For those of you who've taken a keen interest in Scottish football, on the slight off chance anyone would, you may recognise the name Paul McGowan. Born in Scotland on 7 October 1987, this 37-year-old lad has spent his time occupying the central midfield role at Annan Athletic. Standing at a groundbreaking 5ft 7in (1.71m), and weighing about as much as a mid-sized greyhound at 10st 9lb (68kg), this lad hardly has the physical prowess of a top tier footballer. But here we are.
With the ink barely dry on an eight-month contract with Annan Athletic, we can look forward to observing Paul's exploits in the League One in Scotland through to its expiry on 31 May 2025. First-rate stuff.
We'll take you back to the riveting year of 2006 when Paul made his debut at Greenock Morton in Scotland, scoring a whopping 11 goals in 36 first team appearances after his loan transfer from Celtic. Yet, his return to Celtic in August 2007 was not quite as fruitful, with an audacious single appearance during the 2007 - 2008 season.
Suffice it to say, Paul felt rather at home meandering around the Scottish leagues with temporary stints at Hamilton Academical and St Mirren following his Celtic spell. At Hamilton, he gave a mortifyingly average performance, scoring once during his 14 appearances in 2008 - 2009. However, St Mirren must have seen potential with Paul's mediocre proclivity, fixed up a contract and, probably to their regret, kept him around for four seasons. His highlight during this period was the 2011 - 2012 season when he overachieved with eight goals from 37 appearances.
Just as we all thought we couldn't get enough of the action, Dundee, clearly looking to add a bang-average midfielder to their roster, scooped up Paul from St Mirren in July 2014. He endured numerous repetitive seasons at Dundee until his departure in February 2023. His grand legacy was scoring a handful of goals across multiple seasons.
Fast-forward to today, McGowan is just about keeping his career afloat in the unspectacular lower depths of Scottish League One, first with a short stint at Cove Rangers, and now with Annan Athletic. It remains to be seen how much he will, or is even capable of, contributing to his current side in the remainder of the 2024 - 2025 season.
Nevertheless, his valued contribution of a single goal in three matches in the League Cup 2024 - 2025 for Annan Athletic, and a startling single appearance in the Challenge Cup 2024 - 2025 deserve our sincere-ish applause.
