Clydesdale Bank Premier League awards 2012/13

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

In total, nine awards were presented - Manager, Player and Young Player of the Season, Goal and Save of the Season, Under 20 League Player of the Season, Best Club Media Relations, Best Community Initiative, and the Clydesdale Bank Family Champions.

Motherwell's Stuart McCall was named Manager of the Season. Stuart led his side to second in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and secured qualification for the Europa League. McCall styled his side to play attractive football and this, together with the consistency his side showed on a limited budget, capped a brilliant season for both Stuart McCall and Motherwell.

Player of the Season was awarded to Hibernian forward Leigh Griffiths. Griffiths has been in scintillating form in this season’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League. He has scored 23 league goals so far and has also helped guide his side to a second successive Scottish Cup Final. Griffiths has been a stand-out in the Hibs side and this was further highlighted when he secured the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Season award last weekend.

Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama was named Young Player of the Season. The 21-year-old Kenyan has become a mainstay of the team and his erformances have been superb this season.  Wanyama helped Celtic win the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, with six goals to his name.

Goal of the Season went to St Mirren’s Graham Carey for his goal against Hearts at St Mirren Park on 27th February 2013. The best goals in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League were shortlisted, and our panel of football experts decided that Carey’s long-range strike past Jamie MacDonald was the best.

Save of the Season was performed by Celtic’s Fraser Forster, during the match against Dundee on 24th February 2013 at Celtic Park. A shortlist of the best saves of the season were considered by our panel of goalkeepers and Forster’s fantastic save from Gary Harkins' strike was selected.

The Clydesdale Bank Under 20 League Player of the Season was won by Chris Johnston of Kilmarnock, a driven and technically-gifted 18-year-old winger who has lit up the U20 league with his performances. His season was topped off as he scored his first senior goal for Kilmarnock last weekend in a 3-2 win over Dundee.

The award for Best Community Initiative was again fiercely contested, demonstrating the range of fantastic projects the SPL clubs are involved with in their local communities. The winner was Dundee United FC, for their DISC Target Project. This project is run together with the local council, youth workers and the police to combat anti-social behaviour in the community. 

The DISC Target Project uses football to provide a support network for young people to divert them from risk taking behaviour. Local youths help develop the project and are trained to run football sessions, and their involvement is key to the project’s success with the young people acting as role models and re-engaging with education and employment. This project has allowed young people to become the answer to the community’s problems rather than the problem itself.

Best Club Media Relations went to Motherwell FC for the fifth 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, to give an all-round view, and Motherwell came out on top.

St Johnstone FC are the winners of the Clydesdale Bank Family Champions Award. The aim of the Family Champions initiative is to help the clubs to attract and retain more new families and their children – the next generation of fans. The SPL send ‘mystery shopper’ families to matches at each club to find out more about their experience.

Saints are a great example of a forward-looking club, whose staff go ‘the extra mile’ to ensure that the matchday experience is both easy and memorable for families. Last year’s winners St. Mirren, along with Dundee United and Hibernian, receive special commendations for their efforts in creating a friendly atmosphere both inside and outside their stadia.

Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPL said: “With one round of fixtures left to play, we have almost reached the end of what has been a captivating season. We have witnessed several high-scoring matches as well as some of the most spectacular goals scored in the SPL to date.

"The Clydesdale Bank Premier League Awards presents us with an opportunity to showcase all the best bits from the top tier of Scottish football, and recognise the good work of our clubs both on and off the pitch.

"After six action-packed seasons, this weekend will see the final fixture round of SPL matches under the Clydesdale Bank banner. I would like to place on record our sincere appreciation to the Bank for all the support they have given to the SPL over the last six years.”

A panel of Scottish football experts chose the award winners for the Manager, Player, Young Player, Goal and Save of the Season. The Under 20 League Player of the Season was voted for by the coaches at each of the 15 Clydesdale Bank U20 League clubs.  

Submissions were invited from all clubs for Best Community Initiative with the winners chosen by a panel of representatives from both Clydesdale Bank and the Scottish Premier League.  Best Club Media Relations was voted for by Scotland’s sports media.  

The SPL Family Champions award was chosen by a panel of representatives from the SPL after reviewing information from the mystery shoppers.