With 2016 drawing to a close and the halfway stage of the Premiership upon us, this seems a good time to reflect on the first half of the campaign, and to highlight the individuals who have made their mark. So, in what has become the favoured formation for most clubs, a 4-3-2-1, here is my team of the season so far. There are some decent keepers around in Scotland right now, but our very own JOE LEWIS is clearly the best in the business. A commanding figure who quickly settled into his new surroundings, Joe has already pulled off a number of stops worthy of the ‘Save of the Season’ accolade. A brilliant signing by the manager and undoubtedly my number one. The back-four consists of the impressive CALLUM PATERSON, who has improved his defensive capabilities this season without detracting from his attacking threat; the ever dependable St Johnstone captain STEVEN ANDERSON; Dane ERIK SVIATCHENKO, a major reason why Celtic have achieved such a fine defensive record; and the consistent GRAEME SHINNIE, who never lets us down, whether playing in midfield or his more natural left-back role. The central-midfield pairing comes straight out of the league leaders first choice eleven. SCOTT BROWN annoys everyone in Scottish football other than Celtic fans, but his form has been exceptional since the summer, and he’s the type of player every team could do with. His partner for the past few months has been STUART ARMSTRONG, and although he missed the early part of the campaign, such has been the impact he’s made that he simply has to be included. Ahead of them, I’ve gone for a three of JONNY HAYES, ALI CRAWFORD and DANNY SWANSON. Jonny has again been superb for us and must be on course to emulate last season’s clean sweep of the ‘Player of the Year’ awards. Crawford is the fulcrum for everything Accies do going forward, is deadly with free-kicks, and has scored an impressive tally of goals in a Hamilton team that has been struggling for the most part. Swanson plays a similar role for St Johnstone, and although penalties have helped, he too is riding high in the scoring charts as he enjoys one of the most impressive periods of his career. There’s only one man to lead the line for me, and that’s our top scorer (yet again) ADAM ROONEY. He is exactly the kind of striker I love watching, is generally clinical in the penalty area, and would never be out of my starting eleven. As is often the case, there were plenty contenders for a number of the positions, while in others the choice was obvious. Among those who would certainly be considered for a place on the bench are Craig Gordon and Jack Hamilton, Liam Lindsay, Jamie Walker, Carl Tremarco, John Souttar, Souleymane Coulibaly, Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair. As for the top manager so far, you simply cannot look past BRENDAN RODGERS. Yes, he enjoys a host of advantages over every other boss in the Premiership, but he has done everything asked of him and more. He also has Celtic playing regularly at a level which they only rarely reached under the previous incumbent. LEWIS PATERSON ANDERSON SVIATCHENKO SHINNIE BROWN ARMSTRONG HAYES CRAWFORD SWANSON ROONEY
With 2016 drawing to a close and the halfway stage of the Premiership upon us, this seems a good time to reflect on the first half of the campaign, and to highlight the individuals who have made their mark. So, in what has become the favoured formation for most clubs, a 4-3-2-1, here is my team of the season so far. There are some decent keepers around in Scotland right now, but our very own JOE LEWIS is clearly the best in the business. A commanding figure who quickly settled into his new surroundings, Joe has already pulled off a number of stops worthy of the ‘Save of the Season’ accolade. A brilliant signing by the manager and undoubtedly my number one. The back-four consists of the impressive CALLUM PATERSON, who has improved his defensive capabilities this season without detracting from his attacking threat; the ever dependable St Johnstone captain STEVEN ANDERSON; Dane ERIK SVIATCHENKO, a major reason why Celtic have achieved such a fine defensive record; and the consistent GRAEME SHINNIE, who never lets us down, whether playing in midfield or his more natural left-back role. The central-midfield pairing comes straight out of the league leaders first choice eleven. SCOTT BROWN annoys everyone in Scottish football other than Celtic fans, but his form has been exceptional since the summer, and he’s the type of player every team could do with. His partner for the past few months has been STUART ARMSTRONG, and although he missed the early part of the campaign, such has been the impact he’s made that he simply has to be included. Ahead of them, I’ve gone for a three of JONNY HAYES, ALI CRAWFORD and DANNY SWANSON. Jonny has again been superb for us and must be on course to emulate last season’s clean sweep of the ‘Player of the Year’ awards. Crawford is the fulcrum for everything Accies do going forward, is deadly with free-kicks, and has scored an impressive tally of goals in a Hamilton team that has been struggling for the most part. Swanson plays a similar role for St Johnstone, and although penalties have helped, he too is riding high in the scoring charts as he enjoys one of the most impressive periods of his career. There’s only one man to lead the line for me, and that’s our top scorer (yet again) ADAM ROONEY. He is exactly the kind of striker I love watching, is generally clinical in the penalty area, and would never be out of my starting eleven. As is often the case, there were plenty contenders for a number of the positions, while in others the choice was obvious. Among those who would certainly be considered for a place on the bench are Craig Gordon and Jack Hamilton, Liam Lindsay, Jamie Walker, Carl Tremarco, John Souttar, Souleymane Coulibaly, Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair. As for the top manager so far, you simply cannot look past BRENDAN RODGERS. Yes, he enjoys a host of advantages over every other boss in the Premiership, but he has done everything asked of him and more. He also has Celtic playing regularly at a level which they only rarely reached under the previous incumbent. LEWIS PATERSON ANDERSON SVIATCHENKO SHINNIE BROWN ARMSTRONG HAYES CRAWFORD SWANSON ROONEY
