The rankings from 25 to 11 can be found here.
Here's this season's top ten...
10. AGEU (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN)
Hearts fans can absolutely bookmark this to use it against me when he tears the league apart next season. However at the time of writing he has started only one game and played little more than bit parts in a few others at a cost of nearly £2million.
9. PLAMEN GALABOV (DUNDEE)
Galabov has five caps for Bulgaria, but the last of those was in 2023. Apparently he was given a glowing reference by countryman Stiliyan Petrov, inspiring Dundee to offer a two year deal in the summer. He played two League Cup games before dropping out of contention. In September Steven Pressley insisted he would get his chance in the team, but he never got on the pitch again before leaving by "mutual consent" in January.
8. JANNIK WANNER (LIVINGSTON)
Livingston actually paid a fee for the German winger, who was given a three year contract. After some early struggles he was punted on loan to St. Johnstone, in the hope he would do a 'Joel Nouble' and come back a different player after a few months. He didn't. St. Johnstone lost faith in him quickly and he has made only one sub appearance since returning to Livi in January. File this under 'player most likely to be mutually consented this summer'.
7. MAX AARONS (RANGERS)
Aarons was meant to be the successor for James Tavernier at right-back as well as covering at left-back. By the end of the season he was third choice behind Tavernier and Dujon Sterling, and Danny Rohl even preferred Sterling as the emergency left-back. Aarons will be forever remembered for the early red card in Brugge that led to a spectacular collapse in the Champions League Qualifiers. He has fallen a long way from a player that Bournemouth signed for £12million less than three years ago; he will go back there this summer.
6. EMILE ACQUAH (DUNDEE)
Acquah's last touch as a Dundee player (so far, at least) looked like a certain goal, only for Craig Gordon to produce the save of the season to preserve Hearts' win at Dens Park. Acquah was loaned to Harrogate Town a few days later, where he failed to score for the League Two strugglers. His only Dundee goal was at Bonnyrigg Rose in the League Cup. He still has two years left on his Dundee contract.
5. KION ETETE (ST. MIRREN)
The giant striker joined on loan from Cardiff in January. Having been hooked at half-time on his debut, he struggled so much in a Cup game against Airdrie after coming on as a sub that he was himself substituted at the start of extra-time, having played for just 27 minutes. He's only played two minutes of football since, and has been injured - a blessing for everyone, it seems. It appears he struggled so much on loan at Rotherham in the first half of the season that he might go down as the worst signing of 2025/26 for two different clubs.
4. JOEL MVUKA (CELTIC)
Celtic's signing strategy in January seemed very much a case of throwing loads of things at a wall and seeing if anything stuck. Mvuka certainly didn't stick. Martin O'Neill claimed that “Joel is a talented player who has a very good level of experience achieved at some really good clubs. He will give the squad another option, he is very quick, able to play on both wings and I am sure he will make a very positive contribution to the club." He has made two Scottish Cup appearances (and was subbed at half-time in his only start), while he has rarely even made the bench in the league. So much for that positive contribution. His absence from the club Player of the Year awards was noted and a likely sign that he's already mentally back at his parent club, if not physically.
3. JOE ROTHWELL (RANGERS)
Rothwell was the standard-bearer for the Russell Martin era, the player who had played for him before, who knew exactly what to expect, and who would be able to school his teammates in a new system. And he was as hopeless as his manager. Rothwell looked ponderous and completely unequipped for a physical battle. Danny Rohl quickly sidelined him and the £2million signing ended up being allowed to leave on a free transfer within six months.
2. KUSINI YENGI (ABERDEEN)
Yengi's debut against Hearts was a special kind of awful, to the point where he actually managed to hit the post when he mishit his shot. It didn't get a lot better. Aberdeen moved quickly to get in Kevin Nisbet and Marko Lazetic so that they barely had to use Yengi again, and he was punted out on loan to Japan in January. However he tore a thigh muscle a couple of months ago so the Dons may find it hard to move him on permanently this summer.
1. MICHEL-ANGE BALIKWISHA (CELTIC)
Celtic had apparently pursued the left winger for two years, and Brendan Rodgers was apoplectic that the board didn't get him in before the Champions League debacle against Kairat. And yet Balikwisha has been hopeless. He hasn't started a league game since September, and was last seen being subbed after a mediocre performance against Auchinleck Talbot in the cup in January. He hasn't been injured, he's just been overlooked in favour of players like Yang who aren't even left wingers. And Balikwisha cost £4.5million...
Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
