Midfielder Tommy Doyle discusses the ups and downs of his early days as a young footballer when he was trying to make his way into the game.
Who was your role model when you were growing up?
Probably Steven Gerrard. He was one of the main ones I would try to base my game on, but growing up at Man City, he wasn’t someone I was meant to support and want to do well. But he was a complete midfielder and he was a good example of someone you try to build your game off.
Did you have a mentor who helped guide you?
I was fortunate with my grandads who both played for City for a long time, but my mum and dad were both people who really helped me a lot. Then I had the coaches at City who were all very good, so I tried to learn off a lot of people, not just one person. I was fortunate that I had quite a lot of people who helped me, and I had a really good support network behind me.
What setbacks did you have to overcome?
I only really had one injury with my foot that I had to overcome when I was 17 in the Euros and that was difficult, but other than that, you get natural setbacks in football that you always have to deal with, it could be stuff off the pitch as well that could be affecting you, but I’ve always tried to stay strong mentally and I’ve been able to deal with everything I’ve faced.
What was your biggest success as a young player?
Being at City I won quite a lot as when I was younger. We used to play in all the Premier League tournaments and I think we won that most years, and it was always good to win those. We kind of dominated a lot in anything we did, so I was fortunate to have a lot of success in academy life. You have a lot of opportunities at City because they play in a lot of big tournaments across the world, a lot of big occasions, so I was very fortunate.
Do you have any moments you still remember from that time?
It was weird because we just used to win a lot, so most games were enjoyable, especially when you would play against the top six teams and you would win, they were always special occasions. We used to play United a lot and we were able to hand out some good beatings to them which for a derby is always nice to beat your rivals.
What have you learned most between then and now?
I’ve learned how much the level improves as you get older. You have to make less mistakes on the pitch and you get punished a lot more then higher up you go, but it’s all been really enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed every stop up I’ve made because I think it’s good to test yourself against better opposition, and I’m still continuing to do that now.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2023/24 matchday programme. Last season's programmes - as well as the ones published so far from the current campaign - are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
