The Scottish Premiership took a back seat to the League Cup final and Champions League football in November, but there was still plenty of action to pick through to find the best players in each position over the course of the three matchdays.
Goalkeeper
Elliot Parish (Dundee)
The men between the posts are always hard to compare to one another. You can have good shot-stoppers behind poor defences and careless guardians behind an impen-etrable back line. However, when we look at how many shots a goalkeeper saves before every goal he concedes we can deduce how busy he is and therefore how many goals he tends to stop.
When this is done there are some surprising results. Dundee goalkeeper Elliot Parish comes out on top with 4.7 saves to every goal his side concede, with Aaron McCarey and Craig Gordon of Ross County and Celtic respectively in second and third.
Although Dundee didn’t have an impressive November and didn’t even enjoy a particularly impressive defensive record, their goalkeeper was undoubtedly the busiest in the league. And things could have been a lot worse without him.
Defence
Peter Hartley (Motherwell)
Despite losing the League Cup final, Motherwell did exceptionally well in the league last month, beating second-placed Aberdeen and claiming a point from Celtic last week.
Although the Steelmen are known for their attacking talent, it is their defence that perhaps deserves the credit this time. In particular, central defender Peter Hartley, who has been an ever present figure in this stubborn back line.
Hartley is currently averaging 7.7 interceptions per game in the Premiership this season, an impressive figure that goes hand in hand with the gung-ho approach Stephen Robinson’s side take in to every match.
Midfield
Greg Docherty (Hamilton Accies)
Hamilton Accies enjoyed a fantastic month, picking up a win over Rangers and two vital draws against Aberdeen and Hibernian. At the heart of that effort was promising youngster Greg Docherty.
The Accies midfielder was a constant thorn in Aberdeen’s side, with two through-balls and two key passes in the 2-2 draw. Docherty also played a huge part in Hamilton’s win over Rangers, with an outstanding run and cross to set up the second goal, before helping his side to a draw at home to Hibs. The 21-year-old now sits second in the Premiership assists charts.
Attack
Moussa Dembele (Celtic)
It is very easy to define a striker by his ability to score goals. However, in the modern game forwards are usually defined by how many they create for their colleagues too.
In that regard, Celtic’s Moussa Dembele stands above all others with two goals and an assist in just over 116 minutes of game-time in November. Although Ryan Bowman, Simon Murray, Michael Gardyne and Louis Moult were all outstanding, nobody hit the target with as much efficiency as the young, French forward. And of course a goal in a League Cup final underlines his case even further.
Player of the Month
Celtic may have won a cup and Rangers may have finally found their feet under Graeme Murty, but November was undoubtedly a month that belonged to Hamilton. Great performances produced three impressive results for Martin Canning’s side and there is no doubt Greg Docherty played a vital role in that.
The young talent has his whole career ahead of him but over the past three games he has stamped his authority on this Hamilton side and showed a degree of quality and leadership that suggests he could be the latest in a long line of stars coming through the New Douglas Park conveyor belt.
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