The Scottish football season is finally over and although it was another clean sweep for Celtic, there were plenty of outstanding performances from players in the other Premiership teams. Based on the stats, here are the players who shone in their specific positions.
Goalkeeper: Jon McLaughlin
Celtic finished the season with the best defensive record in the Premiership, but Craig Gordon wasn’t nearly as busy as his shot-stopping peers across the division. When it came to shots saved per game, Hearts’ Jon McLaughlin came out on top with 3.7, which is almost exactly twice as many as Gordon averaged per match.
When you consider that the Tynecastle side had the third best goals conceded record in the league yet their goalkeeper was the busiest throughout the Premiership campaign, it is clear McLaughlin has deserved all the praise coming his way. Craig Levein’s side may have finished sixth this season but they might not have made the top six at all without this player.
Defender: Christophe Berra
Despite McLaughlin being pivotal to Hearts’ impressive defensive performances, credit also has to go to the central defender and captain standing just a few yards in front of him for much of this league campaign – Christophe Berra.
No regular central defender in the Premiership won more aerial duels per match than the 33-year old, as he dominated almost every ball that came in to attack the Hearts box. Other defenders were better at intercepting the ball and tackling oncoming opponents, but Berra averaged a higher rate of general defensive actions in the league.
No team relied on the expertise of their key defender quite like Hearts did and in return Berra proved that he is still an accomplished central defender.
Midfielder: Scott Brown
Goalkeepers stop goals, defenders stop strikers and strikers score goals. But when it comes to picking the best midfielder in the Premiership a player who could do just about everything had to be selected. And nobody came close to Celtic captain Scott Brown.
Not only did Brown play more minutes than any other midfielder in the Premiership but he also made more passes. And of those 2609 passes, 93.41 per cent of them were on target – an unrivalled degree of accuracy. The Celtic captain was also in the top 10 midfielders for interceptions and average amount of passes into the final third per match.
Brown wasn’t just a midfielder racking up simple passes. He also defended and attacked as well as just about any midfielder in the division and ultimately proved to be the best all rounder.
Striker: Kris Boyd
Although some forwards don’t enjoy judging themselves purely on goals scored –players such as Nadir Ciftci and Steven MacLean for instance – it is difficult to consider a striker of the season without going straight to Kris Boyd and the impact he has had at Kilmarnock this term.
Bit-part strikers such as Jamie Maclaren at Hibs or Odsonne Edouard at Celtic may have tallied up more efficient goals-per-game ratios but among strikers that played week in, week out (that is more than 2000 minutes of league football), Boyd’s 0.64 goals per game far exceeded his peers.
Player of the season: Scott Brown
Every season rival fans predict with glee that Celtic’s elder statesman will begin to slow down, yet come May there is only amazement and praise for the central midfielder. This year is no exception.
The Celtic captain may have relinquished his Scotland responsibilities but that has allowed him to continue dictating and leading his treble-winning team to continued success with the stats only confirming just how important the midfielder is to Brendan Rodgers’ side.
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