DOYLEY’S DAY HAD TO COME WITH A1 ATTITUDE
AIDY BOOTHROYD called him ‘The Black Zidane’. Watford fans christened him Lloydinho. Neither with an entirely straight face.
Lloyd Doyley was never the most skilful player at Vicarage Road. He had the touch of a lump hammer, passed like he was wearing rigger boots.
It took the full-back 269 games to score his first goal for the Hornets, prompting a run of T-shirts bearing the slogan ‘I was there when Lloyd scored’.
But there’s a reason Doyley made 443 appearances for the club, his longevity matched only by his cult popularity.
From Boothroyd to Malky Mackay, Sean Dyche to Gianfranco Zola, all of them saw the sliced clearances and misplaced back-passes and dumped Doyley on the bench.
Yet everyone brought him back, won over by the effort, commitment and good-natured professionalism Doyley brought to every training second of his professional career. The bloke would have played for free, and Watford fans loved him for it.
That’s why the last few months must have been so tough for the 33-year-old. Released by Watford in May, trials at Charlton, Bristol City, QPR and Gillingham all came to nothing. A year out threatened to be something worse.
But, just as at Watford, Doyley refused to give up and this week got his reward with a short-term deal at Rotherham. He’s exactly what the Millers need.