PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year explained

PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year
Current Awards:-->
Image Upright:-->
Awarded For:The outstanding player in each given Scottish football season
Country:Scotland
Presenter:PFA Scotland
Year:1978
Year2:2024
Holder Label:Player of the Year
Holder:Lawrence Shankland
Winner:or
Winners:-->
Most Awards:Scott Brown
Henrik Larsson
(2 wins each)
Most Wins:-->

The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish football.[1] The award has been presented since the 1977–78 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland).[2] The award was formerly known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year, but was renamed after the SPFA became affiliated with the (English) Professional Footballers' Association and rebranded PFA Scotland.

The first winner of the award was Rangers striker Derek Johnstone, and the first non-Scottish winner was Aberdeen goalkeeper Theo Snelders eleven years later. Although there is a separate PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award, young players remain eligible to win the senior award, and in the 2005–06 season Shaun Maloney became the first player to win both awards in the same season, a feat repeated by Aiden McGeady two years later.

A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of PFA Scotland's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in Glasgow a few days later.[3] The award is regarded by the players themselves as extremely prestigious, with John Hartson commenting in 2005 that "the award means a lot because it's voted by your fellow professionals"[4] and Shaun Maloney stating in 2006 that "there is no better accolade than to be voted for by your peers and it does mean a lot to me".[5] In 2007 the SPFA was replaced by a new body, PFA Scotland,[6] but the new organisation's awards are considered to be a direct continuation of the SPFA awards.[7] [8]

Winners

The award has been presented on 46 occasions as of 2024, with two players sharing the award on one occasion (2004 - 05).[9] There have been 45 different winners, with Scott Brown and Henrik Larsson being the only players to have won the award more than once. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in Scottish football, namely the Scottish Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (SFWA),[10] and the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award (SYPY).

SeasonNatPlayerClubNotesRef
Also won the SFWA award. First player to win SPFA and SFWA awards in the same season.
Also won the SFWA award.
Also won the SFWA award
[11]
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award [12]
First winner of the award from outside the United Kingdom
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SFWA award
First winner of the award from outside Europe
First two-time winner of the award. Also won the SFWA award.
Also won the SFWA award
(joint winner)
(joint winner) Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SYPY award. First player to win both PFA Scotland awards in the same season.
Also won the SFWA award
Also won the SYPY award [13]
[14]
[15]
Also won the SFWA award [16]
Also won the SFWA award [17]
[18]
Also won the SFWA award [19]
[20]
Also won the SFWA award [21]
Also won the SFWA award [22]
Also won the SFWA award [23]
align=left Also won the SFWA award [24]
2019–20Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PFA Scotland cancelled their awards for the 2019–20 season.[25]
align=left Rangers[26]
align=left [27]
align=left Also won the SFWA award [28]
align=left Also won the SFWA award [29]

Breakdown of winners

Winners by country

CountryNumber of winsWinning seasons
1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2023–24
1990–91, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2020–21
1996–97, 2001–02
2006–07, 2022–23
1988–89, 2004–05 (shared)
1998–99, 2000–01
1999–00
Denmark1994–95
Honduras2010–11
2009–10
2014–15
2007–08
2004–05 (shared)

Winners by club

ClubNumber of winsWinning seasons
1979–80, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05 (shared), 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018 - 19, 2021 - 22, 2022 - 23
1977–78, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 (shared), 2009–10, 2020–21
1980–81, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1989–90
1978–79, 1985–86
1981–82
1984–85
2012–13
2023 - 24

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Jackie named player of the year . . Herald & Times Group . 31 March 2008 . 2 May 2004 . Stewart . Fisher . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080511175402/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20040502/ai_n12588637 . 11 May 2008 .
  2. Web site: Amoruso is players' choice . BBC Sport . 28 March 2008 . 29 April 2002.
  3. Web site: SPFA Player of the Year nominations . The Scottish Premier League . 28 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070919114720/http://www.scotprem.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10002~1009973%2C00.html . 19 September 2007 .
  4. Web site: Hartson and Ricksen share award . BBC Sport . 28 March 2008 . 25 April 2005.
  5. Web site: Maloney in historic awards double . BBC Sport . 28 March 2008 . 1 May 2006.
  6. Web site: Fraser Wishart is promising a new kind of players union . The Herald . Herald & Times Group . 24 April 2008 . 5 July 2007 . Martin . Greig . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090302083057/http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines/display.var.1520816.0.0.php . 2 March 2009 .
  7. Web site: McGeady picks up double prize at football awards . The Herald . Herald & Times Group . 24 April 2008 . Celtic winger Aiden McGeady has pulled off an awards double by winning the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards....McGeady follows in the footsteps of former Parkhead team-mate Shaun Maloney, who won both awards in a single season in 2006..
  8. Web site: McGeady happy with Hoops . https://archive.today/20130104212933/http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1861_3455977,00.html . dead . 4 January 2013 . teamtalk.com . 24 April 2008 . The only other player to have claimed the PFA Scotland double was Shaun Maloney, the Celtic midfielder who went on to carve out a career in the Premier League with Aston Villa. .
  9. Book: Barnes, Stuart. News of the World Football Annual 2007/2008. 978-0-00-725555-9. 2007 . Invincible Press . 63.
  10. Book: Barnes, Stuart. News of the World Football Annual 2007/2008 . 62.
  11. News: Morton's Jim Duffy is player's player . Ian . Paul . . 20 May 1985 . 17 . 17 June 2016.
  12. News: A triumph for common sense . James . Traynor . Glasgow Herald . 16 May 1988 . 9. 17 June 2016.
  13. Web site: McGeady claims PFA double . Graeme . Bailey . Sky Sports. BSkyB . 21 April 2008. 20 April 2008.
  14. Web site: Celtic's Scott Brown claims player of the year prize . Graham Spiers. The Times . 5 May 2009 . 4 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090508021301/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article6217158.ece . 8 May 2009.
  15. Web site: Davis crowned player of the year. BBC Sport . BBC . 3 May 2010. 2 May 2010.
  16. Web site: Izaguirre lands top gong. Sky Sports . BSkyB . 1 May 2011. 1 May 2010.
  17. Web site: Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew named player of the year. BBC Sport . BBC . 6 May 2012. 6 May 2012.
  18. Web site: Motherwell: Michael Higdon named player of the year . BBC Sport . BBC . 6 May 2013 . 6 May 2013.
  19. Web site: Celtic's Kris Commons named Premiership player of year . BBC Sport . BBC . 27 April 2014 . 27 April 2014.
  20. Web site: Celtic's Stefan Johansen named Scottish PFA player of the year . BBC Sport . BBC . 3 May 2015 . 3 May 2015.
  21. Web site: Leigh Griffiths: Celtic forward named PFA Scotland Player of the Year . BBC Sport . BBC . 1 May 2016 . 1 May 2016.
  22. Web site: Scott Sinclair named SPFA player of the year as Celtic win four awards . BBC Sport . BBC . 7 May 2017 . 7 May 2017.
  23. Web site: Scott Brown: Celtic captain voted PFA Scotland player of the year 2017/18 . BBC Sport . BBC . 29 April 2018 . 29 April 2018.
  24. Web site: James Forrest, Steve Clarke & Ryan Kent win PFA Scotland annual awards . BBC . BBC Sport . 5 May 2019 . 6 May 2019.
  25. News: Celtic and Rangers stars in line for end of season gongs as SFWA awards go ahead as planned . Gabriel . McKay . Daily Record . 19 May 2020 . 21 May 2020.
  26. Web site: Rangers: Steven Gerrard and James Tavernier win PFA Scotland awards . BBC Sport . 16 May 2021 . 16 May 2021.
  27. Web site: Celtic take five prizes at PFA Scotland awards, including manager of the year . BBC Sport . 1 May 2022 . 2 May 2022.
  28. Web site: Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi and Caitlin Hayes win PFA Scotland player of the year awards . BBC Sport . 14 May 2023 . 14 May 2023.
  29. Web site: Lawrence Shankland, David Watson & Rangers trio win PFA awards . BBC Sport . 5 May 2024 . 6 May 2024.