Ronnie Coyle (4 August 1964 – 12 April 2011) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender.

Early life

Coyle was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and educated at St. Gerard's Secondary School. Coyle played for Celtic Boys Club and the Scotland Under-15 schoolboy honours team, alongside, among others,

Paul McStay Paul Michael Lyons McStay, (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent his entire career with Celtic, making his senior debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997. He captained both Scotland and Celtic at all age lev ...

, John Robertson and Ally Dick, which defeated

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

5–4 in 1980.

Career

Coyle began his professional career as a youngster with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. After just two appearances and a loan period with Clyde, Coyle had a brief spell with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

before moving to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. After a year with Rochdale, Coyle moved to

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

club

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

in 1988. In his eight years with Rovers, Coyle won two

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

titles and a League Cup, also playing in Raith's only season in Europe. After helping Rovers secure a mid-table finish in the Premier Division, Coyle moved on to

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

, where he spent a season before similar spells with

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...

and East Fife. Coyle finished his career with Queen's Park. Coyle – who moved out of football and worked in sales and marketing back in his native

– was part of a number of former Raith players who lent his weight to the 'Reclaim the Rovers' campaign, taking part in a fundraising walk in the summer of 2005. In April 2009 Coyle was diagnosed with a form of leukaemia for which he was admitted to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. On 27 March 2011

hosted a benefit match for him involving their 1994 Coca-Cola Cup winning team and the

runners-up team with Celtic coming out on top 4–2 on penalties after a 3–3 draw. Coyle died just weeks later on 12 April 2011 from the disease he had battled. He was survived by his wife Joan and their three children, Kevin, Briony and Georgia.

Honours

;Raith Rovers *

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

: 2 :: 1992–93, 1994–95 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1 :: 1994–95 ;Ayr United *

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

: 1 :: 1996–97

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, Ronnie Scottish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Celtic F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players 1964 births 2011 deaths Deaths from leukemia in Scotland Footballers from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish sportsmen