First season here I thought he was bloody awful. He looked every bit the reserve team right back trying to play midfield. Couldn't for the life of me understand why we'd signed him or more importantly why we continued to play him. I didn't think he offered anything. Then last season, after that bit of trouble he had with the bobbies, he suddenly blossomed in to a decent player. He was picking out passes where before he'd simply hoofed it, his shooting improved 500%, he was the hardest working player in the team and the most motivated. Hammill and Butterfield shone at different stages last season, but for consistency over the whole season I'd put Doyle up there with Shackell as our two best players. Which brings us to this season. Keith Hill pretty much ignored him for months, criminally imho, then out of the blue he's back in the side, but playing completely gash. I think we've lost just about every game he's played. As a conservative estimate I reckon he's giving the ball away 75% of the time. He hasn't got the same zip about him. He doesn't look motivated. Which is the real Nathan Doyle?
Maybe he's one of them players that needs to be loved, a bit like Vaz Te. Robins probably gave him a lot of confidence by actually playing him and giving him responsibility, Hill just shipped him out to Preston at the first opportunity. He will definately go in the summer I feel, shame because, like you said, he was quality for us last year.
Never rated him. Don't see him doing much different this year to last. He wasn't in the side for a while because of Perkins or Drinkwater. Keef said that instead of buckling down, he knocked on his door and said he wanted to leave on loan (paraphrasing slightly). Not the type of attitude you want.
Wait a minute. Wasn’t Doyle a regular towards the start of the season and played away at Leeds which may have been his last game before randomly been sent to Preston? A bigger presence than Perkins for me. I would be 100% confident in saying if Doyle was at least on the bench against Ipswich we would not have needed to change things round with Butterfield dropping deep. Along with a similar theme for the Blackpool game. Hill instead preferring to go with a tried and failed formation which he still goes with at times to this day which is maybe part of the problem.
I agree, I thought he was from Hull RLFC with his up and unders and kicking for position, but last season he was a different player up to the seasonal demise after January. This year back to normal and his first seasons form.
All a bit too quick for him. He worked well under Robins in a much more compact and slower team. Trying (we did in the first half of the season) moving the ball around quickly does not do Doyle any justice. Other teams with quick passing midfield's just blow him away.
