Josh Fowler has found himself at the top of the SPL goal scoring charts after playing in the West of Scotland Football League Premier Division just three years ago. We take a look at the striker’s incredible rise up the Scottish football pyramid.
St Johnstone’s positive start to the campaign has been spearheaded by the red-hot form of striker Josh Fowler. His well-taken finish against Dundee United last Saturday took his tally to six goals in his first nine Scottish Premiership games. The importance of Fowler was highlighted by his absence, as the Saints struggled after Fowler came off injured at half-time.
His journey to the top of the Scottish game has been unique, to say the least. His career has taken him from the WoSFL to Dubai and back to Scotland again, where his form at Queen’s Park earned him a move to current club St Johnstone.
Beith Juniors
Fowler joined Beith Juniors after being released from Johnstone Burgh, and would enjoy a very fruitful two-year spell at the WoSFL Premier Division side. His tally of 32 goals in his second season propelled Beith Juniors to the WoSFL Premier Division title. His success in the part-time game, balancing football with his job as a joiner, earned him trials at both Motherwell and Kilmarnock. Neither would result in a concrete offer. The move he ended up making gained national attention.
United Arab Emirates to Australia, then back again
Fowler said he was “living the dream” after making the move from the WoSFL to the second tier of the United Arab Emirates to play for Gulf United.
Josh would then have a very brief spell with St Albans in Australia before moving back to the UAE with Dubai City. There, he would rediscover his goalscoring form as he helped the Dubai club achieve promotion from the second tier.
Back to Scotland – Queen’s Park
Fowler would return to Scotland and join Queen’s Park in the Scottish Championship. A vast jump up in level from his days playing in the WoSFL.
He hit the ground running, scoring 10 goals in 16 Championship games to help secure league safety for a team many had tipped as relegation favourites going into the 2025/26 campaign.
St Johnstone
Newly relegated St Johnstone signed Josh Fowler off the back of his impressive form with Queen’s Park. He struggled for goals in the second tier, however, and found minutes hard to come by as St Johnstone got promoted back up to the SPL at the first time of asking.
Interestingly, going up a level seems to have suited Fowler’s style of play. The striker is now showing the scoring ability fans saw at Beith Juniors, Dubai City and Queen’s Park. This may partly be because Fowler won’t have to play against many teams using a low-block against St Johnstone this season compared to in the Championship.
Fowler is expected to be back at full fitness by the time St Johnstone visit Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday the 24th of October. Saints fans will be hoping he can keep up his goal return for the rest of the season.
