Celtic Player of the Year Awards: Is There Any Competition for Commons?

Celtic have announced the nominees  for their 2013-14 Player of the Year award. With last season's winner Georgios Samaras not among them, the prize will be given a new home from among the Hoops' squad come May.

Top goalscorer Kris Commons is the undoubted favourite to pick up the accolade. The 27-goal midfielder is also widely tipped to be named the SPFL Player of the Year as well.

But he has some legitimate competition. Of the 10 nominees put forward by the club, at least three have shown a consistently high level of performance throughout the season.

As well as the main award, prizes for Goal of the Season (won by this now iconic Tony Watt strike last campaign), Top Goalscorer, Players' Player and Academy Player of the Year will be presented.

The Young Player of the Year honour will also be given out, with right-back Darnell Fisher likely to pick that up despite the emergence of Liam Henderson in recent weeks.

Here, we take a look at the 10 nominees for the main gong, including Commons himself, evaluating their merits and drawbacks in terms of contribution to Celtic's overall season.

All statistics referenced in this article are taken from Transfermarkt, Soccerway and Soccerbase.

Last season Fraser Forster won the Celtic Players' Player of the Year award.

His performances in Europe, particularly against Barcelona, earned him the nickname "La Gran Muralla" (The Great Wall). This season he once again proved his quality in the competition—despite conceding six in one match against the Catalans in December.

The 6'7" goalkeeper has also furthered his claim to be included in Roy Hodgson's England squad for this summer's World Cup by breaking the Scottish record for minutes played without conceding a goal.

It's not unthinkable that being one of the only Celtic players to emerge from a totally underwhelming Champions League campaign with his pride intact and being so consistent domestically could see Forster challenge Commons for the main award.

Like Forster, Sweden international Mikael Lustig was one of the few who demonstrated his reliability in the Champions League when others in the squad faltered.

His overall game, particularly offensively, has improved substantially since he first arrived in Glasgow in January 2012. This season, he has exhibited an ability for getting on the scoresheet—including a screamer against Hearts which sees him shortlisted for the club's Goal of the Season prize.

What will doubtless hinder any chance the 27-year-old had of picking up the club's Player of the Year award is the niggling injuries which still restrict his playing time.

Lustig is also nominated for Goal of the Season. See his nomination here.

A high-profile act of recklessness against Barcelona aside, this season Scott Brown has been exemplary in both his role as captain and midfield linchpin.

Whether deployed as the pivot in a midfield diamond or a more traditional central midfield berth, the 28-year-old has impressed throughout the season.

Perhaps the biggest compliment he can be paid is that he has not looked out of place as Scotland national team captain since Gordon Strachan gave him the role in the absence of Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Undoubtedly the best of Celtic's summer signings, Virgil van Dijk has been a standout from the moment he took to the field.

His technical ability as a centre-back instantly endeared him to the Celtic fans. What has kept him uppermost in their affections has been his equally impressive defensive skills.

Van Dijk played no small role in goalkeeper Forster breaking the Scottish clean sheet record this term. Even if a place in the Netherlands squad continues to elude him, he is a worthy contender to Commons for the club's Player of the Year award.

Van Dijk is also nominated for Goal of the Season. See his nomination here.

James Forrest has only played in 16 league matches this season—but in the process, he has accumulated four goals and five assists.

He also scored the late winner against Shakhtar Karigandy which sent Celtic through to the Champions League group stages.

Unfortunately, the young winger probably hasn't played often enough—nor shone brightly enough when he has—to be a legitimate contender for the top prize come May.

Forrest is also nominated for Goal of the Season. See his nominations here and here.

This season, as with every other since his return in 2010, Charlie Mulgrew has been Celtic's go-to man.

Centre-back, left-wing, left-back, both a traditional central midfielder and an in-vogue midfield pivot—Mulgrew has played them all for club and country this campaign.

Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, it is this very versatility which seems to count against him. Without a stable position nailed down as his own, it is hard to maintain a high level of consistency.

Still, he has managed to contribute well at both ends of the pitch—playing a part in Forster's clean sheet record while scoring six and assisting five.

After the group stages of the Champions League, Efe Ambrose averaged more successful dribbles per match than Milan rival Kaka.

The Nigeria international has, for the most part, eradicated a lot of the errors which were so prominent in his game at the tail-end of last season.

His contribution to Forster's clean-sheet record also cannot be ignored, even if his overall performance this season may not quite have been extraordinary enough to merit challenging Commons and co. for the top award in May.

As with previous seasons, Anthony Stokes' best performances have come in domestic competitions.

Nevertheless, 14 goals and seven assists in 28 league matches cannot be dismissed lightly.

With the signing of Leigh Griffiths in January, some felt Stokes' time at Celtic Park may have been limited.

The biggest compliment he can be paid is to acknowledge that his attitude and displays have only improved since his Griffiths arrived. If anything, it simply reinforces the fact Celtic fans have known for a long time—Stokes plays much better with a strike partner.

Has he shown enough to pick up the club's Player of the Year award? Probably not, no. But that doesn't mean his contribution in the side's first season without Gary Hooper should be taken lightly.

Stokes is also nominated for Goal of the Season. See his nominations here and here.

Emilio Izaguirre has totally revitalised himself this season. 

After returning from his ankle break last campaign, it seemed the swashbuckling wing-back who swept up a host of best player awards in his debut season would never return. An obvious mental block had formed, with lack of legitimate competition the main reason he was never dropped for a substantial period of time.

Fast-forward another year and he tops the assists charts in the Scottish Premiership—with 12—and looks back to his overlapping best.

Along with Forster and Van Dijk, Izaguirre represents the most significant challenge to Commons sweeping the board at this season's Celtic awards.

And so to the man himself. This has been Kris Commons' best season in a Celtic jersey.

His goalscoring—27 to date, largely from an advanced midfield position—has been remarkable. He has also laid on 10 goals for his team-mates.

Had Commons been able to transfer his scintillating domestic form to the Champions League group stages, there simply would not be any reasonable contenders to him for the club's Player of the Year award.

Nevertheless, it's still difficult to make a case against him picking up the award, given his sheer consistency throughout the domestic campaign and European qualification process.

Commons is also nominated for Goal of the Season. See his nominations here and here.

Twitter: @smarti51