By Gareth Thomson

The Solihull Barons this week set internet forums and twitter feeds alight with the shock signing of Perry Doyle, one of the most colourful and controversial characters to emerge from the UK hockey scene over the last twenty years.

The move raised the eyebrows of many. It has been over a decade since Doyle played competitive hockey and his more recent troubles have been well documented. So what was behind Baron's coach Darren Bellerby's thinking ?

"I've known Perry for over thirty years so I've seen all sides to him. You know it could be either one of my best decisions, or one of my worst mistakes. He approached me a few weeks back to see if there were any possibilities of playing, he was a legend here, was making all the right sort of noises about the team and is keen to move on with his life. I spoke to Chris (Captain & Assistant Coach, Chris Allen) and John (Butler, Barons Chairman) and having given it a good deal of thought we decided to give him a chance."

Doyle has had a successful hockey career playing for the likes of the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers together with Solihull sides in both Barons and Blaze guise. A highly physical defenceman, whose penalty minutes always took precedence over his points production, Doyle was very much a fan-favourite in the Hobs Moat rink of the late 90's, particularly when playing alongside his equally competitive netminder brother Stephen.

It is these physical qualities which Bellerby hopes will fill a gap in the Barons squad.

"I want the young kids to play with confidence. We have some great kids coming through and for all the dressing room bravado it is easy for them to take a few knocks to the confidence when playing against some of the old heads in the opposition who can give them a bit of a hard time. If teams want to come and try to intimidate, that's fine, they can try to intimidate Perry, and leave the youngsters to play their game."

Despite the time away from the game Bellerby was also impressed by Doyles performance in training. "He's physically very fit - his day job is as a training instructor but he hasn't lost it out on the ice either. He's moving really well and that is only going to get better as he's only been training with us for a couple of weeks."

Perry Doyle put in appearance at the last Barons match to present the Man of the Match award to Solihull Captain Chris Allen.

"Perry knows his role and it is one he is keen to show he can still do but I am looking forward to seeing how we can make the most of him. At 6 foot 8 in his skates he is a real big body and he's going to be difficult to move from around the opposition goal crease on the powerplay. He certainly ain't going to be phased by any of the chippy stuff around the net."

With his registration having come through in the last day or two Perry Doyle will pull on the #24 Barons shirt on the 30th December when Solihull take on historic rivals the Telford Titans in a West Midlands challenge cup fixture. What better way to spice up the middle of the holiday period ? Make sure you get down to Hobs Moat to catch the game.

NEXT HOME GAME Sunday 30th December Face-off 6pm Adults £6, Concessions £3, Family tickets £16 (2 adults & up to 3 children).