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Stephen Dobbie (born 5 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is currently the co-interim head coach of Blackpool.
He started his career in the 2002–03 season at Rangers, followed by spells at Hibernian and St Johnstone. His career was revived by a loan spell at Dumbarton in 2006, and he then scored 55 goals in 105 appearances for Queen of the South in his first spell at Palmerston Park, playing in the club's first-ever appearance in the Scottish Cup final in 2008.
Dobbie moved to Swansea City in 2009. The following year, he was loaned to Blackpool, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League via the 2010 play-offs. He achieved the same feat with Swansea, winning promotion to the Premier League via the 2011 play-offs. Dobbie was again loaned to Blackpool in 2012, and played in a third successive play-off final, this time as a runner-up. In 2012, he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, before joining Crystal Palace, initially on loan, where he helped the Eagles to win promotion in 2013 to the Premier League.
Dobbie had a third spell on loan at Blackpool, and also played for Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers, before returning to Scotland in August 2016 to sign for Queen of the South for a second spell. With the Dumfries he scored a further 111 goals in 178 appearances. Overall, Dobbie scored 166 goals in 283 appearances. Dobbie is Queen of the South's second-highest goalscorer of all time and the club's record scorer for a single season (43 goals in the 2018–19 season). In 2021, after his release by Queen of the South, he made his return to Lancashire, signing for AFC Fylde in the National League North.
On 5 February 2004, in the semi-final of that season's Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park against Rangers, Dobbie scored the equalising goal in the 79th minute. The match ended 1–1 after extra time, and Hibs won 4–3 on penalties. Despite this, Dobbie failed to win a regular place in the Hibernian first team as Garry O'Connor and Derek Riordan were preferred to him. He was a 70th-minute substitute in the 2004 Scottish League Cup Final defeat by Livingston; Hibs lost 2–0.
Dobbie made a total of 33 appearances, scoring six goals that season. On 3 July 2004, he made his European debut in the second round of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, as a 76th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw with Lithuanian A Lyga club Vėtra at Easter Road. Dobbie then started the 2004–05 season with Hibernian, with seven league appearances and five cup appearances.
He scored his first goal for Saints in a 4–0 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill Stadium on 16 April 2005. He had eight appearances for the club that season, scoring two goals. The transfer to the Perth club was made permanent in the 2005 close season, with Dobbie making 27 appearances and scoring five goals in the 2005–06 season.
His first goal arrived in his second match for the club in a 3–1 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the Caledonian Stadium in the second round of the Scottish League Cup. Dobbie had 18 appearances on loan at the Sons, scoring eleven goals.
On 19 January 2008, Dobbie scored his first hat-trick for Queen of the South against Greenock Morton in a 3–0 league win at Cappielow. The goals were scored in the 65th, 73rd and 84th minutes.
With Gordon Chisholm appointed manager for the 2007–08 season, Dobbie and Queens embarked on a club history-making Scottish Cup adventure. Dobbie scored a brace in the third round as Queens defeated Peterhead 5–0 at the Balmoor Stadium on 24 November 2007. Dobbie scored another goal in the fourth round 4–0 home win over Linlithgow Rose on 12 January 2008. Queens then defeated Greenock Morton 2–0 in the fifth round on 2 February 2008 at Cappielow Park.
Dobbie's opening goal in a 2–0 home win of the quarter-final match versus Dundee on 8 March 2008 at Palmerston Park helped Queens to their first Scottish Cup semi final since 1950. Queens second goal was scored by Ryan McCann with a notably long range shot from 84 yards. Queens then progressed to their first-ever Scottish Cup Final by defeating Aberdeen 4–3 in the semi-final on 12 April 2008. Dobbie started the semi-final at Hampden Park but had to be substituted as half-time approached due to an injury. Despite early second half goals by Steve Tosh and Jim Thomson, Queens were defeated 3–2 by Rangers in the final on 24 May 2008, with Dobbie being substituted in the 82nd minute. Dobbie was Queens' top goalscorer for the 2007–08 season, with 20 goals in a total of 44 games, as the club finished fourth in the First Division.
Dobbie played in Queens 2008–09 UEFA Cup campaign in August 2008, when they lost 4–2 over two legs to Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland in the second qualifying round. Despite being the most prolific goalscorer for the Dumfries club since Andy Thomson in the early 1990s, Chisholm elected to leave Dobbie out of the starting line-up for both matches, preferring Stewart Kean.
During the 2008–09 season, Dobbie scored 23 goals in 40 matches, including four in one match in a 7–1 home league win over Clyde on 25 April 2009, with all four goals arriving during a 13-minute spell during the second half, for his second Queens hat-trick. Dobbie won the First Division Player of the Month award for April 2009.
On 6 May 2009, Queens announced Dobbie was moving to Wales to play for Championship club Swansea City. Dobbie said of the move: "I'm sad to leave Queen of the South as I felt I'd struck up a good bond with the fans these past two and a half years. However, it's an offer I just couldn't refuse! I'd like to say a big thank-you to the manager, the players and coaching staff at Palmerston and I'll never forget my time there. If I'm not playing any week don't be surprised to see me in the stand watching Queens in action. Good luck to you all." Dobbie was the first player to transfer between the two clubs since Tommy Lang in 1938.
On 3 February 2010, Dobbie scored his first goal for the Seasiders on his debut in a 3–2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion at Bloomfield Road. On 6 February 2010 in his first full appearance, Dobbie scored in the 89th minute in a 2–1 home defeat to Leicester City. Dobbie scored a crucial goal in the play-off semi-final versus Nottingham Forest and this earned the Tangerines a place in the Wembley Stadium final. Dobbie was a second-half substitute in the 3–2 play-off final win versus Cardiff City.
Dobbie scored in a 4–0 home win versus Preston North End on 14 August 2010, his first goal in a year for the Swans and he dedicated his strike to Besian Idrizaj. The following month, Dobbie scored in the 13th minute, to place the Swans 1–0 ahead versus Leeds United but Swansea ended up losing the game 2–1. After Shefki Kuqi was loaned out to Derby County, Dobbie was the only fit and available striker at the Liberty Stadium, whilst Rodgers looked elsewhere for a striker on loan. West Ham striker Frank Nouble arrived at Swansea on a three-month loan deal, as competition for Dobbie up front. Dobbie was dropped to the substitutes bench and was later used and scored to give the Swans a 2–0 lead. On 28 September 2010, his next goal arrived away at Watford that merited the Swans a 3–2 victory.
From October 2010 until January 2011, Dobbie was only used as a substitute and failed to score any goals as he was replaced by Middlesbrough loan signing Marvin Emnes and a returning Craig Beattie. Dobbie was getting fewer chances in the first team when Jermaine Easter joined for a month on loan from Milton Keynes Dons. On 28 December 2010, in a home match versus Barnsley, Dobbie was given a rare starting place, alongside Jermaine Easter. Easter scored the only goal of the match and Dobbie impressed in what seemed to be an attacking midfield role.
After Luke Moore was signed from West Bromwich Albion, Dobbie continued to be an unused substitute. On 22 February 2011, away to Coventry City, Dobbie appeared from the substitute's bench to score the only goal in a 1–0 victory. This was Dobbie's first goal in five months. On 8 March 2011, Dobbie opened the scoring with an early goal at home to Watford, as the match finished in a 1–1 draw. Dobbie scored three goals in the last two games of the season that helped the Swans finish third in the division.
During the first leg of the semi-final play-off match away to Nottingham Forest, left back Neil Taylor was sent off after only one minute of play. Rodgers substituted Dobbie immediately after the sending off that enabled the Swans to have another defender on the pitch. Dobbie scored the second goal in the home leg versus Nottm Forest that helped secure Swansea a place in the final with a 3–1 aggregate win.
Dobbie then played in the play-off final at Wembley, a second successive appearance in the final for Dobbie, as the Swans won 4–2 versus Reading. Dobbie scored the third goal and also set Scott Sinclair up for his goal. Swansea City were the first Welsh people club to play in the Premier League since its formation in 1992.
After the Swans were promoted to the Premier League, Dobbie made his league debut for the club in a 4–0 defeat versus Manchester City. Dobbie had seven appearances in the Premier League without scoring a goal. Dobbie twisted his left ankle under a challenge from Kyle Naughton and suffered an injury. Dobbie's injury kept him out of action for a week until he returned to action versus Manchester United. After eight appearances in the Premier League, Dobbie found himself down the pecking order behind strikers Danny Graham, Leroy Lita, Luke Moore and new signing Rory Donnelly. Finding his first-team appearances limited, manager Brendan Rodgers allowed Dobbie to leave on loan after his former club Blackpool had enquired about his availability. Birmingham City also enquired on his availability, although lack of finances meant that the club could only get Dobbie on loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of his loan spell. However, neither the Blues nor the Seasiders signed him on loan before the close of the transfer window on 31 January 2012. After failing to find a loan deal in the January transfer window, Rodgers understood Dobbie's frustration at his lack of first-team opportunities, although he did not allow Dobbie to leave the club on loan, as he could be required to play in the first team if other players were out injured.
Dobbie scored his first goal for the Trotters on 22 August 2015, when he scored just minutes after coming onto the pitch to snatch a late equaliser versus Nottingham Forest, with the game finishing 1–1. At the end of the 2015–16 season, the club confirmed that he would be leaving when his contract expired at the end of June 2016.
Dobbie was shortlisted for the PFA Scotland Championship player of the season, but lost out to Hibernian midfielder John McGinn. Dobbie was selected in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for the Scottish Championship.
On 13 January 2018, Dobbie signed an extension to his contract to keep him at Palmerston Park until May 2019. On 27 January 2018, Dobbie scored his third hat-trick of the season versus Brechin City in a 3–1 victory at Palmerston, having already scored trebles away to both Falkirk (4–1 win on 26 August 2017) and Dunfermline Athletic (5–2 win on 9 December 2017).
On 19 April 2018, Dobbie was nominated for the PFA Scotland's Scottish Championship player of the season, alongside Craig Halkett, Lewis Morgan and Cammy Smith. On 28 April 2018, Dobbie scored his fourth hat-trick of the campaign in the final league match of the 2017–18 season in a 5–1 away win over Brechin City at Glebe Park. Dobbie scored 27 goals (18 league and nine cup) in his second season back in Dumfries.
On 1 September 2018, Dobbie scored his seventh hat-trick since his return to Palmerston in a 5–0 win at home to Ayr United in the Scottish Championship, his third treble of the season; the first three goals arrived in a ten-minute spell during the first half (12, 20 and 22 minutes), with his second goal being a penalty kick. Dobbie then had a penalty saved in the 31st minute by Ayr goalkeeper Ross Doohan. Dobbie scored his fourth goal of the match in the 84th minute. On 15 September 2018, he played in his 200th match for Queen of the South against Ross County in a goalless draw. At that point his record for Queens included 182 starts and 18 substitute appearances.
On 4 October 2018, Dobbie was presented with the Ladbrokes Scottish Championship Player of the Month award for September 2018. On 6 October 2018, Dobbie scored his eighth hat-trick since his return to Queens at home to Alloa Athletic in the Scottish Championship, his fourth treble of the season; the Wasps had taken a 3–0 lead in the first 25 minutes before Dobbie scored his goals on 36, 43 and 70 minutes. On 9 October 2018, Dobbie signed an extension to his contract to keep him at the Dumfries club until May 2020.
On 29 January 2019, Dobbie scored his ninth hat-trick since his return to Queen of the South, this time in a 3–0 win at home to Scottish Premiership club Dundee, in the fourth round replay of the 2018–19 Scottish Cup, his fifth treble of the season. Dobbie scored his goals after 12, 27 and 74 minutes, the first being a "looping long-range effort" from 25 yards. On 31 January, he was presented with the Scottish Championship Player of the Month award for January 2019. On 10 February, in the next round of the Scottish Cup, he scored an "outrageous" goal from around 30 yards to equalise against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, although this time the top-tier side responded and eventually won 4–1 to eliminate Queen of the South from the competition.
On 24 April 2019, Dobbie was nominated for the PFA Scotland's Championship player of the season, for the third consecutive year, alongside Billy Mckay, Lawrence Shankland and Pavol Šafranko and on 5 May 2019, Dobbie won the individual award and was selected in the Championship Team of the Year for the third successive season. He also won the equivalent individual award presented by the SPFL. Despite Dobbie's personal achievements, Queens finished ninth in the 2018–19 Scottish Championship and entered the play-offs along with Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers and Montrose from League One.
On 11 May 2019, Dobbie scored his tenth hat-trick since his return to Queen of the South, this time in a 5–0 win at home to Montrose in the Scottish Championship play-off semi-final second leg, his sixth treble of the season. Dobbie scored his goals after 11, 28 and 40 minutes. Dobbie has scored the most goals for Queen of the South in all competitions in a single season in their entire history of 105 years. The previous record of 41 goals was held between Jimmy Rutherford in 1931–32 and Nicky Clark in 2012–13. Dobbie scored 43 goals (21 league and 22 cup) in his third season back in Dumfries.
On 16 January 2021, Dobbie appeared as a used substitute in the 78th minute, replacing Joe McKee for the final 12 minutes versus Arbroath at Palmerston Park in a 2–2 draw. Dobbie had been out of action since 19 December 2020 with a hamstring injury whilst playing at Cappielow Park versus Greenock Morton.
On 28 April 2021, Dobbie announced that he would be leaving Queen of the South after the final league match of the 2020–21 season.
On 30 April 2021, Dobbie played 73 minutes versus Dundee in the 2–0 defeat at Palmerston Park in his final match for Queen of the South, before being replaced by Niyah Joseph.
Dobbie scored four goals (three league and one cup) in his fifth and final season at Queen of the South.
On 12 March 2022, having been out injured since November 2021, Dobbie's introduction for the final nine minutes of the Coasters 1–0 win away to Kidderminster Harriers was his 500th league appearance of his career. On 20 May, Dobbie was released by Fylde, and five days later he announced that he would be ending his 23-year playing career.
On 27 July 2022, Dobbie was appointed Senior Professional Development Phase coach at his former club Blackpool. Following the departure of Mick McCarthy on 8 April 2023 by mutual consent, it was announced that Dobbie would take charge of the first-team until the end of the season. Despite three wins in six games, he could not keep them in the division; Blackpool were relegated to League One after a home defeat to Millwall on 28 April 2023. The appointment of Neil Critchley in May 2023 saw Dobbie return to his previous role with the club's development squad.
On 3 September 2024, incoming head coach Steve Bruce named Dobbie and Richard Keogh as his first-team coaches. After Bruce's sacking, thirteen months later, Dobbie was installed as interim head coach, alongside Steve Banks.
When Dobbie moved from Swansea to Blackpool in February 2010, his wife Susanne was nine months pregnant and already overdue. When Dobbie played in his debut for the Seasiders on 3 February 2010, his wife was five days overdue. Dobbie said: "My wife is in a hotel on the promenade. I've got a house organised which we are about to move into and everything has been a bit rushed. It was a case of a quick pack in Swansea, so the baby will be born in England now, instead of in Wales." A baby boy was born the following weekend.
After Dobbie returned to Queen of the South in 2016, his family remained living in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, where they had settled when Dobbie played for Blackpool and Fleetwood Town. He then started commuting to Dumfries several times each week to train and play for Queen of the South.
Queen of the South
Blackpool
Swansea City
Individual
Personal life
Dobbie was born in Glasgow, growing up in Barlanark.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Northern Spirit (loan) 2001–02 National Soccer League 0 Hibernian 2003–04 Scottish Premier League 6 2004–05 Scottish Premier League 2Includes one UEFA Intertoto Cup match not recorded on Soccerbase:
1
St Johnstone (loan) 2004–05 Scottish First Division 2 St Johnstone 2005–06 Scottish First Division 5 2006–07 Scottish First Division 0 Dumbarton (loan) 2006–07 Scottish Third Division 11 Queen of the South 2006–07 Scottish First Division 12 2007–08 Scottish First Division 20 2008–09 Scottish First Division 5Includes three Scottish Challenge Cup matches not recorded on Soccerbase or Soccerway:
23
Swansea City 2009–10 EFL Championship 3 2010–11 Championship 11 2011–12 Premier League 0 2012–13 Premier League 0 Blackpool (loan) 2009–10 Championship 5 Blackpool (loan) 2011–12 Championship 6 Brighton & Hove Albion 2012–13 Championship 2 Crystal Palace (loan) 2012–13 Championship 3 Crystal Palace 2013–14 Premier League 0 2014–15 Premier League 0 Blackpool (loan) 2013–14 Championship 2 2013–14 Championship 2 Fleetwood Town (loan) 2014–15 League One 27||4||1||0||0||0||1||0||29|4
Bolton Wanderers 2015–16 Championship 4 Queen of the South 2016–17 Scottish Championship 26 2017–18 Scottish Championship 27 2018–19 Scottish Championship 43 2019–20 Scottish Championship 11 2020–21 Scottish Championship 4 AFC Fylde 2021–22 National League North 3
Honours
Hibernian
External links
Categories: 1982 Births, Living People, Footballers From Glasgow, Men's Association Football Forwards, Scottish Men's Footballers, Scottish Premier League Players, Scottish Football League Players, National Soccer League Players, English Football League Players, Premier League Players, Scottish Professional Football League Players, National League Players, Blackpool F.c. Players, Dumbarton F.c. Players, Hibernian F.c. Players, North West Sydney Spirit Fc Players, Queen Of The South F.c. Players, Rangers F.c. Players, St Johnstone F.c. Players, Swansea City A.f.c. Players, Brighton & Hove Albion F.c. Players, Crystal Palace F.c. Players, Fleetwood Town F.c. Players, Bolton Wanderers F.c. Players, Afc Fylde Players, Scottish Football Managers, Blackpool F.c. Managers, Scottish Expatriate Men's Footballers, Scottish Expatriate Sportspeople In Australia, Expatriate Men's Soccer Players In Australia, Blackpool F.c. Non-playing Staff, 21st-century Scottish Sportsmen
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