SCOTT DOBIE

Robert Scott Dobie(born 10 October 1978 in Workington) is a professional footballer. He is a centre-forward and currently plays for Carlisle United.

Although born in England, Dobie has played for Scotland at international level. He is in his second spell with Carlisle, having also played for Clydebank, West Bromwich Albion, Millwall and Nottingham Forest.

Career

Carlisle United
Dobie joined Carlisle United as an apprentice in June 1995, turning professional in May 1997. While at Carlisle, it was Dobie's goal bound header that was parried into the path of Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, who scored with the last kick of the final game of the 1998–99 season, preserving Carlisle's Football League status and relegating Scarborough. During 2000–01, Dobie attracted interest from other clubs, with Carlisle manager Ian Atkins claiming that the player could be worth as much as £2million in the transfer market.

West Bromwich Albion
Dobie was transferred to West Bromwich Albion in July 2001, for a £150,000 fee. He made his Albion début against Walsall on 11 August 2001. His first goal for the club came on 22 August 2001 in a League Cup tie at Cambridge United, when he lobbed the opposition goalkeeper from 30 yards out. He enjoyed an impressive September, scoring his first league goal for Albion in a 4–0 win over Manchester City, and thus commencing a scoring streak of eight goals in seven games. However he struggled to find the net after that, not scoring again until February. Nonetheless, he finished the season as the club's top scorer with 11 league goals, 13 in total. His performances helped Albion get promoted to the Premier League in 2001–02.

In the summer he handed in a transfer request, reportedly because he wanted a wage increase after breaking into the Scotland national side. Albion refused to sell the player however, and eventually Dobie was rewarded with an improved four-year contract. He scored just five times in Albion's first Premiership season, although his strike against Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December 2002 was named 'Goal of the Week' by the BBC Sport website. Albion were relegated, but Dobie again won promotion with them in 2003–04, helping the club bounce back to the top-flight at the first attempt.

Millwall
With the likes of Kanu and Robert Earnshaw ahead of him in the West Brom pecking order, Dobie struggled to gain first team action at the start of 2004–05, and in November 2004 moved to Millwall in a deal worth "up to" £750,000. Due to a sell-on clause, his former club Carlisle received at least £37,500 from the deal.

Nottingham Forest
In 2005 he joined Nottingham Forest in a £525,000 move from Millwall, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal. His Forest career got off to a slow start, as he scored only one goal in 18 appearances. He then started to find his form, but a series of injuries, including a hip injury that required ground-breaking surgery in America, checked his progress, meaning he scored just three goals in the 2005–06 season.

At the start of the 2006–07 season new manager Colin Calderwood expressed his faith in Dobie and said his career was safe at Forest. But injury again slowed his progress, after suffering a thigh injury on his comeback game, forcing him down the pecking order behind Grant Holt, Junior Agogo and Nathan Tyson. Most of Dobie's appearances in 2006–07 were from the substitutes' bench. His only goal that season came in the 2006–07 League One play off semi-final against Yeovil. His header from a corner, put Forest 3–1 up in the tie, but they ended up losing 5–4 on aggregate after extra time.

Dobie began the 2007–08 campaign as a lone striker against Bournemouth but was quickly dropped to the bench, and then cut from the match day squad altogether, although he returned as a substitute in Forest's 2–0 win at Port Vale.

Return to Carlisle
On 23 January 2008 Dobie returned to Carlisle United, now in League One, where he signed a two and a half year contract after moving for a nominal fee. He was on the losing side in a play-off semi-final for the second year running when Carlisle were defeated 3–2 on aggregate by Leeds United, whose team included Dobie's half-cousin Paul Huntington. Dobie received the first red card of his career in a 0–0 draw against Leyton Orient in August 2008.