Celtic End-of-season Awards: Best signing, comeback, social post and more

This is just the TCW team sitting down and sensibly making their cases for winners in seven different end-of-season Celtic awards categories. No insults, no violence and certainly no statuettes.

This is all, in short, a far more civilised affair than the shindig that Academy mob put on. And arguably more prestigious too.

The only direction our team have been given is that they are free to interpret the categories in any way they wish. That, and Greg Taylor must win at least one every answer naturally must be Celtic-related.

So without further ado, let's get the ball rolling with...

Goal of the season

Sean Martin: Kyogo Furuhashi v Aberdeen (Oct 3 2021). The chest finish. I’ve said before there’s just something about this goal that draws me to it despite there being more aesthetically-pleasing ones this season. It’s just such an intelligent piece of play. He’s switched on well before anyone else and that includes David Turnbull who takes the ‘quick’ throw. Ghosting in at the back post with the Dons defenders just rendered useless is one thing but then to have the cheek to chest it in too. Lovely stuff.

Tony Haggerty: Jota v Bayer Leverkusen (Nov 25 2021).  This had the stamp of ‘Ange-ball’ all over it. Celtic lost 3-2 on the night but they recovered from 0-1 down to lead 2-1 at one stage and the goal that gave them the lead was a thing of beauty. Joe Hart shunted a kick to James Forrest who backheeled a mid-air volley to David Turnbull. The midfielder in turn fed Nir Bitton, who passed to Kyogo Furuhashi. He then gave it to Jota who produced a sumptuous, drilled finish. It was a breath-taking counter-attack against a real European heavyweight.

Alison McConnell: Matt O'Riley v St Johnstone (Apr 9). The mauling of St Johnstone back in April gave Celtic a statement win in the title race. Matt O’Riley’s goal was the culmination of a passing move that involved every outfield player. It was impressive and the midfielder has shown that he has an eye for the headline-grabbers. Kyogo Furuhashi’s lob in the League Cup final against Hibs also deserves mention while his goal against Motherwell when he got himself onto the end of Anthony Ralston’s perfectly weighted ball and volleyed into the net would also be of note.

Signing of the season

Sean Martin: Ange Postecoglou. A cop-out? Maybe, but nowhere in the official TCW end-of-season awards rules does it say this has to be a player (trust me, I wrote them!) I thought about Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liel Abada, Joe Hart… but not one makes quite the same impact without the manager.

Tony Haggerty: Kyogo Furuhashi. The Japanese striker breathed new life into Celtic when he arrived and it is such a pity that he was injured for part of the campaign. Kyogo was probably the recruit that made every supporter believe in Ange Postecoglou and what he was trying to do. The doubters started to trust the process as he hit the ground running, while the image of Postecoglou holding him aloft in the aftermath of the League Cup celebrations at Hampden in December told its own story.

Alison McConnell: Kyogo Furuhashi. Kyogo has to take it. He quickly took on the mantle of Celtic’s talisman with his energy and intelligence lifting those around him. He has a few rivals for the award – Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Reo Hatate, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Matt O’Riley were all impressive contributors – but there will be few who would quibble with the fact that Kyogo has been fairly peerless for Celtic this term. 

Comeback of the season

Sean Martin: Joe Hart. Listen, Anthony Ralston is probably the correct answer if you're going with a player for this. But hear me out: the turnaround in his career is different to Hart’s. With Ralston the source of much of the joy was in the sheer surprise of his progression, the assumption he just didn’t have it in him to begin with. And that ‘one of our own’ thing. With Hart the conventional wisdom was that he was living out Sick Boy’s ‘theory of life’ from Trainspotting. That – like George Best, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Charlie Nicholas, David Niven, Malcolm McLaren and Elvis Presley – he had, essentially, got old and couldn’t hack it anymore. At one point you’ve got it, then you lose it and it’s gone forever. For Hart to return to top-level first-team football, win two trophies, don the armband and generally completely overhaul his whole image north of the border in the process is just remarkable.

Tony Haggerty: The 2-1 win at Ibrox. Rangers 1, Celtic 2. To go one goal down so soon in the hostile atmosphere in Govan yet to be on terms within seven minutes of the game showed balls of steel. Rallied by captain fantastic Callum McGregor, it was the day Celtic took a significant stride towards the Scottish Premiership title. The victory sent Postecoglou’s men six points clear at the top and the Hoops never looked back after that.

Alison McConnell: The season as a whole. Having got off to the worst possible start after three defeats and a draw across the opening seven league games – 11 points shipped before the campaign was properly up and running – Celtic then went on to clock up a whopping 32 games without defeat. The final match before the Christmas break, a turgid draw against St Mirren in Paisley – seemed to hand Rangers a firm impetus to go and reclaim the title. The turn of fortunes between then and the derby at Parkhead in February put the momentum all at Celtic’s door. 

Most improved player

Sean Martin: Anthony Ralston. This is where I get the Ralston praise in properly. I started this season by noting – in the detailed player ratings against West Ham – that there was ‘nothing wrong with your game being defined by effort’ but that his limitations would simply not suffice. He has gone on to reach a level, of performance and of output, that has made people longer in the tooth at this than me eat their words. The only other contender I considered was Carl Starfelt – for his improvement throughout the season – but it’s got to be Ralston.

Tony Haggerty: Anthony Ralston. There is only one serious contender for this. The right-back wins this accolade hands down. From unimpressive loan spells with St Johnstone and Dundee United to gaining a reprieve because he was the only recognised right-back at the club he knuckled down under Postecoglou and shut up his critics to enjoy a fine campaign. His 97th-minute goal against Ross County will live long in the memory while he, more than most, totally embodied Celtic’s team spirit and will to win throughout the campaign.

Alison McConnell: Anthony Ralston. It's a toss-up here between Ralston and Greg Taylor but the former just clinches it. Both full-backs, to varying degrees, found themselves the subject of intense speculation about their long-term futures at the club this time a year ago. Taylor reserved some of his best games of the season for the big occasion while Ralston will fancy that his goal in Dingwall against Ross County was one of the pivotal moments of the season.

‘12th man’ of the year

(Biggest impact from the bench)

Sean Martin: Giorgos Giakoumakis. Three of the big Greek’s final four goals came as a sub while, even before his emergence as a serious starting option, he used his skills to good effect off the bench to help the Hoops kill the games against Ferencvaros in Europe.

Tony Haggerty: Giorgos Giakoumakis. The Greek striker made a splash when coming off the bench both domestically and in Europe. He may have finished Celtic’s top league scorer – and joint Premiership scorer alongside Ross County’s Regan Charles-Cook – with 13 strikes but he showed he has an eye for goal with 17 in total to his name across the season. He was as effective starting as he was coming off the bench whenever he was rotated. He scored three of his final four league goals after being subbed on as he helped his mid-season comments become prophetic.

Alison McConnell: Nir Bitton. Giorgos Giakoumakis might have fancied himself for this at one stage of the season before the injury to Furuhashi put him front and centre of Celtic’s attack for a while. There are a few who will fancy that they played important roles in the latter stages of games as points were consolidated but for me Nir Bitton probably made the biggest impact in this regard.

Save of the season

Sean Martin: Joe Hart v Jablonec. Initially, I planned to put Ange Postecoglou for ‘saving’ Celtic from themselves after a shocking 2020-21 season and a seemingly ill-thought-out summer. I’ve already used that trick once in these awards though - so I’ve gone for an actual save. Well, two actually. The reason I picked Hart’s pair of parries in the 63rd and 64th minutes against FK Jablonec is that they carried with them a roar so palpably full of relief from the stands after a season assuming a shot against meant a goal against. It set the stage for his acceptance, importance and resurgence all at once.

Tony Haggerty: Joe Hart v Bayer Leverkusen. It has to be Joe Hart’s double save away in the 3-2 defeat at the Bay Arena during the Europa League group stages. The first save from Moussa Diaby is decent enough but how Amine Adil never scored is beyond me as it looked as if he had a tap-in. It was a superb piece of athleticism and reflexes from Hart, who had no right to make the stop in the first place.

Alison McConnell: Joe Hart v Rangers. The one at Parkhead in the final derby of the season as he denied Scott Arfield was massive. Had Celtic drawn and dropped points it would have caused all kinds of panic going into the run-in. The keeper has been a huge part of the championship-winning season and has firmly endeared himself to the support with his leadership and performances. That save was as important as any throughout the campaign.

Best Celtic social media post

Sean Martin: ‘Excuse me, I asked for the large fish!’ Plenty of contenders, to be fair, including the club’s season wrap video released earlier in the week and the Nir Bitton farewell interview. I was also partial to their use of Oasis’s Cum on Feel the Noize cover for the season-ticket renewal advert. But ultimately the April mis-post of someone out for their tea was the first one that popped into my head. That maybe says more about me than anything else, but there it is.

Tony Haggerty: Brickie Christmas tweet. There was a wonderful festive post on Twitter that said simply: "Every time Tony Ralston scores, an apprentice brickie gets a pay rise." It was said in the aftermath of his goal at Dingwall in homage to his nickname. It is also a cracking pastiche of the memorable line from the film It’s a Wonderful Life: "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.” It is a fantastic example of quick-witted humour and when social media brilliantly hits the target.

Alison McConnell: 'We Don't Stop'. The sneak peek at behind-the-scenes footage of Ange Postecoglou’s opening training session set the tone for the season and gave birth to the Greek-Australian’s catchphrase. It was fitting that his first day at the office should kick off with the ‘we never stop’ mantra on the Lennoxtown training ground; on the final day of the season it was on the back of the title-winning t-shirts as his side lifted the trophy.

Special award: 'Expected player of the year'

We crowned the website's player of the season by collating our detailed man-by-man ratings from across the campaign - consider that 'the eye test' award.  Since data-driven analysis is such a big part of what we do, we asked some of our data and analysis writers to select a special prize...

Ross Goodwin: Jota. From an overall threat perspective, no attacker comes close to the amount of danger he can create. It’s no surprise that he hit double digits for both goals and assists as this is clearly reflected in advanced metrics like xG, open-play xG assisted, shots, touches in the box and on-ball value where the Portuguese winger ranks near the top of the division. With such flair, skill and output Jota is a player who is a joy to watch and well worthy of this.

Owen Brown: Callum McGregor. No player has been more important for Ange Postecoglou’s revolution. That’s not gone unnoticed - he scooped a haul of individual honours to go along with his Scottish Premiership winner's medal - but the compliments he receives, such as that he’s a consistent performer and a vital cog in the machine, can be damning with faint praise. His central midfield role requires an ability to win the ball, keep the ball and move the ball. Some teams might divvy those tasks up with a three-man midfield consisting of a destroyer, a recycler and a progressor. McGregor does it all. He wins the ball in three-quarters of his defensive duels, completing a best in the league 87 per cent of the passes he attempts when pressed and getting the ball into the final third more than 10 times every match. Player of the year both on a spreadsheet and on the grass.

James Dailey: Jota. He lead the league in total scoring contributions, which combines goals with assists, and was third in xG-plus-xA. His aggregate on-ball value for the season lead the team and was second in the league, approximately 18 per cent above the next highest Celtic player. In addition, his xG+xA  per 90 minutes ranked sixth of 55 wingers who played at least 300 minutes in the Europa League this season too.