Craig Bryson

Club

International

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 against Germany. In February 2004, Bryson scored in a 2–1 victory over Ross County in a Scottish Cup replay, which set up a quarter-final tie against Celtic, the team he supported as a boy. Bryson started against Celtic and thought he had scored after hitting the back of the net from a long-range strike, but this goal was controversially ruled out after the referee blew his whistle…

Bryson was capped by Scotland at under-19 and under-21 level while with Clyde. He was called up for a Scotland B match in 2009 but was later withdrawn at the request of his club manager Jim Jefferies. On 16 November 2010, Bryson made his full international debut as a second-half substitute against the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie. Bryson's form for Derby saw him recalled to the squad for a friendly against the United States in May 2012, but he did not play. In 2013, Bryson was recalled to the senior squad for World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Macedonia in September and Croatia in October, but did not get any match time. He started a friendly against Norway in Molde on 20 November to gain his second cap for his country. He was also called up for a post-season friendly against Nigeria, but while Derby teammates Chris Martin and Craig Forsyth made their debuts, Bryson did not come off the substitutes bench.

Bryson plays in central midfield and describes himself as a "box-to-box central midfielder, who will always give 100% for the team." Bryson scored 16 league goals for Derby in the 2013–14 season, which was more than he had scored in any of his previous three seasons combined. He put this improvement down to manager Steve McClaren: "he's changed the formation slightly and I have more freedom to get in the box and support Chris [Martin]. We are a good partnership." Scotland manager Gordon Strachan hailed the understanding between the two when he called them up for a friendly with Nigeria in May 2014: "When you look at the link-up between [Martin] and Bryson, I think it's 40-odd goals they've scored between them. It's a smashing partnership." Martin himself said of his partnership with Bryson in May 2014: "I think people must hate playing against him, because I certainly would. I wouldn't want to mark him. People can't stay with him, he's got that much energy. From my point of view, he helps my game, because he takes people away and runs in behind. It makes it easier for me to play, because he's always there next to me."