pete 2,499 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 The fall of Ian Black When Ian Black ran the show for Hearts’ Scottish Cup final success of 2012, ‘Blackie’ must have felt the world was at his feet and a big move to some decent Championship side was on the cards. In his wildest dreams maybe even a lower-table EPL side. Already one of Rangers’ most hated opponents for his disgusting tackle on Nikica Jelavic in 2010, which he did admittedly apologise for, instead of making his way to the rich plunder of England, Black’s arrival at post-admin Rangers in summer 2012 was a strangely popular affair from those of an Ibrox persuasion. Some fans these days claim they were horrified at Rangers bringing in such a loathed opponent, yet there was strangely little sign of such abject objection at the time (except from yours truly) maybe due to the exodus that had slimmed the Rangers herd to near-apocalyptic levels of dire need. Indeed, he was borderline welcomed as a hero, for ‘sacrificing’ a better league and joining Rangers in our ‘time of need’ (a phrase which is becoming a bit of a cliché to justify the mercenaries who stayed like Alexander and McCulloch who had no options elsewhere at their age – Wallace is entirely excluded from this as he could easily have got a better gig down south) and ‘helping the cause’. Truth was Black, like so many others, joined for the money. As I brought to you a few weeks ago, my sources tell me he gained a lot more of that filthy lucre in recent months, when a contractual appearance clause is said to have come into effect and a resultant wage increase to £10,000. The problem is Ian Black has never even justified half of that wage, nevermind the lot. His first season at Ibrox was…awful. He did suffer the same problem of the turgid McCoist regime beginning in earnest, but then that excuse fails to completely tally up when we see how the likes of Lewis Macleod and Barrie McKay managed to perform under the same circumstances. In truth his second season, from August to November 2013, was a substantial improvement, and for about three or four months Black looked like a reasonably decent defensive midfielder. Unfortunately that is where his ‘form’ ended, permanently and bluntly speaking Ian Black has barely put in a single shift in 18 months since worth talking about. I will not go into the betting charges he was guilty of, it has been discussed time and time again and it is for another debate, but it does sum up the litany of uselessness Black has become, and while manager Kenny McDowall has hardly carried out his new job with panache, ditching Black, Old Firm aside, was pretty bold and ultimately totally justified. Black really is part of the stale “Old Ally Pals Act” and you have to give credit where it is due and applaud McDowall effectively dumping him and replacing with Kyle Hutton who has seized the opportunity and produced his best football as a Rangers player. I have not even touched on the numerous times Black has outright disgraced himself on the pitch, such as at Tannadice when he let down the team to a tragically embarrassing level, plus his ghastly display v Raith recently which led McDowall to hook him off for probably the last time. It is not often Rangers fans cheer a player off in relief that he has gone, but they did that day, and Blackie did not look a happy chappy at all. He is out of contract this summer, and he is a wage Rangers need rid of, as well as a disruptive influence off the pitch. From what I understand (I have never met him) he is actually a gent away from football, and a genuinely decent guy, so this article is not a personal character assassination, but when it comes to football, and Rangers in particular, which is what this blog focuses on, he has been a truly woeful acquisition and a contract renewal would be a horrendous mistake. Why did we sign him again? Posted by Ibrox Noise at 08:00 He looked like our best player for a time but has sometimes been invisible. A poor man's Fernando Ricksen to be honest. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchorman 0 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 He looked like our best player for a time but has sometimes been invisible. A poor man's Fernando Ricksen to be honest. Must admit I never came close to thinking that - not even once. I see nothing in him as a player. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,247 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) Like him or not, Ian Black was always an easy target for those willing to have a go, unwarranted or not. He never was a good player, he did not prove that he was better than that and anyone knew it too. You can level any sort of flak at him, much of it on reasonable grounds. Still, for all the shortcomings he has a person and as a footballer, Ian Black on the park gave 100% of what an Ian Black had to give. It was never more than adequate at best, but he done it any time he stepped onto the surface. We had many far better footballers at the club since Black signed and I wish that I could say the same about them regarding application and effort, but I can't. Did he earn too much? Of course. Was it his fault? Would you have said no (if you had no affiliation to club or company willing to pay you)? IMHO, we can do better than shooting a sitting duck. A poor man's Fernando Ricksen to be honest. Utterly pointless and nonsensical remark. Edited February 23, 2015 by der Berliner 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewarty 1,876 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Don't disagree with the overall message, but I'm confused as to whether he is a gent off the pitch, or a disruptive influence? Also, Hutton has shown signs of improvement with his short run of games, but I think its far too early to say its too early to talk of the last 2-3 game as his best spell of form at the club. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oleg_Mcnoleg 50 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 It's seemed that when Black's played well, the team's played well. That we're in the state we're in shows how often that's happened. I thought he'd do well. I remember him bossing our midfield when he was at ICT and seemed to have a decent delivery to go with his obvious appetite for a tackle. But he's been, at best, horribly inconsistent until this season. Recently he found consistency but he's been consistently terrible. Perhaps being benched will be the kick up the erchie that he needs but I suspect he's done with us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 There is no fall, he's always been pish. cowardly pish. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchorman 0 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 He slows the game to walking pace and allows the opposition all the time in the world to regroup. No coincidence we have upped the tempo in the last 2 games. His free kicks are abysmal - either can't clear the first man or they hang in the air so long that it makes it impossible to do anything with them. For a so-called tackler his tackling is very poor. He never penetrates the opposition with runs or decent balls in behind them. His Holywood long balls out to the wings put the winger under so much pressure as the ball is in the air for so long. Before anyone jumps on the bandwagon - this is nothing to do with Ian Black the person. He is just a very very mediocre player in my mind. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibmark 15 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 He should've been chased out of Rangers as soon as it was discovered that he had bet on Rangers results. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real PapaBear 0 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 He slows the game to walking pace and allows the opposition all the time in the world to regroup. No coincidence we have upped the tempo in the last 2 games.His free kicks are abysmal - either can't clear the first man or they hang in the air so long that it makes it impossible to do anything with them. For a so-called tackler his tackling is very poor. He never penetrates the opposition with runs or decent balls in behind them. His Holywood long balls out to the wings put the winger under so much pressure as the ball is in the air for so long. Before anyone jumps on the bandwagon - this is nothing to do with Ian Black the person. He is just a very very mediocre player in my mind. he was exposed for the fraud he is when he came up against Scot Brown in the LCSF. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,247 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) he was exposed for the fraud he is when he came up against Scot Brown in the LCSF. You mean the chap who fouled him thrice in the first ten minutes without even a look from the ref? The animal who was laughing all the game at us, because the ref ignored him till late on? Rest assured, had Black done anything similar, he'd been off after 10 mins at the latest. Edited February 23, 2015 by der Berliner 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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