Ryan Leads the Pack ....

As the 2010/11 season rumbles on towards its end and with Caley Thistle seeking a top six finish for the first time in our history, its that time of year again .... Player of the Year update time !

Started in season 2000/01, and recognised by the club as one of only two 'external' awards recorded in the official statistics of the club (supporters club award is the other), the CaleyThistleOnline Player of the Year award has been handed out to 10 different recipients in 10 years.

Bobby Mann was the first ever recipient and Johnny Hayes walked away with the title last season. In between those years future internationals Barry Robson, Don Cowie and Ian Black have also won it and of course club legend Ross Tokely won it in our first SPL season, a year in which he won every single player award at the club !!! However, in all that time, and despite some great performances between the sticks from various holders of the #1 shirt, no Goalkeeper has ever got his hands to it ! Could Ryan Esson be the first ?

Ryan currently leads the standings (to end of February) and his performances since coming to Caley Thistle at the beginning of the 2008/09 season show he would be a more than worthy winner of the trophy. It has taken Ryan just 3 seasons to rack up more than 100 appearances for ICT, a feat that took him nearly 10 years at Aberdeen !!!

Also in the hunt alongside Ryan are Nick Ross and Adam Rooney in second and third spot respectively.

Its a no brainer that Adam would be up there in the top 3, he's a striker, and strikers always get votes, but he is also one who can earn them with his goals !!! With 27 goals in 46 appearances last season, he was close to this trophy a year ago, and he is once again in the hunt with 19 goals from 34 games in 2010/11. A total of 52 goals in 116 appearances for the club mean he is now 5th on the all time scorer list behind Wyness (101), Wilson (83), Stewart (82) and Ritchie (63).

Perhaps a little surprising - but in no way undeserved - is the emergence of Nick Ross as a potential Player of the Year. Last season Nick started 4 games for the club and came on as a sub a further 8 times ... a typical progression for a young 'prospect'. He has however been an almost ever present this season with 28 starts and three sub appearances and he is in the team wholly on merit. His performances in most games has been excellent and he was rewarded for this in November when he made his debut for the Scotland U-21 team in a match against Northern Ireland at Pittodrie, a match in which he also scored for his country. If Nick continues to progress as he has done already he has a huge future in front of him and maybe ICT fans will be able to say, "yeah we had him as a player of the year long before he was well known" ... just like we can with Barry Robson and Don Cowie !

Rounding off the top 5 in the current standings are two former winners of the trophy. Ross Tokely and Johnny Hayes. Johnny won it last year and given his exciting performances then its not inconceivable he could go on a tear and finish at the top. Rossco has been steady this season and frequently the most solid of what has been a shaky defence at times. Both are long shots to be the first repeat winners of the trophy, but with votes from March, April and May still to be added to the current totals once each month's fixtures are complete, then anything is possible !

Hand in hand with our Player of the Year polls, we also calculate a "Player of the Month" for each calendar month. This is separate to the overall standings and is based on the number of individual votes a player received each month regardless of whether they were 5,3, or 1 point votes. (this is explained better on the Player of the Year page : HERE)

Not surprisingly, our top three dominate the proceedings by being named Player of the Month in 4 of the 7 months so far but there are also appearances from Jonny Hayes, Eric Odhiambo, and loan signing Aaron Doran .....

So keep voting in the forum Player of the Year polls (if you were at the game), there is still a lot to play for.

Finally - We must give a huge thank you to site member Hislopsoffsideagain for his help in compiling the points for this season. We did mean to update this every month but unfortunately it slipped down the priority list .... so he took the bull by the horns, grabbed the data and worked out all the numbers for you. We appreciate the help, and I am sure you do too !