If..Doyle goes big mistake

Donaldson is 36, Vaughan is 31. Doyle will get plenty of game time this season.

Bowyer likes him.

 

I'm hopeful all three will have 'plenty of game time', SP.
I'd rather all three were simmering nicely, rather than one repeatedly 'going cold'.

 

Did Blake mills and Beagrie do it in promotion season?

Not that all 3 were strikers but Beagrie took the penalties which Doyle may do

Edit - just seen @River_City_Bantam post. Knew I could rely on him to know. Good work

 

I think they will. Its a long season with injuries, suspensions, loss of form and rotation to consider.

If we are playing the diamond then I wouldn't be surprised to see Scannel used up top either.

 

Adding to the 3 guys in double figures stat.... in 12/13 Connell pushed close with 9 to add to Hanson (15) and Wells (26) in all competitions. Even though it's fondly remembered as the Hanson & Wells combo, Nahki only started 28 of the 46 league games that year, Hanson 38. Swapping in guys like Connell, Andy Gray for a month or so, Thompson & Hines even played up there a few times. And those lads (JH & NW) were in their early to mid 20's at the time, never mind 35 and 31 as the favoured two this year looks to be. In PP's 442 12/13, he had Jones & Doyle favoured but Ravenhill still started 21 times in L2. Davies & McArdle only started together 23 of the 46 that year.

It's a long hard season, injuries happen so having 3 quality options for 2 spots in through the spine of the team is a must for a promotion team. Also worth remembering that Donaldson & Vaughan haven't been regular starters or scorers for the last two seasons, if they don't find their scoring boots, Doyle is as good as you'll find to step in. If he sticks the season out and stays fit, he will start at least 25 games.

 

Completely agree.

But don't forget, if you only start around 50% of your clubs games in a season then you are not good enough for City.. Those are the facts highlighted by the football brains on here over Shay McCartans Lincoln tenure.

 

Nope, it's the fact we've seen him and he's simply just not been good enough.

Maybe that will change, maybe a year further on he's improved but until he starts featuring regularly and makes an impact in games then the "footbal brains" are right.

 

You have seen him play in L1 under a different manager, nearly 18 months ago......

If he was good enough as a squad player for Lincoln then he is good enough as a squad player for us IMO.

 

Time will tell.

 

Same with Doyle. Bruenker showed more desire in the short time he was with us and for that any member of the first team squad should hang their head in shame.

 

Of course he was going to try hard, Bruenker knew he should have been no where near a professional football club.

 

Of that we can agree. Yet he showed more desire in the time he was with us than Doyle and in fact most of the first team squad did all season.

 

He wasn't top scorer though was he so regardless of the "running about a bit" I'll take a half hearted Doyle every single time.

 

I didn't say he was better, but if you want someone that's half hearted then more fool you. 100% commitment or get gone because that is the absolute basic you expect of a pro footballer, especially one who is a senior player. Look at the difference between Doyle and Vaughan as they're similar if not the same age. Vaughans come in straight away and been a leader, holding up standards and generally doing everything Doyle should have done last season.

 

The competition Doyle faces this season compared to last will push him on too.

We are lucky to have 3 strikers with the ability that Doyle Vaughan and Donaldson have for this level. A lot will be envious of that front line.

We get it he had an average season last season. He had no competition, no one to work off and was in the worst city side in years. Still got double figures. He deserves a break and a a chance this season

 

The Doyle apologists on here ! No wonder we're league two.
I've got him a hot potato to stick up his arse it might make him run.
It worked with the pit ponies on cold mornings back in the early 20th century.

 

Yet the last 3 managers publically praised his work rate? How do you explain that?

Maybe some people try too hard to see things that weren't really there.

 

I saw the league table last May, did you?

You're quite correct, there was a lot of things not really there
Spine, graft, leadership, quality, effort, not just that donkey, but a whole host of others we're still paying inflated wages to.
Sooner they're gone the better.

Even GB is aware of the crap he's got and made a lightly veiled reference to it a couple of days back

"" I’m trying to create a brand new group and for people to notice the change in such a short period is very encouraging.
But not even 50 per cent of the squad are mine, which is staggering. I’ve brought in 10 but that still means that not even half of the players are my own.
That just shows the time and patience which is needed with it all. But we feel we are heading in the right direction.""

 

Not even average, every single one of them to a man let us down last season bar O'Brien and Caddis. They all hid when the going got tough, and I didn't see Doyle showing an ounce of leadership like basically everybody Bowyers brought in has done, Vaughan especially. He might be good for this level but after last season he's got to prove that to me.

 

They aren't going to call him a lazy sack of shite in the press are they, especially so if he's a confidence player. Last season half the squad praised Micky in interviews and said he knew what he was doing and look how that went.