Every so often a player finds a club where things just click. There are many players that traverse the varied landscapes of football, straying far from a club where they experienced initial success, and never hit those heights again.
The return of Stephen Dobbie to Queen of the South in 2016 raised some eyebrows. This was a player that made 24 appearances in the English Championship last season, scoring four goals in the process. As a general rule, experienced players don’t make the move from English Championship football to Scottish Championship football.
Dobbie has an impressive CV, even by the standard of a journeyman footballer. He has played for 13 clubs, from Rangers to Fleetwood Town and even making a stop in Australia to play for Northern Spirit.
He has played top flight football in England and Scotland, he has been a runner up in both a Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup final and won promotion to the English Premier League on three occasions with three different clubs.
At the vast majority of these clubs Dobbie’s stay has been short-lived. He has rarely been at a club permanently for a period of more than two seasons and his appearances for most barely trouble 40.
The player is not known for his pace, and a perceived lack of mobility has seen him employed in an attacking midfield role as much as in his preferred position as a striker.
At Queen of the South he has the freedom to lead the line of attack. He is the big fish in a small pond and one of the first names on the team sheet. In Dumfries, things just seem to click.
His first spell with the club was an enormous success. Having started at the very highest level in the Scottish game the trajectory of his career was headed in only one direction. A spell at Hibs led to St Johnstone, which led to Dumbarton and Third Division football.
Impressive performances saw First Division Queen of the South take a chance on him in 2007. He repaid their faith with a phenomenal return. Not only did he manage 36 league appearances but he scored 16 goals for the Doonhamers. This was supplemented by three goals in a Cup run which would see the plucky side reach the final.
His second season was even better. A phenomenal return of 24 league goals in 33 games, including four in the space of 13 minutes against Clyde, meant that bigger clubs had started to take notice.
A move to Swansea and the relative glamour of the Liberty Stadium followed. He was even afforded a chance in the Premier League. A far cry from Dumbarton.
Moves between several lower league English clubs followed, with varying degrees of success, culminating with a move to troubled Bolton in 2015.
As the end of the season approached Dobbie began to consider his options. While he had offers from clubs down south, it was a move to Palmerston that took his fancy.
His return has been an enormous success thus far. His experience has been invaluable to lifting he performances of players around him and his return of six league goals in six games has been vital to lifting the Dumfries side to the summit of the First Division table.
The player has made it clear that promotion is a realistic aim for his side this season, and with his track record of winning promotions he may just be proven right at the end of the season.
It would be harsh to label Dobbie as a player that has only been successful at one club as he has played for a lot of big teams and in big leagues. However, at Queen of the South he can do no wrong. He is happy to be back at his footballing home and as long as he keeps scoring goals, the Queens fans will be delighted too.
Written by Stuart Monteith