Craig Bryson

Craig James Bryson (born 6 November 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone. He plays in central midfield as a box-to-box midfielder.

Bryson began his career at Scottish First Division club Clyde, for whom he made his professional debut in 2004. He moved to the Scottish Premiership with Kilmarnock in 2007 before being bought by Derby County in 2011. At Derby, Bryson twice won the club's Player of the Year Award – in 2012 and 2014, was named to the PFA Championship Team of the Year in 2014 and became the first Derby player to score a hat-trick against fierce rivals Nottingham Forest in 116 years, when he did so in a 5–0 win in March 2014. Bryson was loaned to Cardiff City during the 2017–18 season, and left Derby in 2019 to sign for Aberdeen.

Club Career

Clyde

2003–04 season

Born in Rutherglen, Bryson began his career with non-league side Westwood Rovers. He signed a professional contract with Scottish First Division club Clyde at the beginning of the 2003–04 season. He turned down the opportunity to sign for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell because he wanted to play regular first team football and he didn't feel that he would get that at Motherwell. He didn't make a first team appearance that season, but was loaned out to junior outfit East Kilbride Thistle for the latter part of the season. He made a big impression in his time at East Kilbride, scoring two goals in eight league appearances and winning the club's Young Player of the Year award.

2004–05 season

Bryson made his first team debut for Clyde in the 2004–05 season in a Scottish First Division match against Raith Rovers on 14 August 2004, and scored a goal after 4 minutes, in a match Clyde won 3–2. He was rewarded with a new two-year contract in November 2004 and his good form at club level saw him called up to the Scotland under-19 team for a friendly agai