With nearly 300 appearances to his name and seven years’ service to Queen of the South, Stephen Dobbie’s testimonial at Palmerston Park was long overdue.
The emotion was clear in the 41-year-old’s voice as he was celebrated by the Queen’s faithful and all who loved him in Dumfries.
Dobbie’s last-ever professional game for the Doonhamers occurred in April 2021 in a home match against Dundee. With Coronavirus rules still in place, this was played in front of an empty ground – far from the fitting goodbye the striker deserved as he moved on to AFC Fylde in England’s National League North.
Yesterday though, fans turned up in their thousands to pay tribute to Dobbie, who scored a stunning 166 goals in his spells at Queen’s. His record of 43 goals in the 2018-19 season is unlikely to be broken.
Dobbie was immensely grateful to everyone who showed up, as Scotland Legends defeated his Queen of the South select 6-2. Of course, the striker netted twice/
"It was emotional,” the former Rangers, Hibernian and St Johnstone man admitted. “My last game was during covid so no one was here to watch. Even my kids weren't here. To have a day like this now is a great honour.
"When you get the likes of Colin Hendry and Scott Brown involved that always helps.
"Broony has been amazing rallying the players, especially after the initial game moved. That was very much appreciated.
"The first home game I had here was against Dundee in the cup and the fans just seemed to take to me.
"From there I got my move down south and then I always said I'd come back. I probably could have played higher, but it's what this club means to me.
"Scoring goals for this club was great and my only regret for me is that I didn't get the club up to the Premiership.
"That was why I wanted to come back. It means everything to me and I'll be back as a fan.
"Some players take a bit more time to realise what you have and don't have at certain clubs.
"Queens set me on the right track, Ian McCall and then Gordon Chisholm. It was the players as well. We had a great group and they showed me what I could do."
Brown took Dobbie down inside the box to give the striker the chance to score from the penalty spot.
He admits he had been pre-warned it was going to happen, but Dobbie insists the ex-Scotland captain had not been pre-arranged, so still took him by surprise.
He said: "I told him not to. And I know Colin wasn't too happy because he hates conceding goals.
"It was a brilliant gesture from Broony. It wasn't pre-arranged, he just said he was going to chase me and drag me down!
"He had texted me through the week saying he was going to smash me in the box. I tried to stay away from him, but it was brilliant from him really."
Dobbie is best known for leading the line for Queen’s, but the frontman made a name for himself south of the border too.
Swansea came calling for his services in 2009 after his initial red-hot spell at Palmerston. It was here he worked under current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.
Things didn’t work out exactly how Dobbie would’ve liked, as he dotted around between various loans and further permanent moves at the likes of Blackpool, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Fleetwood and Bolton.
A Scotland call-up never arrived for the forward. While from an outsider’s perspective that might seem like a bitter pill to swallow after what he achieved in his career, Dobbie insists he has no regrets as there were plenty of attacking options available at the time he was playing in the Championship.
He added: "When people say that to me, I always look back on my time in England and at that time Scotland had [James] McFadden, [Kenny] Miller and [Steven] Naismith.
"There were top players playing in my position so it's not one I ever look back and say 'I should have played for Scotland'. The guys then were top-class players.
"I think when I was at Swansea Brendan spoke to Craig Levein. The players at the time were just too good and that was the way it is. Miller could still play now."
