Tommy Doyle.

[the other bob wilson]

Just listening to the Second Tier podcast where the two presenters are selecting their key players for each team (they went for Colwill and Sawyers for City), but I was surprised to hear one of them pick Tommy Doyle for Sheffield United. They were also raving about him being one of the best summer signings in the whole division on the back of how good he was for City, my question is was he really that good for us?

I’d definitely say he improved our midfield and gave it some of the dynamism it was lacking and his attitude was spot on. He also scored a couple of nice goals which suggested he could get quite a few more in a side that created more chances. This is something which makes it hard to gauge how good a young player who has been in our team in the last few seasons might be - given the serious limitations of many of our players, you’d have had to be something really special to have stood out in our team.

Nevertheless, I felt a tiny bit disappointed with Doyle by the time he left us because there were games where he made little contribution, his form seemed to fade as his spell with us went on and, frankly, his much heralded dead ball deliveru was pretty poor throughout.

I appreciate a lot of what he went through in the last few months of the season was new to him and I shouldn’t lose sight of how young he is still - I’d have him back here like a shot and I’m sure he’ll play plenty of Premier League football in his career, but, as I said before, I had that slight feeling of disappointment about him at the of his time here.

[binman]

The lad is very talented and was certainly a factor in our improvement

He tended to pass a lot to Drameh (Possibly because he was one of the few actually moving for him) and a lot of the fancy stuff often led to the ball being lost. He's certainly nowhere near the class of Whittingham or McPhail

He's replacing Gibbs White for them - he's not as good a player as him but I'd definitely would have liked him back here

[dml1954]

The lad is very talented and was certainly a factor in our improvement

He tended to pass a lot to Drameh (Possibly because he was one of the few actually moving for him) and a lot of the fancy stuff often led to the ball being lost. He's certainly nowhere near the class of Whittingham or McPhail

He's replacing Gibbs White for them - he's not as good a player as him but I'd definitely would have liked him back here

Doyle is a totally different type of player to Whittingham and Mcphail, so a direct comparison is a bit pointless. Plus Doyle was only 20 years old when here. I dare say at 20 that both Whittingham and Mcphail had a fair bit of improving to do and I would believe that Doyle is already showing enough potential to end up better than both. If Whittingham and Mcphail were that good for us, how come no top Premier League side ever came in for them when they were here ? (Dont get me wrong, I liked them both).

[J R Hartley]

Doyle is a totally different type of player to Whittingham and Mcphail, so a direct comparison is a bit pointless. Plus Doyle was only 20 years old when here. I dare say at 20 that both Whittingham and Mcphail had a fair bit of improving to do and I would believe that Doyle is already showing enough potential to end up better than both. If Whittingham and Mcphail were that good for us, how come no top Premier League side ever came in for them when they were here ? (Dont get me wrong, I liked them both).

Utter bollocks. By the time Whitts was Doyles age (20, nearly 21) he had wracked up 50 PL appearances for Villa.

Mcphail was a regular for Leeds in the Premier League at 19.

Doyle is nowhere near as good as either of them.

[The Lone Gunman]

Doyle is a totally different type of player to Whittingham and Mcphail, so a direct comparison is a bit pointless. Plus Doyle was only 20 years old when here. I dare say at 20 that both Whittingham and Mcphail had a fair bit of improving to do and I would believe that Doyle is already showing enough potential to end up better than both.

Bullshit.

[Carl Dale's Mole]

100% agree with this.

[Carl Dale's Mole]

Doyle is a totally different type of player to Whittingham and Mcphail, so a direct comparison is a bit pointless. Plus Doyle was only 20 years old when here. I dare say at 20 that both Whittingham and Mcphail had a fair bit of improving to do and I would believe that Doyle is already showing enough potential to end up better than both. If Whittingham and Mcphail were that good for us, how come no top Premier League side ever came in for them when they were here ? (Dont get me wrong, I liked them both).

Do you think Doyle will break into the Man City team or become a regular starter for a “top Premier League side”?

I don’t.

[dml1954]

Do you think Doyle will break into the Man City team or become a regular starter for a “top Premier League side”?

I don’t.

Why have Man City loaned him out then and not sold him ?. They obviously see something in him. He has plenty of time.

[Rjk]

Why have Man City loaned him out then and not sold him ?. They obviously see something in him. He has plenty of time.

if they sold him now it would only be for a couple of million tops. if he turns in to a top player at this level then you're talking 20 million

[J R Hartley]

if they sold him now it would only be for a couple of million tops. if he turns in to a top player at this level then you're talking 20 million

LOL

[Tuerto]

if they sold him now it would only be for a couple of million tops. if he turns in to a top player at this level then you're talking 20 million

He's got some serious improving to do though. He's good in the final third, very direct, he sees space and attacks it with the ball at his feet. After that, he struggles in my opinion. I don't know what it is, but he doesn't look like the brightest in terms of football intelligence. Without the ball he struggles to get himself in good positions, especially defensively, he has this nasty habit of turning in to the opposition when the better option may be to just hold the ball up and win a foul or wait for support. He's very raw outside of his main attribute, which is attacking the final third. He certainly possesses natural ability, that's for sure.

[Des Parrot]

Do you think Doyle will break into the Man City team or become a regular starter for a “top Premier League side”?

I don’t.

I’m with you. He’ll potter around on loans and then sign for someone like Norwich

[Tuerto]

I’m with you. He’ll potter around on loans and then sign for someone like Norwich

He'll have to develop a fair bit as well. He has no acceleration, he's clever enough to give himself that yard of space but can't speed up in order to go past a player. He's quick on the ball and looks to get things moving quickly, but he just can't penetrate the opposition when he's moving with the ball.

[J R Hartley]

He'll have to develop a fair bit as well. He has no acceleration, he's clever enough to give himself that yard of space but can't speed up in order to go past a player. He's quick on the ball and looks to get things moving quickly, but he just can't penetrate the opposition when he's moving with the ball.

He’s neat and tidy but academy football is full of them type of players. He’s got no wow factor like Foden or the lad Palmer at Man City. I will be shocked if he makes the grade at anything above Championship.

[Tuerto]

He’s neat and tidy but academy football is full of them type of players.

Yeah, pretty much how i see it. It looks good, although it doesn't take much to please our fans, but when you're waiting for that little bit more, it doesn't seem to come.

[Cardiff-Cal]

Doyle in a good team, with much better players around him, playing much better football, will be a totally different player to what we had last year.

[WJ99mobile]

Doyle in a good team, with much better players around him, playing much better football, will be a totally different player to what we had last year.

To what level though

I loved Doyle, thought he was a cracking player and I'd have him back here in a flash

Do I think he was a 'star in the making'? No.

Do I think he was Premier League level? No

He has got plenty of time on his side and has a brilliant sense of awareness but he didn't look a class above regularly. He will develop into a good player, but don't see him hitting dizzying heights quite yet but wish him all the best and hope he proves me wrong.

[Carl Dale's Mole]

Doyle in a good team, with much better players around him, playing much better football, will be a totally different player to what we had last year.

I don’t want to go on because I’m far from a Doyle hater but I feel like you could say this about anyone.

[delmbox]

I liked him but put it like this - if Phil Foden had been put in our team at the same age he’d have stood out a mile, and that’s the level it takes to break into the Man City team

[WJ99mobile]

I liked him but put it like this - if Phil Foden had been put in our team at the same age he’d have stood out a mile, and that’s the level it takes to break into the Man City team

Let’s not use Phil Foden as an example

He stands out in Man City’s team

[2b2bdoo]

I thought he was perfect for what we needed in January and did really well. Wasn’t to disappointed we didn’t sign him though as we seem to be doing for more power and pace, not sure how he would fit in todays team.

[J R Hartley]

Just listening to the Second Tier podcast where the two presenters are selecting their key players for each team (they went for Colwill and Sawyers for City), but I was surprised to hear one of them pick Tommy Doyle for Sheffield United. They were also raving about him being one of the best summer signings in the whole division on the back of how good he was for City, my question is was he really that good for us?

I’d definitely say he improved our midfield and gave it some of the dynamism it was lacking and his attitude was spot on. He also scored a couple of nice goals which suggested he could get quite a few more in a side that created more chances. This is something which makes it hard to gauge how good a young player who has been in our team in the last few seasons might be - given the serious limitations of many of our players, you’d have had to be something really special to have stood out in our team.

Nevertheless, I felt a tiny bit disappointed with Doyle by the time he left us because there were games where he made little contribution, his form seemed to fade as his spell with us went on and, frankly, his much heralded dead ball deliveru was pretty poor throughout.

I appreciate a lot of what he went through in the last few months of the season was new to him and I shouldn’t lose sight of how young he is still - I’d have him back here like a shot and I’m sure he’ll play plenty of Premier League football in his career, but, as I said before, I had that slight feeling of disappointment about him at the of his time here.

I dont think he will play plenty of Premier League footballer. Championship footballer at best.

[City123]

On what that podcast said about us, Colwill is good enough to be a key player and certainly ought to be, but I can see hm spending a lot of time on the bench again, I can't see Morison playing a number 10 considering the number of midfielders we've signed, he probably won't trust him in midfield either and he probably doesn't have the pace to be a winger

[2b2bdoo]

On what that podcast said about us, Colwill is good enough to be a key player and certainly ought to be, but I can see hm spending a lot of time on the bench again, I can't see Morison playing a number 10 considering the number of midfielders we've signed, he probably won't trust him in midfield either and he probably doesn't have the pace to be a winger

I agree, I think he will be in and out. I think that might be the case for the wingers as well.

[J R Hartley]

On what that podcast said about us, Colwill is good enough to be a key player and certainly ought to be, but I can see hm spending a lot of time on the bench again, I can't see Morison playing a number 10 considering the number of midfielders we've signed, he probably won't trust him in midfield either and he probably doesn't have the pace to be a winger

Morison doesnt fancy him. It was Mick who really rated Colwill, Morison had earmarked him to be released last summer before he broke into the side under Mick 2nd half of 20/21 season.