KENNY Dalglish was never voted Scotland’s Player of the Year by this country’s football writers.

Others to miss out include Jimmy Johnstone, Davie Cooper, Bobby Lennox, John Collins, Dave Narey and John Robertson. What a bunch we were, are and always will be.

Strangely, none of the great men mentioned above were voted the best by their peers either, although the players only got their own vote in 1978 so we can let them off with some of those discrepancies.

Ach, it’s all a bit of fun – albeit with a serious side. Ask any footballer to be be chosen by we journalists as the best player of that season and they will tell you that it’s an honour, especially when they see the names on the list.

The Scottish Football Writers Player of the Year began in 1965 when some bloke called William McNeill won it. A decent start to a fantastic tradition.

The Herald:

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It’s coming up to that time when minds begin to whir, or in my case slowly rotate, about who to vote for as player, young player and manager of the year.

There are still some weeks before the voting sheets for this season are handed in so, footballers, there is still time to impress me. How will they cope with the pressure?

With some years there are runaway winners, in both writers and players awards, but I don’t think that will be the case this time.

As things stand, I’m going for Callum McGregor over Alfredo Morelos by the thinnest margins.

I have no problem with that fire in the Rangers striker’s belly. He’s more sinned against than sinned. His yellow card for diving against Aberdeen last week was wrong. Morelos has scored 29 goals, none I believe direct from a set-piece, and is the biggest reason why Rangers fans got at least run for their money in the league title.

McGregor has been Celtic’s best player whether out wide, as an attacking midfielder or the sitting player. Before his injury, the 25-year-old played in every game or his club and country, 54 in total, more than any other professional footballer on the planet.

So, he beats Morelos. Just. However, I would have no huge issue if the Rangers man won any award.

Young player of the year has been for the last three years won by Kieran Tierney, a remarkable feat, but his two months out through injury counts against him this time; not that he hasn’t been one of Celtic’s players when in the team because he has.

For me, Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson is the stand-out in this category, which I hope doesn’t mean that I’ve jinxed the 19-year-old whose rise to fame has made every footballer writer who saw his old da Derek as a teenager at Rangers think the same thing. How old are we?

Motherwell’s Jake Hastie and David Turnbull have been great, as has St Johnstone defender Jason Kerr, a fine player but someone I haven’t see in the flesh as often as I would like. At 22, Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna is too old.

And then manager of the year is…complicated.

The Herald:

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Let me give you a scenario. Celtic win the Treble. Okay so far?

Brendan Rodgers was manager for 85 per cent of the season. Therefore, he, more or less, won the league, he definitely won the league cup, there are pictures to prove it, those seven trophies in a row are a club record, and while there was no Champions League this season, nine points and second place in their Europa League group isn’t bad at all.

Last year we went for Steve Clarke who got my vote. I felt that while Rodgers’s record at Celtic was incredible, what Clarke did at Kilmarnock with a group of players who had been bottom of the table was more worthy of the individual trophy.

Clarke has had another great season but Kilmarnock have fallen away. Derek McInnes’s Aberdeen made on final and could make another, and should they win the Scottish Cup, beating Rangers and then Celtic on the way, I would make him manager of the year.

But votes are counted before the final. So John Robertson could win promotion for Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the Scottish Cup and miss out. This also affects Craig Levein.

Gary Holt was in with a shout and while what he has done at Livingston is worthy of mention, they have tailed off . Some will for the likeable Ayrshire man.

I would have gone with Ian McCall had he got Ayr United up, he still might, and the joint managers of Ross County, Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell, will win the Championship and good on them. But the Dingwall men were favourites because they have a few bob.

It’s got to be ‘The Brodge.’ Sure, he did the dirty on Celtic, but overall he has been the best manager in Scotland this season. The mind boggles at what me might say in his speech.

And it might be the only time Celtic supporters criticise Scotland’s football hacks as being biased towards Celtic.