Michael Doyle (footballer, born 1991)

James Michael Doyle (born 1 August 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club Cove Rangers. His youth career was spent at Celtic, then Kilmarnock, without having made any first-team appearances. Doyle has since played for Alloa Athletic, St Johnstone, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South, Falkirk, Queen's Park and Hamilton Academical.

James Michael Doyle

Personal information
Full name	James Michael Doyle
Date of birth	(1991-08-01) 1 August 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Cove Rangers
Number	3
Youth career
2003–2005	Hamilton Academical
2005–2009	Celtic
2009–2011	Kilmarnock
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	Kilmarnock	0	(0)
2011	→ Stirling Albion (loan)	19	(0)
2011–2016	Alloa Athletic	147	(2)
2016	St Johnstone	2	(0)
2016–2018	Greenock Morton	64	(1)
2018–2019	Queen of the South	35	(2)
2019–2020	Falkirk	28	(3)
2020–2022	Queen's Park	56	(3)
2022–2023	Hamilton Academical	21	(0)
2023	→ Alloa Athletic (loan)	5	(0)
2023–	Cove Rangers	26	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:03, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

Career

Doyle began his career as a youth player with Celtic^[2] before joining Kilmarnock at under-19 level.^[3][4]

Stirling Albion

In January 2011, Doyle signed on loan for Scottish First Division club Stirling Albion and made his first-team debut on 2 January 2011, in a 4–2 defeat versus Falkirk.^[5] Doyle featured in 19 league matches for the Binos.

Alloa Athletic

On 12 July 2011, Doyle signed for Scottish Third Division club Alloa Athletic^[6] after impressing on trial during pre-season.^[7] Doyle's first-team debut was on 23 July 2011, versus Peterhead in the Challenge Cup^[8] and his league debut was on 6 August 2011, versus Stranraer in a 3–2 win at Stair Park.^[9] Doyle scored his first competitive goal on 17 September 2011, versus Queen's Park.^[10] Doyle featured in 132 league matches and scored two league goals for the Wasps.

St. Johnstone

Doyle signed for St Johnstone on 4 February 2016, as cover for club captain, Dave Mackay who had been ruled out for the rest of that season with a hip injury,^[11] although he eventually only featured in two league matches.

Greenock Morton

In May 2016, Doyle signed for Championship club Greenock Morton^[12] and although he extended his contract with the Greenock club for a further year, Doyle was then released in the close season of 2018, having featured in 64 league matches and scoring one goal.^[13]

Queen of the South

On 13 July 2018, Doyle signed a one-year contract with Dumfries club Queen of the South after featuring in two pre-season friendly matches at Palmerston Park versus Livingston and Hearts respectively.^[14]

Falkirk

On 21 June 2019, Doyle signed a two-year contract with Scottish League One club Falkirk.^[15]

Queen's Park

On 28 July 2020, Doyle signed for Queen's Park.^[16]

Hamilton Academical

In July 2022 Doyle moved to Hamilton Academical.^[17]

In February 2023, Doyle joined Alloa Athletic on loan.^[18] He was released by Hamilton at the end of the season.

Cove Rangers

After several months out with an injury sustained as a trialist, Doyle signed with Cove Rangers in October 2023.^[19][20]

Career statistics

As of 15 January 2021

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			Scottish Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kilmarnock	2010–11[21]	Scottish Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stirling Albion (loan)	2010–11[21]	Scottish First Division	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
Alloa Athletic	2011–12[22][23]	Scottish Third Division	36	2	2	0	1	0	1[a]	0	40	2
	2012–13[24][23]	Scottish Second Division	27	0	1	0	1	0	5[b]	0	34	0
	2013–14[25]	Scottish Championship	36	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	40	0
	2014–15[26]	Scottish Championship	35	0	3	0	2	0	8[c]	0	48	0
	2015–16[27]	Scottish Championship	13	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	Total		147	2	9	0	6	0	14	0	176	2
St Johnstone	2015–16[27]	Scottish Premiership	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Greenock Morton	2016–17[28]	Scottish Championship	29	0	2	0	7	0	3[d]	0	41	0
	2017–18[29]	Scottish Championship	35	1	3	0	4	0	1[a]	0	43	1
	Total		64	1	5	0	11	0	4	0	84	1
Queen of the South	2018–19[30]	Scottish Championship	35	2	4	0	5	0	7[e]	1	51	3
Falkirk	2019–20[31]	Scottish League One	28	3	4	0	4	0	1[a]	0	37	3
Queen's Park	2020–21[32]	Scottish League Two	9	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	14	0
Career total			304	8	23	0	30	0	26	1	383	9

1. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
2. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and four appearances in the Scottish First Division play-offs
3. Five appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup and three appearances in the Scottish Championship play-offs
4. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
5. Three appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup and four appearances and one goal in the Scottish Championship play-offs

Honours

• Scottish Third Division: 2011–12