Player Profile

When much-travelled striker Doyle arrived at the County Ground on loan from Bradford in August 2019, few could have imagined the impact he would have - he left the club a season later as arguably the best loan signing in the club's history - a Town legend in fewer than thirty matches.

The day after signing, Doyle marked his debut with a late equalising goal at Exeter that put the Town on top of the early League Two table - and this goal was quickly followed up with braces against Cheltenham, Morecambe and Macclesfield to put Doyle at the top of the goalscoring charts - but that was only the beginning.

After a barren spell of four matches in a month without a goal, Doyle netted in a 1-1 home draw with Plymouth in mid-October that proved to be a catalyst for an incredible run - from then until Boxing Day, Doyle netted in every single match, registering fifteen goals in an eleven game spell, matching Harry Morris' 92-year-old club record for consecutive league matches scored in - although Morris failed to register in a cup match in the middle of his run. Now adorned with the nickname "The Ginger Pelé", Doyle became the first player to be named as a divisional Player of the Month for three consecutive months - and after his run ended in a 2-0 defeat at Port Vale, Doyle scored a late winner in a crucial win at promotion rivals Plymouth on New Year's Day, which he celebrated by jumping into the rapturous travelling support.

Doyle was forced to sit out the Town's next game against his parent club, Bradford - with the transfer window now opened, it was inevitable that the Bantams would recall a striker that had scored 23 goals in 22 matches, in an attempt to rejuvenate their own faltering promotion aspirations. He returned to Yorkshire for the rest of the month of January - but as had been the case before joining the Town, he again failed to fit with manager Gary Bowyer's style - and having failed to find the net in four matches, he was allowed to return to the Swindon before the transfer deadline, this time on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee, on a contract until the end of the season. With strike partner Jerry Yates also recalled and then allowed to return, the County Ground sold out for the visit of second-placed Exeter, and in an uplifted, packed stadium, the Town won 2-1 to cement their place at the top of the table.

Though he netted twice more in March - both goals in a 2-0 victory over Scunthorpe - sadly, Doyle was prevented from adding to his goal tally and potentially becoming the first Town player to net thirty league goals in a post-war season - a global pandemic bringing the season to a premature end, the Town being awarded the League Two title on a points-per-game basis. After returning for the trophy presentation, it was revealed that Bolton had offered the 32-year-old striker a three-year contract on a salary that Swindon could not match - and being closer to his home in Manchester, it was a deal too good for him to turn down. As his stay at Swindon came to an end, he tweeted a message to the Town support: "I wish you all nothing but success. A decision made with my family’s best interests in mind. I had a blast. Cheers."

Playing Record

Senior

Career details

Club	Details
Shelbourne Shelbourne	1998 (schoolboy)
Cherry Orchard Cherry Orchard	2001 (schoolboy)
Crumlin United Crumlin United	2002 (schoolboy)
Shelbourne Shelbourne	cs 2006
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers	January 2007
Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers	rptd July 16th, 2009 ; released (November 2011)
Hibernian Hibernian	rptd December 22nd, 2011
Chesterfield Chesterfield	July 1st, 2013 (announced May 31st, 2013) ; transferred out (February 2nd, 2015)
Cardiff City Cardiff City	February 2nd, 2015 (transferred in, undisclosed fee)
Preston North End Preston North End	September 1st, 2015 (loan); expired (2015/6)
Preston North End Preston North End	July 1st, 2016 (announced June 29th, 2016) ; transferred out (August 1st, 2018)
Portsmouth Portsmouth	January 31st, 2017 (loan); expired (2016/7)
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic	August 31st, 2017 (loan); expired (January 1st, 2018)
Bradford City Bradford	August 1st, 2018 (transferred in, undisclosed fee); transferred out (January 30th, 2020)
Swindon Town Swindon	August 16th, 2019 (loan); recalled from loan (rptd January 8th, 2020)
Swindon Town Swindon	January 30th, 2020 (transferred in, undisclosed fee believed to be around £90,000); released (2019/0)
Bolton Wanderers Bolton	July 10th, 2020 (unattached); transferred out (January 7th, 2022) January 2022 (appointed scout)
St. Patrick's Athletic St. Patrick's Athletic	January 7th, 2022 (transferred in); retired (July 27th, 2023)