Clydesdale Bank Premier League awards 2011/12

The fifth annual Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards ceremony, held to celebrate the best of the SPL on and off the field, took place on Tuesday night at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon was named Manager of the Season. He led his side to the championship and took them on a 17-match winning run during the course of the season. Lennon styled his side to play attractive football and this, together with the consistency they showed on their way to winning the title, capped a brilliant season for both Neil Lennon and Celtic.

Player of the Season was awarded to Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew. Mulgrew has been in scintillating form and has helped his side keep an SPL record 24 clean sheets this season, as well as providing an attacking threat with eight goals and numerous assists.  

Celtic midfielder James Forrest was named Young Player of the Season. The 20-year-old has become a mainstay of the team and his performances have been superb this season, with seven Clydesdale Bank Premier League goals to his name.

Goal of the Season went to Kilmarnock’s James Dayton for his strike against Dundee United at Rugby Park on December 17. The best goals of the SPL season were shortlisted, and a panel of football experts decided that Dayton’s top-corner strike past Dusan Pernis was the best.

Save of the Season was performed by Rangers’ Allan McGregor, during the match against Celtic on April 29 at Celtic Park. A shortlist of the best saves of the season were considered by a panel of ex-goalkeepers, and McGregor’s fantastic stop from Joe Ledley’s volley was selected.

The Clydesdale Bank Under 19 League Player of the Season was won by Paul George of Celtic, a driven and technically-gifted 18-year-old midfielder who has scored four U19 goals this season. Most people who have seen him play reckon he has a great future and his season was topped off as Celtic won the Clydesdale Bank U19 League for the third season in a row.

The award for Best Community Initiative was again fiercely contested, demonstrating the range of fantastic projects that the SPL clubs are involved with in their local communities.  The winner was St Mirren, for their Kick and Collect activity. This project is a community involvement reward scheme and provides mobile diversionary activities for hard to reach, disaffected young people in the area, and has had some great results. Thousands of children have attended the sessions in hot spot areas highlighted by the police and youth disorder has been reduced with vandalism at a six-year low.

Best Club Media Relations went to Alan Burrows, Motherwell for the fourth successive season. The sports media were asked to rate the clubs on a number of areas including facilities, player accessibility and helpfulness of club staff and Motherwell came out on top.

St Mirren are the winners of the Clydesdale Bank Family Champions Award. This initiative, run by the SPL, is aimed at improving the match day experience for families across all SPL clubs and in turn encourage more families to attend Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches. 

Mystery shoppers visited each club and reported back to the SPL and the clubs on the experience – everything from contacting the ticket office to buying a pie. Last year’s winner Rangers and Kilmarnock receive special commendations for their efforts. St Mirren won the inaugural Family Champions Award in 2009/10 and the club has strived to maintain these high standards and has a true culture of fan engagement and a family strategy that is evident throughout the club.

Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPL said: "The Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards showcases the very best in Scottish football, both on and off the pitch. The Clydesdale Bank Premier League is more than just 90 minutes on a Saturday and these awards celebrate the excellent work our clubs do off the pitch to support their local community, develop young Scottish talent and improve the match day experience for fans.  

"The Clydesdale Bank has been a valued supporter of the SPL since 2007 and this event is a true celebration of that partnership. On behalf of the SPL, I would like to thank the Clydesdale Bank for putting on this event, which is a fitting end to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season."

A panel of Scottish football experts chose the award winners for the Manager, Player, Young Player, Goal and Save of the Season. The U19 League Player of the Season was voted for by the U19 coaches at each of the 12 Clydesdale Bank Premier League clubs. 

Submissions were invited from all clubs for Best Community Initiative with the winners chosen by a panel of representatives from Clydesdale Bank and the Scottish Premier League. Best Club Media Relations was voted for by Scotland’s sports media. The Family Champions award was chosen by a panel of representatives from the SPL after reviewing information from the mystery shoppers.