Kris Boyd’s farcical Team of the Year picks exclude Celtic standout as Rangers man shows clear recency bias

Add as preferred source on Google

It was only a matter of time before Kris Boyd made us laugh again.

The former Middlesbrough and Portland Timbers striker predictably looked at Celtic’s 3-2 defeat to Rangers a fortnight ago and allowed himself to get carried away.

It’s not the first time this week that has happened with Mark Wilson having to clamp Gers pundits and remind them of their place as also-rans in the Scottish Premiership.

But this week’s Boyd column in the Scottish Sun is a doozy as he left out top Celtic men in Nicolas Kuhn and Arne Engels from his Team of the Year selections to accommodate Rangers players.

Kuhn’s form may have dipped slightly in recent weeks but the German has been phenomenal this season for Celtic. Engels has chipped in with 10 goals and 12 assists from midfield in his maiden Hoops campaign at just 21.

• READ MORE: ‘I didn’t see anything’ – What Celtic frustratingly did vs Rangers that Ibrox side have been accused of this season

Boyd picked Raskin and Cerny over Kuhn and Engels

For Boyd he feels Vaclav Cerny and Nico Raskin are more deserving of a spot in his team which reeks of recency bias.

“I’d have Vaclav Cerny in my Premiership Team of the Year ahead of Nicolas Kuhn,” Boyd’s column began.

“I’d also pick Nico Raskin before £11million man Arne Engels.

“Celtic’s big-money summer signing should be a worried boy that Rudi Garcia, the manager of Belgium, has the Ibrox midfielder ahead of him in the pecking order for his international team.

“When it comes to Cerny, though, I wonder if Rangers have left it too late to get a deal done with Wolfsburg for the Czech. He’s been exceptional. In a team that has struggled so badly domestically, he has shown himself to be a class act.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	30	24	3	3	89	20	69	75
2	RangersRangers	30	19	5	6	62	28	34	62
3	HibernianHibernian	30	11	11	8	45	41	4	44
4	AberdeenAberdeen	30	12	7	11	38	46	-8	43
5	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	30	11	8	11	38	40	-2	41

“But it’s typical of the club’s recruitment that a permanent deal hasn’t been written in stone before now. In fairness to Celtic, that’s something they have done well down the years.

“There’s Odsonne Edouard, Jota, and even after a successful initial spell they were able to lower the agreed fee for Paulo Bernardo.

“Celtic will be champions again, that’s clearly a certainly now. We’ve all seen their bottle crash, we’ve seen the helicopter changing direction in years gone by. It’s not happening this season.

“By the time Rangers kick off against Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow night, Brendan Rodgers’ side could be 16 points clear at the top of the table once more.”

Kris Boyd clutches at straws to explain Celtic omissions

“Gers have already proved they know how to raise their game on the big occasion. It’s matches like this where they have let themselves down.

“Put it this way, there’s every chance Rangers will end this season having beaten Celtic three times. Yet they are nowhere near them in the table.

“Rodgers has had players who have lost form. Guys like Kuhn started the season like a house on fire, but maybe his wisdom teeth have been hurting again as he’s been poor for months now. He was even hooked at half-time against Rangers.

“While Engels at £11m hardly looks like great business right now, does it? At Ibrox, it’s just a case of whether they are able to keep their top men for next season, with Cerny their No 1 priority.”