Let's commit a wee bit of time chatting about Andy Halliday, who popped out of the void into Scotland on the 18th of October 1991, making him about as old as a decent whisky at 34. Standing about 5ft 8in tall (or 1.73m for those of you who prefer a bit of metric), weighing in at 10st 7lb (67kg for the metrically inclined), he works his proverbial off as a midfielder for Motherwell, a smaller club considerably north of somewhere interesting.
Clocking in on the footballing stock market at around a staggering £130k, the lad certainly doesn't rank with the likes of Messi or Ronaldo - a fact you can brush up on at Transfermarkt, should you harbour some inexplicable desire to do so.
Eager to escape the existential dread that comes with being a trainee, Halliday took a punt and joined Livingston back in 2007. Though his first season wasn't something to write home about, with only one first team appearance, he soon bucked up. By the 2009-2010 season, Halliday was pulling his weight for Livingston and scored an impressive 14 goals in 32 appearances.
In May 2010, an English club called Middlesbrough bought our hero for about £100k. He had a respectable run until the 2013-2014 season, when he made only five first team appearances. The poor lad must have started to question his life choices about then.
Like a prodigal son, he returned to Middlesbrough from brief stints with Walsall and Blackpool; each stage of journey presumably followed by long contemplative stares out of train windows.
In 2014, perhaps coz he fancied a new accent, he moved to Bradford City, where sporadic appearances and a single goal underlined his season. Then, off he trod to Rangers, where Halliday turned in performances that were... acceptable. A rocky lifecycle ensued, with a loan to Azerbaijan (of all places) thrown in for good measure before recommitting to Rangers in glorious mediocrity.
After a comparatively successful stay with Hearts, he eventually ended up playing midfield for Motherwell. There he is to this day, plugging away, number 11 on his back, more than likely having existential crises about his life and career every now and then. Quite the traveller, our Andy, don't you think?
