897 Nathan Doyle

Biography

Versatile midfielder and defender Doyle joined Hull City in January 2007 but had to wait until the last game of the season for his first team debut, manager Phil Brown was unwilling to blood the youngster in the throes of a relegation battle. Nathan cut a similarly peripheral figure during the 2007/08 season as he suffered a series of injuries while Brown built an experienced squad that launched a successful assault on the play-off places. Yet despite making only three appearances during the regular season, Nathan played an important role in helping the Tigers reach their first ever Wembley final, coming off the bench in both play-off semi-final legs against Watford and scoring a late fourth goal in the second leg at the KC Stadium to finally see off the Hornets.

With City elevated to the Premier League Nathan’s first team opportunities were always going to be sparse. He made his Premier League debut on Boxing Day 2008, coming off the bench in the second half that followed Brown’s notorious on-pitch half-time team talk. His final game for the Tigers came in an August 2009 League Cup tie, which took his Hull City tally to one goal in 14 appearances during two and a half years at the club.

Nathan Luke Robert Doyle was born and bred in Derby and came through the academy system as his local club Derby County. As a teenager he was regarded as an emerging star with regular international selections, playing alongside his contemporary Tom Huddlestone who also served the Tigers later in his career. Doyle made his first team debut in November 2003 against Preston North End, two months before his 17th birthday, however he was not able to establish a regular foothold in the Rams first team and over the next three seasons he made just 10 first team appearances. In February 2006 he joined League Two side Notts County on a three month loan and made 12 appearances. At the start of the 2006/07 season Nathan joined League One side Bradford City, initially on a three month loan that was quickly extended to the end of January 2007 – he made 33 appearances before he was recalled by Derby County at the end of January 2007 to facilitate his transfer to Hull City.

Doyle left Hull City and joined Championship side Barnsley on a three month loan in September 2009 and quickly established himself as a first team regular for the Tykes – it was the first time he had played regular first team football since his loan spell at Bradford three years earlier. His loan was converted into a free transfer in January 2010 with Nathan signing a two and a half year contract. During the 2010/11 season Doyle remained a regular choice for Barnsley as they battled successfully against relegation, then in November 2011 he joined League One side Preston North End on a one month loan that saw him through to the end of the calendar year – he made 6 appearances for the Lilywhites. Nathan returned to Barnsley in January 2012 and regained his first team place for a couple of months as his contract drew to a close. When he left Barnsley in May 2012 he had scored two goals in precisely 100 appearances.

In August 2012 Nathan rejoined League Two side Bradford City, the club he had served on loan six years earlier ahead of his move to Hull City. A first team regular for two seasons, Nathan made a big contribution as the Bantams embarked on an extraordinary 2012/13 season, reaching the end of season play-offs in May 2013 and defeating Northampton Town in the Wembley final. But that achievement was overshadowed by Bradford’s earlier exploits in the League Cup, which saw them eliminate three Premier League teams to reach the Wembley final against a fourth top flight side Swansea City – alas Bradford were defeated heavily by the Swans after another ex-Tiger, goalkeeper Matt Duke, was red carded.

Doyle kept his place as Bradford rose to League One for the 2013/14 season but was released in June 2014 having added two goals and 93 appearances to his Bantams tally. He signed for League Two side Luton Town in September 2014 but after a successful 2014/15 season he suffered a series of injuries that him on the sidelines. Nathan suffered a ruptured achilles tendon in July 2016 that effectively ended his career – he agreed a mutual contract termination with Luton Town in January 2017 having made 45 appearances for the Hatters.

Doyle returned to the Hull area to play non-league football for the next three years – he joined Northern Counties East League side Bridlington Town in May 2018 but left soon afterwards after just one appearance. In October 2019 Nathan joined East Hull, another Northern Counties East League side, and served the Goole-based side for a year as player and player-manager before resigning his post in December 2020 to focus on his work commitments. In July 2024 he returned to senior football, returning to Bridlington Town.

Doyle was regarded an emerging prodigy in his younger years at Derby County and was awarded numerous caps by the England under-age setup. In October 2001, while still just 14 years old, Nathan made his debut for the England Under-16s against Northern Ireland and made 8 appearances during the 2001/02 season, scoring one goal in November 2001 against Netherlands. In November 2002 he added three further Under-16 appearances and scored two further goals against Netherlands and Germany.

In July 2002 he made his first appearance for the England Under-17 side against Italy – he was 15 years and six months old at the time. He made 12 Under-17 appearances during the 2002/03 season including 8 appearances in the UEFA Under-17 Championship that saw England reach the semi-finals in Portugal only to lose to the hosts on penalties. He added a further 12 Under-17 appearances during the 2003/04 season, scoring a goal against Ukraine in May 2004. He made two appearances for England’s Under-18 side against Scotland in December 2004 and Norway in June 2005, then added two Under-19 appearances against Switzerland in November 2005 and Slovakia in February 2006. This drew a close to his international career at the age of 19.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 12 January 1987, Derby
Hull City First Game: 6 May 2007, Plymouth Argyle H (Championship), 20 years, 114 days old
Hull City Final Game: 25 August 2009, Southend United H (League Cup Second Round), 22 years, 225 days old

Clubs

Derby County (2003-2007), Notts County (2006, loan), Bradford City (2006-2007, loan), Hull City (2007-2010), Barnsley (2009, loan), Barnsley (2010-2012), Preston North End (2011, loan), Bradford City (2012-2014), Luton Town (2014-2017), Bridlington Town (2018), East Hull (2019-2020), Bridlington Town (2024-current)

Hull City Record

Career: 14 apps, 1 goals

Nathan Doyle
SeasonLGE
App
LGE
Gls
FAC
App
FAC
Gls
FLC
App
FLC
Gls
EUR
App
EUR
Gls
OTH
App
OTH
Gls
2006/071 (0)0
2007/080 (1)01 (0)01 (0)00 (2)1
2008/092 (1)03 (0)01 (0)0
2009/101 (0)0

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