PFA awards are a bit like Eurovision...

THE Eurovision Song Contest returns next week to remind the nation why Brexit happened. Eurovision doesn’t reward genuine merit. It’s all about the politics. A night of mutual back-scratching and regional alliances. It matters little if the British entry is good or gash. John Lennon singing Imagine in his best white suit would still finish second-last with seven points. Right now, North Korea would poll more votes. Sometimes, it’s not enough to be good; you have to be liked, as well. Or neutral, like Sweden. This goes some way to explain why the men who play football in Scotland repeatedly make a pig’s ear of the shortlists for their annual awards. Jack Ross has enjoyed a storming season with Alloa, then St Mirren. Yet he doesn’t even rate a mention for Manager of the Year. Scott Brown’s exclusion from the four-man player shortlist is another odd one. The Parkhead captain is enjoying his best season in some time. Brendan Rodgers claims he’s the most influential player in Scotland. In contrast, Brown’s fellow pros don’t even rate him in the top four. The presence of Aberdeen’s Jonny Hayes on the PFA shortlist is hardly a democratic outrage. The winger is a quick, clever, creative footballer — Aberdeen’s best player and a Republic of Ireland international. It’s a subjective choice and, if he wins, good luck to him. But there’s no guarantee he’d get a game in the current Celtic starting XI. Let’s be honest, there might not be anyone from the other Premiership clubs who would. Forget any nonsense about some kind of anti-Celtic bias. Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele and Stuart Armstrong are all up against Hayes for the main prize at tomorrow night’s awards dinner in Glasgow. If that’s a conspiracy, it’s the worst one of all-time. When one team dominates a season, the vote can be split between a number of players. That’s the logical explanation for the snub to Brown. Unless, of course, the midfielder’s combative style of play has made him as popular with rivals as Englebert Humperdinck draped in a Union Jack at the Eurovision bar. It couldn’t be that. Could it?