Is Doyle our lucky mascot? Undefeated since he joined us. However, he is having as much luck as ALF in front of goal. As usual our scant possession results in few chances for our strikers. As ALF had a good strike rate with his previous clubs, Doyle did as well, if not better, at Chesterfield. Doyle performs in much the same way as ALF. He runs the channels, puts pressure on defenders but, so far, can't beat the opposing keeper - and is pretty useless in the air. He had a good chance cleared off the line last week and Huddersfield's keeper made a great save on Saturday (yes, I know it was from a header). As with ALF he needs early ball from midfield, on the ground, so he can run off the defender's shoulder. Unfortunately that is not happening. How long before his head starts to drop as did ALF's and he is scratching around for any opportunity? I suppose the difference is the side is on a good run and dressing room morale must be good and that will help bolster his confidence. I hope he notches soon, if only to give me prediction league points as I am predicting him to score every game. Funny, though, I did the same for ALF...........
I think Doyle's been unlucky in the few games he's had so far. Some very good efforts on target have been cleared off the line - they could easily have gone in but for some last ditch defending and a fantastic reflex save from the Huddersfield keeper. ALF on the other hand often failed to hit the target at all and has blasted over the top or wide of the sticks. Doyle had a decent baptism against Wednesday and was then benched for the Brighton game in favour of a sort of 4-5-1 setup with Jones up top. He's been lively since then and runs the channels well, but lacks the coolness on the ball that Joe Mason could bring to the party. There's no doubt that Doyle needs a goal to set him self up at this level and if he does all well and good. If he doesn't over the next few games, we could see Mason being given a shot just behind the front man. Although he isn't the same sort of striker as Doyle, Mason can finish as well as anyone at the club.
