FEARLESS YOUTH
2022/23 loan watch: Tommy Doyle
Following departures from Sheffield United’s engine room after agonisingly exiting the play-offs on penalties in 2021/22, the Blades needed fresh inspiration as they looked to reignite their promotion credentials for the upcoming campaign.
Heroes from the previous campaign, Conor Hourihane and Morgan Gibbs-White, had returned to their parent clubs after successful loan spells – with the latter’s anonymity from the squad the most hard hitting.
The sparkling Nottingham Forest-bound man had scored 11 goals en route to a top-six finish, while the experienced Irishman had played 29 league games and was a consistent figure in the Yorkshire side’s team.
Paul Heckingbottom, though, recruited excellently and smartly discovered the perfect midfield balance which allowed his team to discard their woes from the season before and charge towards the Premier League.
Impressive Norway international Sander Berge cemented his commitment to the Blades’ cause, while experienced heads Oliver Norwood, John Fleck and Ben Osborn provided the expertise and nous needed to navigate the Championship’s rigours.
The missing piece of the puzzle? City’s Tommy Doyle.
Throughout the campaign, Sheffield United’s head coach would often rotate his midfield Rubik’s cube which added crucial freshness - decreasing the daunting task of the second tier’s packed schedule.
Between the engine room quintet, they scored a combined 13 goals and registered a total of 15 assists which hugely helped the Yorkshire side record a second-placed finish, sealing promotion back to English football’s elite top table after a two-year absence.
Combative and classy
After tasting consistent senior football ahead of last season with promising temporary spells at Hamburg and Cardiff, Doyle was eager to continue learning within a senior environment.
Having helped the Bluebirds maintain their Championship status by scoring twice for the Welsh outfit, remaining and challenging himself in the same division seemed like the perfect fit.
But joining a promotion-pushing Blades, where a place on the field would’ve had to be fought for and earned rather than given, could’ve raised a few eyebrows.
Perhaps this reflects the confidence City’s midfielder has and his desire to strongly test himself in the pursuit of progressing his game.
After joining the Blades, he had to stay patient after remaining among the substitutes during his first two matches, before being introduced from the sidelines in the next league double.
However, when he received his starting chance under Heckingbottom in the next three league assignments (Reading, Hull and Swansea), he grasped the opportunity with both hands.
Doyle registered an expert assist in an impressive 4-0 win over the Royals before stamping his authority in respective successes over the Tigers (2-0) and the Swans (1-0).
In total, he made 38 appearances for Sheffield United, scoring three goals and registering four assists.
Undoubtedly the best and most monumental strike of his precious Bramall Lane tenure came in an exciting FA Cup quarter-final meeting with Blackburn Rovers.
With extra-time looming with the score tied at 2-2, Doyle unleashed a venomous strike from 25-yards to send Heckingbottom’s team to Wembley – etching his name into club folklore.
Overall, the 21-year-old recorded 112 progressive passes for the Blades, while also creating 35 chances and recorded an average passing accuracy of 78.5%.
“There was a fine balance of fearless youth and wise heads which helped us massively.”
Tommy Doyle
The value of the rich education Doyle received at Bramall Lane isn’t lost on the versatile midfielder.
His tally of 38 appearances in red and white represented the most senior outings of his career in a single season, after featuring for Cardiff 20 times and Hamburg on seven occasions the season before.
And the 21-year-old can’t speak highly enough of his treasured time at Sheffield United.
“It [was] priceless,” Doyle explained.
“You’re always apprehensive of going to new places and there are always nerves, but the lads, the staff and everyone were amazing.
"It’s a proper homely club and the fans were incredible and really good with me.
“It was a place I loved being at. It was unbelievable and I was so happy to win promotion. I’m just thankful to Hecky, the manager, and Sheffield United for bringing me in.
“I went there to play and thankfully that’s what happened. The lads there are brilliant with a lot of experience which is what you need.
"I think there was a fine balance of fearless youth and wise heads which helped us massively.
“I’ve always said I’m confident in my own ability and that I can get into teams, but there was a respect level there for the lads and what they’ve done in the league.
“I always give 100% into what I’m doing and I said that in one of my first interviews when I was there.
“I said ‘I might be contracted to Manchester City, but at the moment I’m a Sheffield United player and I’ll give everything I have to make the team succeed’.
“I think the fans took to that really well and I’m glad they enjoyed my time there because I did too.”
From his first appearance for Sheffield United to his last, Doyle created and enjoyed a strong connection with supporters thanks to his committed and professional behaviour on and off the pitch.
The most eye-catching of his three strikes for the club was, of course, the iconic goal against Blackburn Rovers in the last-eight of the FA Cup.
When the ball hit the roof of the net, the devoted Blades supporters were sent into ecstasy with a date at Wembley with City booked into the diary. But FA rules meant he was unable to play against his parent club in the showpiece occasion which City won 3-0 thanks to a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick.
Although their cup campaign would end at the semi-final stage, Doyle is honoured to have delivered such an epic moment for the Blades faithful while also contributing to their second-place finish.
The midfielder continued: “It was a special moment [against Blackburn], the timing and what it meant is just something that doesn’t happen often.
“Doing that felt amazing [especially] in front of the fans at the Kop it was crazy, so to obviously send Sheffield United to Wembley was so important.
“I’m lucky that happened. There’s just so much more riding on it [compared to Academy football]. I loved scoring every goal I’ve scored for this Academy, of course.
“I think when you go out professionally in the men’s game and it means everything to everybody.
“Fans who pay hard earned money and work all week to be able to go to the game on the weekend, it’s so special to give them joy.
“Thankfully that’s what we did and it was an amazing feeling.”
A lifelong City supporter and grandson of Club legends Glyn Pardoe and Mike Doyle, the midfielder excellently progressed through our Academy after joining the Club at the age of eight.
He then consistently impressed throughout each age group he spectacularly featured in – winning the Premier League Player of the Tournament for three successive years while winning competitions in sky blue.
The 21-year-old then achieved his lifetime ambition by making his debut for Pep Guardiola’s side in a Carabao Cup victory over Southampton in 2020.
And Doyle believes the exposure to elite coaches and facilities hugely helps fellow Academy graduates when they step into senior football.
Doyle added: “How you get coached [is hugely valuable]. You’re obviously technically ahead of a lot of people on how you’ve grown up and taught. But also the way you win and how you win.
“I’m used to winning at lot here [at City] so I kind of have a mentality of wherever I go I want to win and to win promotion with Sheffield United was such a special thing for me. A magical experience for me.
“I think a lot of it is to do with the lads and the mentality you have.
“I think it’s just down to the player and the mentality you have, obviously I was with James [McAtee at Sheffield United] and we helped each other and that’s what you need sometimes.
“Our mentality just came together with the other lads and it was obviously a special place.”
“He’s someone you could tell really thinks about what he does and goes away wanting to learn, get better and improve professionally.”
James Shield, Sheffield United reporter
Doyle’s style of play could be filed into the modern box-to-box midfielder who can nullify opposition attacks while igniting his own.
The England Under-21s international emits a steely determination whether it’s to gain his side a vital three points or to win the battle for places on the field.
Those remarkable characteristics were certainly on show last season as he cemented his position in Heckingbottom’s side.
“It wasn’t an immediate success or failure, but he didn’t explode onto the scene”, Sheffield Star sport reporter James Shield expressed.
“He had a set-back when he started because he picked up an injury in pre-season which put him back and you could tell how desperate he was to play. He just wanted to play football.
“That I’m sure would’ve hit him quite hard because he missed a large period of pre-season, but again he just fought his way into the team.
“There was no sense of the fact that ‘I’m here from City, so I should automatically be ahead of someone else’. He just got his head down, worked and fought.
“At the start, it was a difficult midfield to get into and I give him credit for even agreeing to come to Sheffield United in the first place. I think there could’ve been ‘easier’ clubs for him to go to.
“Tommy just worked his way into the team, he showed real focus, no entitlement whatsoever and a huge amount of respect for the players around him and the ability they have.
“What senior members of the team were impressed with Tommy was he was prepared to listen.
“Tommy was just a really nice bloke and he’s not old, but I always got the impression I was speaking to someone 10 years older than what he actually is – which is really impressive.
“He really is an old head on young shoulders.”
Following the 2022 World Cup break across November and December, the pressure on Sheffield United reached fever pitch as the battle for promotion took shape.
Middlesbrough surged towards the top two under new boss Michael Carrick and all eyes were on the battle between Boro and the Blades for who would get the final automatic pathway to the Premier League win runaway leaders Burnley at the summit.
Rather than shrink under the added focus, Sheffield United thrived and booked their place in the top flight – with Doyle one of the leading figures in delivering the message of stability and success.
Shield added: “[He’s] technically really strong.
“He was clearly an already important player for Sheffield United, but during that period when it was all on them and the real crunch point in the season and pivotal moment around March.
“You really saw Tommy then [come to the fore]. This was really impressive as well because it was two loan players among the group who decided ‘lets put all this chat about going into the play-offs to bed, lets go and show how good we are’.
“Tommy was one of the drivers behind that. The player he is, he’s technically very sound and he was always wanting to receive the ball.
“He was confident to receive the ball under pressure because he knew he could deal with it. Ollie Norwood was happy to give Tommy the ball in tight areas when they played together.
“That’s because Ollie, who know what it takes to win promotion, was willing to do it.
“He has a really good engine in him, so if you’ve got sound technique and a good engine that’s a good starting point.
“He’s someone you could tell really thinks about what he does and goes away wanting to learn, get better and wants to improve professionally.
“He really invested in the football club and that earnt him so much respect from the fans as well.”
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