Former Manchester City captain Mike Doyle has died at the age of 64, the club have confirmed. He leaves behind his wife Cheryl, sons Scott and Grant and daughters Stephanie and Natalie.
Doyle was part of the City team which won the league title, FA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup between 1968 and 1970, and skippered the side which won the League Cup again in 1976.
He made over 550 appearances for the Blues before moving on to Stoke, Bolton and then Rochdale, and won five England caps.
Dennis Tueart, who scored the winning goal for City in the 1976 final, told Sky Sports News: "It was a great shock this morning - I didn't know he was ill.
"Asa Hartford, another one of my colleagues in the 1976 team, texted me to give me the news and it is very sad.
"Mike was a born winner. He had two periods really as a great player for Manchester City.
"He was one of the younger players in the Joe Mercer-Malcolm Allison era, but when I came in 1974 he then became my captain and there was no question, he was a fantastic leader on the field.
"The one thing Mike wanted to do was win games for Manchester City.
"At the end of the game when the final whistle went he went straight across to the Manchester City supporters to acknowledge their support and (it showed) the feeling he had for the club.
"I know I got all the praise for the winning goal, but in my mind Mike was our player of the match, without question."
City ambassador and Doyle's former team-mate Mike Summerbee told www.mcfc.co.uk: "He was the heart and soul of Manchester City, the club meant everything to him.
"Mike was somebody you always wanted alongside you when the going got tough.
"He was a great footballer, a magnificent servant to this club, and he was also a nice bloke into the bargain."
Doyle, who had been battling ill health for the past 12 months, was being treated in Tameside Hospital and passed away after suffering liver failure.
