Nathan Doyle

Born in Derby, Derbyshire,[1] Doyle started his career playing for Noel-Baker School.[2] He made his professional debut for Derby County on 1 November 2003, aged 16, in a 3–0 defeat away to Preston North End.[3]

On 24 February 2006, Doyle signed for League Two club Notts County on a one-month loan deal.[4] He made his debut for the club the next day in a 2–1 defeat away to Lincoln City.[5] After making four appearances during his initial one-month spell, Doyle's loan was extended to the end of the season.[6] Doyle returned to Derby in May 2006, having made 12 appearances during his time at Notts County.[5]

Doyle signed a three-month loan deal with League One club Bradford City on 2 August 2006.[7] He made his debut for the club in a 1–0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 2006–07 season.[8] Doyle made a quick impression, prompting Bradford to consider taking up the option of extending his loan to six months or a season-long loan.[9] Bradford manager Colin Todd was convinced that Doyle's loan would be extended, promising fans that he would stay into the new year.[10] This was confirmed later that week, keeping Doyle at the club until 1 January 2007.[11]

In the West Yorkshire derby between Bradford and Huddersfield Town on 7 October 2006 which resulted in a 1–0 defeat, Doyle had plastic bottles thrown at him and was accused of cheating by the Huddersfield fans after Danny Adams was sent off for a challenge on him, an accusation Doyle denied.[12][13]

Towards the end of his loan spell, Doyle expressed a desire to remain at the club and hoped Bradford could reach an agreement with Derby to extend his stay.[14] However, this appeared to be in jeopardy after it was believed he had sustained a knee ligament injury during a 1–0 defeat at home to Doncaster Rovers on 26 December 2006, potentially ruling him out for up to three months.[15] A hospital scan proved otherwise and Doyle was able to return to training later that week.[16] At the same time, manager Colin Todd claimed Doyle's loan had been extended for the rest of the season.[16] However, it emerged this was not the case and the deal was an emergency one-month loan until 3 February 2007.[17] Todd expected an extension until the end of the season to be completed before the end of the transfer window after an agreement with Derby manager Billy Davies.[18] A turn of events scuppered any chance of a deal after Hull City made a deadline day bid for Doyle, resulting in him being recalled by Derby,[19] having made 33 appearances in all competitions during his time at Bradford City.[20] Despite leaving the club in January, Doyle was named Bradford City Player of the Year, voted for by the club's supporters.[21]

Doyle signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Hull City on 31 January 2007 for a nominal fee.[22] He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle on the final day of the 2006–07 season.[20] Doyle's first-team opportunities were limited in 2007–08, in which he made one appearance in the League Cup, FA Cup and Championship respectively.[23] However, Hull's successful season earned the club a place in the Championship play-offs, with Doyle featuring in their play-off semi-final second leg at home to Watford, in which he scored his first professional goal in a 4–1 victory on 14 May 2008.[23][24] Hull played Bristol City at Wembley Stadium on 24 May, where the team achieved a 1–0 victory and promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history, in which Doyle was an unused substitute.[25]

Doyle eventually made his Premier League debut the following season on 26 December 2008, when he came on as a substitute during a 5–1 defeat away to Manchester City.[26][27] He made two further Premier League appearances, both of which Doyle was named in the starting lineup and made seven appearances in all competitions.[26] Doyle made one League Cup appearance in 2009–10.[28]

Doyle joined Championship club Barnsley on a three-month emergency loan deal on 18 September 2009.[29] He made his debut the following day, coming on as a substitute for Jacob Butterfield in a 0–0 draw with Swansea City.[28] Doyle made 11 appearances during his initial loan spell, before signing a permanent two-and-a-half-year contract with the club on a free transfer on 13 January 2010.[30] He went on to make 34 appearances for Barnsley in 2009–10.[28]

Doyle scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 3–1 win at home to Nottingham Forest on 16 October 2010.[31] He completed the 2010–11 season having made 45 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions.[32] Doyle followed up with a further 21 appearances in 2011–12,[33] but was released by Barnsley at the end of the season.[34]

On 24 November 2011, Doyle joined League One club Preston North End on loan until 2 January 2012.[35] He made his debut for the club two days later in a 1–0 defeat away to Bury.[33] Doyle made four further league appearances and one Football League Trophy appearance during his loan spell.[33]

On 4 August 2012, Doyle returned to former loan club Bradford City on a one-year contract.[36] He made his second debut for Bradford in their game away at League One club Notts County in the League Cup first round one week later.[37] On 30 October, Doyle helped Bradford into the quarter-finals of the League Cup by scoring his penalty in their penalty shoot-out victory over Wigan Athletic, after the game had finished 0–0 after extra time.[38] Doyle was shown a red card in a 3–3 draw with Bristol Rovers on 24 November for allegedly kicking Seanan Clucas, resulting in a three-match ban.[39] However, Bradford manager Phil Parkinson appealed the decision,[40] which was overturned the following day by an independent Football Association panel.[41] Doyle scored his first goals for the club on 12 February 2013, scoring twice in a 3–0 win away at Wycombe Wanderers.[42] He was named in the starting lineup for the 2013 Football League Cup Final against Swansea City at Wembley Stadium on 24 February 2013, resulting in a 5–0 defeat.[43] Bradford went on to secure a place in the League Two play-offs after a 1–0 win at home to Burton Albion on 20 April.[44] Doyle played in both semi-final legs against Burton Albion,[37] which Bradford won 5–4 on aggregate.[45] Bradford played Northampton Town in the 2013 Football League Two play-off Final on 18 May, their second appearance at Wembley Stadium of the season and won the match 3–0, thereby earning promotion to League One.[46] During the match, Doyle assisted Rory McArdle for Bradford's second goal with a cross.[46] Following the end of the season, Doyle signed a new one-year contract with Bradford on 3 July.[47] Doyle made 39 league appearances on Bradford's return to League One in 2013–14,[48] but was released on 9 June 2014 after becoming surplus to requirements, having made 94 appearances in two seasons with the club.[49]

Doyle signed a one-year contract at League Two club Luton Town on 11 September 2014, receiving the squad number 26.[50] He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 win at home to Oxford United on 27 September.[51] Doyle went on to make 31 appearances in all competitions in 2014–15.[52] His performances in midfield led to him being named Luton Town Player of the Season, voted for by the club's supporters.[53] On 10 April 2015, Doyle signed a two-year contract extension with Luton to keep him at the club until 2017.[54]

Doyle played in the first four matches of 2015–16,[55] but sustained a muscle injury in the latter, a 1–0 defeat at home to Bristol Rovers on 18 August 2015.[56] He returned to first-team football as a 78th-minute substitute for Paddy McCourt in a 3–1 win away to Morecambe on 29 September.[55][57] Doyle signed a further contract extension with Luton on 10 November to keep him at the club until the summer of 2018.[58] He struggled with injuries in November and December, firstly sustaining an ankle injury in early November,[59] followed by a knee injury in early December.[60] The latter required a visit to a specialist and a subsequent operation, ruling him out for six weeks.[61][62] Doyle returned to training in March 2016,[63] but made no further appearances during the season.[55] Doyle suffered an Achilles tendon rupture in his first pre-season training session prior to the 2016–17 season, resulting in a long spell on the sidelines.[64] He left Luton after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 31 January 2017.[65]

Doyle signed for Northern Counties East League Premier Division club Bridlington Town in May 2018.[66] He signed for East Hull in October 2019.[67]