Christian Doidge – Euro 2020 or not?

As Wales’ search for a prolific goal-scorer goes on, there is one man who has been quietly doing the business up in Scotland for Hibernian, but not many in Wales know the name Christian Doidge. Not many players make the jump from the Welsh Premier League to the Football League but Doidge is one of them who has and has made an impact.

Having started off his youth career at Southampton, he was released after three years after being told by the south coast club that he wasn’t tall enough to make it as a centre forward, he then tried his luck at Bristol Rovers but was released at the age of 15 in 2008. Doidge started his career in the Welsh system after signing for Welsh Football League Division two side Cwmbran Celtic in 2009, before spells at Croesyceiliog and Barry Town, before eventually signing for WPL side Carmarthen Town in January 2013. In just his second game, Doidge netted for Carmarthen, in his first few months at the club he only scored twice but it was in the 2013/14 season that Doidge made his name among the fans of clubs in the WPL. During that season Doidge scored 17 goals and funnily enough, made a point of being one of the best headers of the ball in the league. During his time at Carmarthen he scored 19 goals in 43 games, in April 2014 he joined Newport County on a week’s trial but no move materialized.
In July 2014, Doidge earned his move to the Football League, joining League Two outfit Dagenham & Redbridge. In a bizarre twist, Dagenham then pulled out of the deal after discovering there was a fee to be paid, initially believing it to be a free transfer, eventually a deal was agreed and in August 2014 Doidge joined them, signing a two-year deal. Doidge struggled with the Daggers after injuries kept him out of the side, playing only 241 minutes of the 2014-15 for Dagenham & Redbridge, having played more during a month’s loan at Dartford. Doidge returned to Dagenham for the 2015/16 season and played regularly appearing in 35 out of 46 league games and scoring 8 goals, ending up as the club’s top goalscorer and winning the the club’s player of the year and the supporters’ player of the year.

After Dagenham & Redbridge were relegated to the National League at the end of the 2015/16 season, Doidge joined Forest Green Rovers in June 2016. It was at Forest Green where Doidge found his goal scoring touch, in his first season he netted 27 times and scored in a 3-1 victory over Tranmere Rovers in the play-off final at Wembley which saw Forest Green reach the Football League. Doidge’s form in front of goal continued during the 2017/18 season as he scored 20 goals for Forest Green as they enjoyed a solid first season in the Football League. Doidge’s exploits in front of goals had gained attention of clubs higher in the Football League pyramid and after starting the 2018/19 season on fire after scoring 4 goals in 5 games and on deadline day earned his move to the Championship.
Doidge signed for Bolton Wanderers on August 31, 2018 with the deal due to be made permanent in January 2019. Unfortunately for Doidge, his time with the Lancashire club was marred by the financial trouble the club after they were placed under a transfer embargo, Doidge however did net once during his troubled spell at The Macron. However that goal came in front of the travelling fans who had made their way to Rotherham. During the January that Doidge was meant to be moving to Bolton permanently, a public dispute between Forest Green and Bolton meant the move was off after Forest Green Chairman, Dale Vince accused Bolton of ”contractual breaches” and with Bolton not having the means of paying Forest Green the agreed £1 million fee, Doidge returned to the League Two club. Doidge played a further 22 games for Forest Green and found the net 10 times after his move to Bolton collapsed.

Following the collapse of his move to Bolton, Doidge stated that he was ”glad” the move fell through after the uncertainty about his future earlier in the year. On the 25th of June, 2019 in perhaps a surprising move, Doidge ventured up north and signed for Hibernian of the Scottish Premiership. Doidge has started life in Edinburgh with a bang after scoring 15 goals in 30 games and now he has caught the eye of Welsh football fans, who are searching for the man who can put the ball in the net. Kieffer Moore is the main man in the eyes of Ryan Giggs at the moment, but with the consistency Doidge is providing, he may well be a worthy option and in many people’s views should be getting a call-up to the squad for the upcoming friendlies against Austria and the USA.

Christian Doidge is a striker in form and has a knack of scoring important goals for Hibernian, Wales are in desperate need of a goalscorer and Doidge could very well be the man to score them. It would also be a coup for the Welsh Football League to see a player who made his name in the WPL reach the Wales squad and possibly Euro 2020. It’s been an interesting ride for him already and there is every possibility that Doidge could be the man that proves all the difference for his country at Euro 2020.