Nathan Doyle

Nathan Luke Robert Doyle (born 12 January 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender or a midfielder.

He has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.

Born in Derby, Derbyshire, Doyle started his career playing for Noel-Baker School.

He made his professional debut for Derby County on 1 November 2003, aged 16, in a 3–0 defeat away to Preston North End.

On 24 February 2006, Doyle signed for League Two club Notts County on a one-month loan deal.

He made his debut for the club the next day in a 2–1 defeat away to Lincoln City.

After making four appearances during his initial one-month spell, Doyle's loan was extended to the end of the season.

Doyle returned to Derby in May 2006, having made 12 appearances during his time at Notts County.

Doyle signed a three-month loan deal with League One club Bradford City on 2 August 2006.

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.

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.

Bradford manager Colin Todd was convinced that Doyle's loan would be extended, promising fans that he would stay into the new year.

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.

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.

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.

A hospital scan proved otherwise and Doyle was able to return to training later that week.

At the same time, manager Colin Todd claimed Doyle's loan had been extended for the rest of the season.

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.

This was confirmed later that week, keeping Doyle at the club until 1 January 2007.

However, it emerged this was not the case and the deal was an emergency one-month loan until 3 February 2007.

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.

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, having made 33 appearances in all competitions during his time at Bradford City.

Despite leaving the club in January, Doyle was named Bradford City Player of the Year, voted for by the club's supporters.

Doyle signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Hull City on 31 January 2007 for a nominal fee.

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.

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.

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.

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.

He made two further Premier League appearances, both of which Doyle was named in the starting lineup and made seven appearances in all competitions.

Doyle made one League Cup appearance in 2009–10.

Doyle joined Championship club Barnsley on a three-month emergency loan deal on 18 September 2009.

He made his debut the following day, coming on as a substitute for Jacob Butterfield in a 0–0 draw with Swansea City.

He went on to make 34 appearances for Barnsley in 2009–10.

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.

Doyle scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 3–1 win at home to Nottingham Forest on 16 October 2010.

He completed the 2010–11 season having made 45 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions.

Doyle followed up with a further 21 appearances in 2011–12, but was released by Barnsley at the end of the season.

On 24 November 2011, Doyle joined League One club Preston North End on loan until 2 January 2012.

He made his debut for the club two days later in a 1–0 defeat away to Bury.

Doyle made four further league appearances and one Football League Trophy appearance during his loan spell.