The best Wolves player in 30 years

Wolves' Sporting Star columnist John Lalley has been thrown back to a bygone age watching Kevin Doyle flourish in a gold and black shirt this season.

Former Wolves manager Mark McGhee's alter ego Rab C Nesbitt returned to our TV screens a week or two ago and immediately gave us a taste of his homespun philosophy - Rab grumbled that 'life is a failure punctuated by strange wee moments of elation.'

The Tottenham match last week sure was one of those 'wee moments' after the failure of St.Andrew's and Wolves will need a few more of them between now and the end of the season to ensure our survival.

You know, we might just do it. Like Liverpool before them, Spurs simply did not live up to their pre-match billing at Molineux, but in no way should that detract from the merit of our performance. To have twice out-battled a team with genuine aspirations of a Champions League berth, is no mean achievement.

When Blues won all too easily at Molineux back in November, we responded immediately with the White Hart Lane success and a vital win against Bolton. With a trip to the Reebok looming next week, we have the opportunity of gaining a second 'double' and, by doing so, inflict some real damage on one of fellow strugglers.

All speculation of course, but our entire season has fluctuated between hope and despair, elation and lacerating criticism, so it's likely that all manner of conflicting emotions will continue to overlap until Sunderland arrive at Molineux for the final game on May 9.

How it will all pan out and, whether we survive or not, who knows? But I'd like to be definitive with one observation regarding this season and that is Kevin Doyle is the best player I've seen in a Wolves shirt in the last 30 years.

Indeed, come March, it will be 30 years since we won a major trophy in a Wembley team containing three of Wolves all time greats. Derek Parkin, Kenny Hibbitt and John Richards were all 1980 winners but were all better players in 1974, when the trio first tasted success in a League Cup final.

Steve Bull of course currently leads Doyle by a cool 300 in goal scoring terms and there is simply no arguing with such a statistic, but as a pure footballer operating in circumstances at times bordering on the impossible, Doyle has been absolutely phenomenal.

He won't be at Molineux anywhere near as long as Parkin, Hibbitt, Richards and Bull were, displays of loyalty as shown by four such terrific professionals is a virtue long gone in modern football.

Regardless of our finishing position this season, Doyle's Molineux career will be comparatively brief, so we should savour his contribution while we can.

Remarkably, the Republic of Ireland international has flourished as a frontrunner after being charged with virtually doubling his workload. The failure of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – for the time being at least – to adapt to top level football has left Doyle to forage alone in attack and his response has been truly brilliant.

Richards enjoyed the cunning of Derek Dougan and Bully fed off Andy Mutch, but for Doyle there are no such supportive outlets, he makes do strictly on his tod. What an incredible job he makes of it!

For me, Doyle first showed us his true ability against Manchester City at Eastlands back in August. Richard Dunne was given a torrid second-half examination by his fellow Irishman that afternoon – not the ideal way to bid farewell before joining Villa. From then on, Doyle has shouldered a massive responsibility in a struggling side.

On occasions, he has been our single shining light in the face of some depressing defeats. How sickened he must have felt after the final whistle at St Andrew's.

After another master class performance spent pulling from pillar to post the much admired Blues central defenders Johnson and Dann, his efforts counted for zero, but three days later, his professionalism ensured yet another virtuoso performance against Spurs, and this time he was not to be denied.

Before that the Liverpool game, a number of pundits were sniggering when Mick McCarthy positively eulogised over Doyle's performance. Maybe the manager did get a tad excited but he still expressed a very valid point.

That night, Doyle unveiled his full repertoire of skills. A superb first touch, intelligent awareness of space, clever running into attacking channels, an ability to make the ball 'stick' and buy time for overworked defenders, excellent use of possession, strength and total commitment. It was all done totally unselfishly with the team ethic paramount and it was a superb display.

A couple of days later, I had the misfortune of stumbling across the Sky Sports ex-professionals pension scheme. Matthew Le Tissier, Phil Thompson, Bonnie Prince Charlie George and wide boy Paul Merson all laughing and wisecracking in company with dear old Jeff Stelling.

They were happily poking fun at McCarthy's comments about Doyle, while Merson piped up that he had been watching the Liverpool game on his monitor in the studio and never once felt inclined to mention Doyle's name.

"I musta missed suffin" mumbled Merse. You certainly did mate; try watching next time. I know I will, because you can't beat the odd wee moment of elation!