Andrew Shinnie - a name that resounds in the bustling pubs of Scotland as 'that bloke who's good with a football'. Born on a dreary day on 17th July 1989, Shinnie morphed into a rather nifty central midfielder who graces the glorious grassy rectangles of Livingston. Standing tall at a strapping 5ft 10in (1.8m to those partial to a bit of the metric system) and tipping the scales at 11 stone (or 70 kilograms if we're still stating metric), he's no Ronald McDonald in the number 22 jersey.
According to Transfermarkt, this gazelle-like athlete commands a staggering market value of around £45k - sure, not exactly the GDP of a small nation, but it's not to be sniffed at.
He started off as a little green trainee with Rangers way back in July 2005. He made a couple of first-team appearances in the Premiership in his maiden season. Then off he went on a sojourn to Dundee on loan in November 2008, and managed to net one goal over 32 gruelling league matches. A brief two seasons.
By July 2011, he was packed off to Inverness CT in League One. There he made a name for himself over two seasons, scoring a 19 goals in 57 league matches. This opened the doors to Birmingham City in the Championship, where he had a mixed bag of a run, but still managed to score four goals in 67 outings.
Shinnie, like an unwanted Christmas gift, was passed along to various teams in England. Each time, he tried to shine, but his sparkle always seemed to dim too soon. Four times to be exact - Rotherham United, Hibernian, Luton Town (twice), and never quite nailing success.
Finally, in October 2020, he jumped ship to Charlton Athletic in the Championship. But alas, even they grew tired of his skills (or lack thereof), passing him off to Livingston in the Premiership in July 2021. In his endowed career, he scored a total of 10 goals in 127 matches for the team so far. He's also dipped his toes in various cups and playoffs - some successful, others, well, let's not go there.
So there you have it - Andrew Shinnie - the journeyman of Scottish football. Not quite a beacon of inspiration nor a blight on the game. Somewhere in the snug middle, we reckon.
