It was no secret that the Colorado Rapids were struggling to score goals down the stretch of the 2014 season. As a result, the Rapids were hard at work during the offseason in search of a new striker to provide scoring, leadership and most importantly to fill the shoes of Deshorn Brown who made an appearance in 30 of last year’s 34 matches. Brown’s departure for the Norwegian professional league was official in March, which is right around the same time the Rapids announced they had reached a deal with the 31-year-old forward from the Republic of Ireland, Kevin Doyle.
The Rapids finished the deal with Kevin Doyle while he was still in the midst of his season with the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Both sides were under the assumption that Doyle would be arriving to Colorado once the Wolverhampton season was over, however, he will be arriving a bit sooner than planned. The Wanderers, who play in England’s second division, have eliminated themselves from contention of ascending to the Premier League. Thus, Kevin Doyle has been released of his duties with Wolverhampton and is now on his way to help the Rapids attack, one that is having a hard time scoring goals once again.
The only obstacle that stands in the way of Doyle joining the Rapids’ roster officially is the arrival of his P-1 visa and ITC. In 2013, Vicente Sanchez took only two days to receive the same P-1 visa and ITC and be available for play after officially signing with Colorado so we should expect to see Doyle in uniform soon. In an interview with the official Wolverhampton website in March, Doyle was asked about the signing, “It’s a big move, moving to America with two young kids, but I think we are really excited and really looking forward to it.”
With only nine games played, it is still early enough in the season for Kevin Doyle to help the Colorado Rapids get back into contention. In the Western Conference, Colorado currently sits at nine points, which is four points away from a playoff spot (13 pts.) and eight points away from the first place teams, FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (17 pts.).