We hear time and time again that footballers are vastly over paid and don’t live in the real world, but is that fair? Doubtless in some cases it is, but this is a tribute to one man who could not be further removed from that particular view.
I speak of Colin Doyle who has just been released after fifteen years loyal service at Birmingham City FC. Colin has loyally stayed at the club as understudy goalkeeper for his whole career and seen other ‘keepers come and go as he patiently worked hard to try and force his way into the side.
Yes, he has had loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Millwall among others, yet despite his popularity with the fans, he could never quite force his way into the side.
Colin was born in Cork and as a child played Gaelic sports before turning to football which led to him been snapped up for the academy by then Birmingham manager Trevor Francis. After signing professional forms, it was Steve Bruce who gave Colin his first team debut in a pre-season tournament in Malaysia where he replaced Ian Bennett in a live televised game. He settled down as back up to Bennett, Nico Vaesen and then Maik Taylor patiently awaiting his competitive debut.
After numerous loan periods and the odd cup game for Birmingham, Colin finally got his big breakthrough in 2007 when Taylor was injured and Doyle took over. He impressed so much that he soon became not only a fans’ favourite, but manager Steve Bruce himself waxed lyrical especially after a world-class performance against Wolves at Molineux.
The game was live on TV, and Birmingham had to win to put themselves in pole position for automatic promotion. Colin played the game of his life, especially when Birmingham went into a 3-2 lead in the second half in a remarkable game. Whatever Wolves threw at Doyle, they just couldn’t beat him as he made double and even triple saves that the goalkeeping greats would have been proud of. Near the end of the game, Wolves gained a penalty but Colin yet again pulled off a brilliant save ensuring the points went back to St. Andrews.
Off the back of his performances he was called up by the Republic of Ireland, and later that summer he made his international debut. For the new Premier League season, Colin was first choice for the opening game against Chelsea but sadly things didn’t go well and he was left out for the next game; in the views of many fans, this was an unfair decision. He would have to wait until the play-offs in 2012 to be first choice again, after injury to Boaz Myhill, as the season ended in disappointment against Blackpool. He made just 31 appearances for the club but never ever let the club down giving them fine service and it’s sad that Colin has been released !
However it’s away from football that we find the real story about Colin Doyle. Colin and wife Becky have three children, the youngest of which, Liam, suffers from meningitis. Some fans have accused Colin of having no ambition and just content to sit on the bench but they have no idea of the truth.
For example, Colin would often spend the night in hospital with his son without sleep, then go off to do his job at the club without even thinking otherwise. One such occasion was a day that Colin was due to play against Chelsea, when he got up off the hospital floor and went off to play in the match. What makes this even more remarkable is that he saved a penalty from Juan Mata, but afterwards there was no glory, no thoughts of celebrating; it was straight back to the hospital to carry on looking after Liam. Astonishing if you think about it that he even played that day!
Colin and Becky have set up “Liam’s Smiles” Foundation to raise funds for the ongoing fight against meningitis and with the help of the club especially have raised an awful lot of money. He may have been released from the club now, but manager Gary Rowett is making one massive gesture for the Foundation.
Gary has offered to run the London Marathon in 2016 to raise money for “Liam’s Smiles” which is a fine gesture by him, especially considering he has released Doyle.
So there you go, next time you accuse any sportsman of not having ambition or taking the easy way, just stop and ask yourself why that may be. As for Colin Doyle, along with every other Birmingham fan, I wish him the best in his future career.
