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Colorado Rapids
Number 9
Youth career
Wexford Youths
2002 St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 St Patrick's Athletic 10 (0)
2003–2005 Cork City 76 (25)
2005–2009 Reading 157 (55)
2009–2015 Wolverhampton Wanderers 164 (30)
2014 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 9 (2)
2014–2015 → Crystal Palace (loan) 3 (0)
2015– Colorado Rapids 49 (12)
National team‡
2002–2005 Republic of Ireland U21 11 (6)
2006– Republic of Ireland 62 (14)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:29, 23 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 May 2016

Kevin Edward Doyle (born 18 September 1983) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the Republic of Ireland national team.

He played for St Patrick's Athletic, and Cork City in his homeland before he moved to English side Reading. He was part of Reading's record-breaking promotion to the Premier League in 2006. In June 2009, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a then-club record £6.5 million.

Doyle made his debut for the Republic of Ireland national team in 2006. He has scored fourteen goals in 62 appearances for Ireland, and played at UEFA Euro 2012.

Club career

Early career

Doyle signed for his first professional club St Patrick's Athletic in September 2001 as a free agent. Doyle initially played for the club's under 18 side but within weeks had made his League of Ireland début as a substitute on 24 September at Oriel Park.

Cork City

He then had a successful spell with Cork City, who he joined in February 2003, linking up with his former St. Patrick's Athletic manager Pat Dolan, who had recently taken over at Turners Cross. Doyle scored 25 goals for Cork City where he began playing on the right-wing but soon reverted to his natural position of striker. He also scored two goals from six appearances in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, including the winner against Dutch side NEC Nijmegen.[3][4] Thousands of fans gave him a standing ovation in his final game for Cork City, against Finn Harps, before his transfer to Reading.[5]

Reading

On 7 June 2005, Doyle signed for Reading on a two-year deal from Cork City, Ireland[6] for €117,000[7] (about £78,000).[8] Despite having left Cork City, Doyle received a championship medal when they won the League of Ireland Premier Division in November 2005. Originally, he was signed as a back-up, but an injuries to Dave Kitson and then Leroy Lita gave him opportunity in the first team which he retained thanks to a number of important goals along the way. He scored 19 in total including the equalising goal at Leicester City on the day the Royals were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history, 25 March 2006. He became an intrinsic part of Reading's Championship-winning 2005–06 squad, and according to the Actim Index was the top player in the Championship.[9] He was named the official Reading F.C. player of the season for 2005–06.[10] In April 2006, he was also named as Championship Fans' Player of the Year[11] and one of the Championship Team of the Year[12] by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).

Doyle played an important role for Reading in the 2006–07 Premier League season. His first Premiership goal came in the Royals 2–1 defeat at Aston Villa, when he headed Reading into a third-minute lead. Doyle began to show a great threat in the air, during the year 2007 he scored more headers than any other player in England's leagues.He was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year but lost out to Cesc Fàbregas. He finished the season with 13 Premier League goals after being curtailed with a torn hamstring for two months. Reading were relegated in the 2007–08 season, but they decided to hold onto Doyle and many of their top players.

On 1 September 2008, he was linked with a move to Aston Villa but in the end the striker remained at Reading.

Doyle remained at Reading to try to help them return to the top flight in the 2008–09 season. He scored 18 league goals but the club failed to achieve promotion after finishing fourth and losing in the play-offs to Burnley.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Doyle playing for Wolves in 2012

Doyle joined newly promoted Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 June 2009 when he signed a four-year contract for a club record fee, reportedly £6.5 million.[13][14] However, he immediately had to undergo an operation to remove a hernia, which hindered his first pre-season at his new club.[15] He picked up another minor injury while on international duty with Ireland that caused him to miss the start of the league season. He finally made his debut for Wolves on 22 August 2009, as a half time substitute at Manchester City.[16]

He scored his first Wolves goal on 20 September 2009 to earn a 2–1 win over Fulham.[17] Throughout much of the season he operated as a lone striker in a 4–5–1 formation. His contribution helped the club finish 15th in their first season in the Premier League.[18] He also won the club's Player's Player of the Season Award and their Top Goalscorer Award after reaching nine goals.[19]

Doyle continued to play the lone striker role throughout most of the 2010–11 season, despite the arrival of Steven Fletcher who equalled Doyle's club record fee. After Mick McCarthy rotated systems using various strikers, he eventually reverted to his previously successful 4–5–1 formation, with Doyle playing the lone front man role. He went on to score five goals for Wolves in the second half of the season – including the winner against Manchester United that halted their 29 match unbeaten run.[20] On 26 March 2011, Doyle tore a knee ligament while on international duty with Ireland, which kept him out of action for up to 6 weeks.[21] He returned to action on 14 May against Sunderland, coming on as a substitute,[22] but played no part in their final game in which they narrowly escaped relegation.

Doyle was part of the Wolves squad who suffered successive relegations in consecutive seasons, to drop from the Premier League to League One during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons. New Wolves manager Kenny Jackett stated that Doyle's wages were "too high for where we are" and that he expected him to leave.[23] No bids materialised for the striker though during the Summer 2013 transfer window and he featured instead for Wolves' first team during the first part of the season as one of the few remaining players from their time in the Premier League.

On 31 January 2014 Doyle was loaned to Championship side Queens Park Rangers in a deal due to run until the end of the season.[24] He scored on his debut against Burnley on 1 February 2014, and netted a second goal for the club against Reading, as the team chased an immediate return to the Premier League.[25] However, a knee injury sustained against Birmingham City saw him spend a period back at Wolves during March and April as he underwent treatment. After returning to Loftus Road,[26] Doyle featured in all three games of QPR's successful play-off campaign as they won promotion back to the Premier League.

On 1 September 2014, Doyle was loaned to Premier League side Crystal Palace until January 2015.[27] He made only three substitute appearances for the Eagles in the Premier League, failing to score in any of these appearances. His final appearance during his loan spell saw him score his only goal for the club when he netted in an FA Cup tie against non-league Dover Athletic.[28] At the end of his loan, he returned to Wolves, making a handful of appearances as substitute before his contract expired at the conclusion of the season.[29] In total he scored 33 times for Wolves during 179 appearances, spread across playing from the Premier League to League One level.

Colorado Rapids

On 20 March 2015 it was announced that Doyle had signed a pre-contract agreement with the MLS club Colorado Rapids. The two-and-a-half-year deal was originally due to take effect from 1 July 2015 upon the expiry of his contract with Wolves,[30] but the club reached a settlement on 6 May 2015, following the conclusion of Wolves' season, to allow Doyle to join Colorado earlier than planned.[31] He made his MLS debut on 23 May 2015 as a substitute in a 1–0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.[32]

International career

Doyle has played for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, making his debut on 2 February 2004 against Portugal. With 11 caps, and scoring six goals making him joint top scorer at that grade, he was also a member of the Irish FIFA World Youth Championship squad in 2003.[33] Scored against Colombia.[34] He was called up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad in October 2005,[35] making his full international debut against Sweden at Lansdowne Road on 1 March 2006.[36] His first start in a competitive international was against Germany on 2 September 2006 in a Euro 2008 qualifier.[37] With this appearance, his family also won a €100 bet at 100/1 they had placed two years earlier on Doyle playing competitively for Ireland.[38]

Doyle scored his first goal for Ireland against San Marino in November 2006.[39] He was then named the official Football Association of Ireland Young Player of 2006 on 4 February 2007, also receiving a nomination for the senior award.[40]

His second goal came in a 1–0 victory over Slovakia at Croke Park in March 2007.[41] He also scored against Ecuador on 23 May 2007 securing a valiant 1–1 draw against the South Americans,[42] and he scored his best goal for Ireland, with a long-range left-foot shot into the top corner to the keeper's right, in a 2–2 draw against Slovakia on 9 September 2007 in the 2008 European Championships qualifying game in Bratislava.[43] His fifth international goal and fourth in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign came away to Wales as Ireland drew 2–2.

During 2010 World Cup qualifying, Doyle established himself as Robbie Keane's ideal strike partner in the national team's attacking quartet that included Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady.[44] He played in 8 of the 10 games, scoring two goals, including the first in a 2–1 win in the opening game against Georgia. He also scored against Cyprus, his seventh international goal, in a 2–1 win in Nicosia. In the absence of Robbie Keane, Shay Given and other players who had been allowed to return to their clubs, Doyle captained Ireland for the first time in a friendly against South Africa on 8 September 2009.[45]

Doyle was nominated as the Football Association of Ireland Player of the Year for 2007 and won the award in 2009,[46][47] as well as for Goal of the Year for his goal against Slovakia in September 2007.[46] Doyle scored his ninth international goal, and first in 2012 European Championships qualification, against Andorra at the Aviva Stadium on 7 September 2010. On 6 February 2011, Doyle was named Republic of Ireland Player of the Year for 2010, while he also earned the Goal of the Year award for Ireland, for his superb strike in last September's Euro 2012 qualifier against Andorra.[48]

Doyle was sent off against Armenia on 11 October 2011.[49] He reached 50 international caps against Italy at UEFA Euro 2012.

In the first game of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C, Ireland were in a bad way against Kazakhstan, the team ranked 142nd in the world. Ireland were 1–0 down with 89 minutes gone. Doyle came off the bench to assist with the equalising goal (a Robbie Keane penalty) and then scored the winner himself![50] His reward was being named captain in an international friendly against Oman four days later, the second time he would captain his country.[51] He scored again in that game.[52]

Towards the end of the Trapattoni era, Doyle fell out of favour and was dropped from the squads but he was recalled by Interim manager Noel King for the qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan.[53] Doyle played the full 90 minutes in both qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan in an unfamiliar role playing out on the wings.[54][55]

In his 62nd match for the Republic, at home against Switzerland, he suffered a serious leg injury.[56] After finding out that there were no broken bones, Doyle tweeted a picture of the injury. O'Neill was quoted as saying Doyle would still be in the running for the upcoming Euros.[57]


International goals

Scores and results list Ireland's goal tally first.
Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition #
15 November 2006 Lansdowne Road, Dublin  San Marino 2–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying 1
28 March 2007 Croke Park, Dublin  Slovakia 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying 2
23 May 2007 Giants Stadium, New York  Ecuador 1–1 1–1 Friendly 3
9 September 2007 Tehelné Pole, Bratislava  Slovakia 1–2 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying 4
17 November 2007 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff  Wales 1–2 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying 5
6 September 2008 Stadion am Bruchweg, Mainz  Georgia 0–1 1–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying 6
5 September 2009 Neo GSP Stadium, Nicosia  Cyprus 0–1 1–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying 7
25 May 2010 RDS Arena, Dublin  Paraguay 1–0 2–1 Friendly 8
7 September 2010 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Andorra 2–0 3–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 9
7 October 2011 Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella  Andorra 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 10
7 September 2012 Astana Arena, Astana  Kazakhstan 2–1 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying 11
11 September 2012 Craven Cottage, London  Oman 3–0 4–1 Friendly 12
6 June 2014 PPL Park, Philadelphia  Costa Rica 1–0 1–1 Friendly 13
3 September 2014 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Oman 1–0 2–0 Friendly 14

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 May 2015
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading 2005–06[58] Championship 45183130—5119
2006–07[59] Premier League 32131010—3413
2007–08[60] Premier League 3660000—366
2008–09[61] Championship 411800001[lower-alpha 1]04218
Total 1545541401016356
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2009–10[62] Premier League 3491020—379
2010–11[63] Premier League 2652132—318
2011–12[64] Premier League 3342010—364
2012–13[65] Championship 4291010—449
2013–14[66] League One 233101000253
2014–15[67] Championship 600000—60
Total 1643071820017933
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2013–14[66] Championship 9200003[lower-alpha 1]0122
Crystal Palace (loan) 2014–15[67] Premier League 301110—51
Colorado Rapids 2015[68] MLS 2050000—205
Career total 3429912313240371104
  1. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Football League Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 25 March 2016.[69]
International statistics
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 200651
2007104
200871
200991
201072
201171
201272
201340
201442
201610
Total6214

Honours

Club

Cork City
Reading
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Queens Park Rangers

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Requires login". The Irish Times.
  4. ↑ "Requires login". The Irish Times.
  5. ↑ Williams, George (7 June 2005). "Doyle signs off with a double". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2005.
  6. ↑ "Reading complete double Cork deal". BBC Sport. 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  7. ↑ "Own Goal – The Slow Death of Irish Soccer". The Dubliner. October 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Doyle, Paul (16 August 2006). "Bargain buy set to hit the heights". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  9. ↑ "Coca-Cola Championship Top 10 players". PA Sport. 4 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 April 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2006.
  10. ↑ "Doyle wins player of the season after his superb first campaign for the Royals". 2 May 2006.
  11. ↑ "Rooney's top dog in the Prem – and there are divisional awards for Doyle, Flahavan and Hawley too". Professional Footballers' Association. 26 April 2006. Archived from the original on 3 September 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2006.
  12. ↑ "The PFA Team of the Year: Coca-Cola Championship". Professional Footballers' Association. 23 April 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2006.
  13. ↑ "Wolves make Doyle record signing". BBC Sport. 30 June 2009.
  14. ↑ "Doyle – No Wolves doubts". Sky Sports. 30 June 2009.
  15. ↑ "Doyle has hernia operation". Sky Sports. 22 July 2009.
  16. ↑ McNulty, Phil (22 August 2010). "Man City 1–0 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport.
  17. ↑ "Wolves 2–1 Fulham". BBC News. 20 September 2009.
  18. ↑ 2009–10 Premier League
  19. ↑ "End of Season Dinner – Live!". wolves.co.uk. 4 May 2010.
  20. ↑ "Wolves 2–1 Man Utd". BBC News. 5 February 2011.
  21. ↑ "Wolves top scorer Kevin Doyle could miss rest of season". BBC Sport. 28 March 2011.
  22. ↑ "Sunderland 1–3 Wolves". BBC Sport. 14 May 2011.
  23. ↑ "Kevin Doyle: Kenny Jackett prepares for Wolves striker's exit". BBC Sport. 5 August 2013.
  24. ↑ "QPR sign Kevin Doyle from Wolves". BBC Sport. 31 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "QPR 3–3 Burnley". BBC Sport. 31 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "Fit-again Doyle sent back to boost QPR push". Irish Independent. 12 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "Crystal Palace: James McArthur, Kevin Doyle & Zeki Fryers sign". BBC Sport. 1 September 2014.
  28. ↑ "Dover 0–4 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 4 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Wolverhampton striker Kevin Doyle signs new four-year contract". BBC Sport. 28 September 2011.
  30. ↑ "Wolves striker Kevin Doyle to join Colorado Rapids". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015.
  31. ↑ "Doyle's Wolves career ends". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 6 May 2015.
  32. ↑ "Match Report – COL 1–0 VAN". Colorado Rapids. 23 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "FIFA World Youth Championship 2003 – Ireland Squad". FIFA. 23 April 2006. Archived from the original on 28 August 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2006.
  34. ↑ "Republic of Ireland - Colombia". FIFA (archive). Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Doyle called up to Republic squad". BBC Sport. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  36. ↑ "Rep of Ireland 3–0 Sweden". BBC Sport. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  37. ↑ "Germany 1–0 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  38. ↑ "Father to collect on Doyle bet". The Times. London. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  39. ↑ Jackson, Lyle (15 November 2006). "Rep of Ireland 5–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  40. ↑ "Doyle receives top Irish young player award". ReadingFC.co.uk. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  41. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 1–0 Slovakia". BBC Sport. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  42. ↑ "Ecuador 1–1 Ireland". ESPNsoccernet. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  43. ↑ "Slovakia 2–2 Rep of Ireland". BBC Sport. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  44. ↑ FIFA.com (5 February 2009). "Quartet key to Irish formula". FIFA.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  45. ↑ "Football Association of Ireland". Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  46. 1 2 "FAI and eircom announce nominations for eircom International Awards". Football Association of Ireland. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  47. ↑ "Duo up for player of the year". ReadingFC.co.uk. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  48. ↑ "Doyle lands top award". Irish Independent. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  49. ↑ "Cox hails team-mates as 'heroes' after Republic win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  50. ↑ "Kazakhstan 1–2 Republic of Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  51. ↑ Mackey, Liam (11 September 2012). "Kevin Doyle, who captains Ireland for just the second time, when they play Oman at Craven Cottage this evening...". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  52. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 4–1 Oman". RTÉ Sport. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  53. ↑ "Ireland recall Reid, Gibson and Doyle in first squad since Trapattoni's exit". 30 September 2013.
  54. ↑ "Germany 3–0 Republic of Ireland". 11 October 2013.
  55. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 3–1 Kazakhstan". 15 October 2013.
  56. ↑ Jackson, Lyle (26 March 2016). "Republic of Ireland 1-0 Switzerland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  57. ↑ "Graphic content warning: Kevin Doyle has tweeted a picture of his leg injury and it is gruesome". Independent.ie. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  58. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  59. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  60. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  61. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  62. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  63. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  64. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  65. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  66. 1 2 "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  67. 1 2 "Games played by Kevin Doyle in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  68. ↑
  69. ↑ "Kevin Doyle". National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

External links

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