Is this Hearts hero a genuine transfer target for Rangers?

Just about the only thing Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian had in common last Saturday was the prospect of the departure of many of the players who performed so very differently in the Scottish cup final. It is seems unlikely Hibs fans will lament the exit of the players who performed with such bewildering ineptitude.

Hearts fans, however, will be more disappointed, even if expectancy has led to resignation. Ian Black, for whom the tag ‘combative midfielder’ is diplomatic, will be much missed now that his three-year contract has expired and he has become a free agent.

Black has a reputation for poor discipline. In the Scottish Premier League this season he received 10 yellow cards and 2 red cards in 28 starts and one appearance as a substitute. He received the same number of red cards as he scored goals. His liaisons with Scotland’s refereeing fraternity were the result of a robust and occasionally reckless style of play. Indeed, he was lucky to be allowed to exert such an influence on the Scottish cup final because he could have been sent off early in the game for catching Lee Griffiths with an elbow to the face as they jumped for the ball. His is the kind of reputation that can be difficult to discard but there has been little evidence that he is trying very hard either.

Despite this, it is recognised that Black is a more than useful player. He can take control of games, as he did against Hibernian, and he scored a superb goal against Rangers this season. He will surely have suitors and the speculation has already started. The Daily Record reported that Rangers were keen on signing him and had already been in touch with his representatives. The same article also reported that newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday were rumoured to be interested in signing Black.

A move to Rangers would be contingent on the Ibrox club overturning a one-year transfer embargo imposed by the Scottish Football Association. How this will be achieved remains obscure-an appeal to the SFA has already upheld the original decision. The most widely touted strategy has been to go through the Court of Arbitration for Sport but there has to be a concern that this could involve a protracted legal wrangle. At the moment it has to be considered highly unlikely that Black will sign for Rangers in the imminent future.

This verdict will not displease the majority of Rangers fans, although Ally McCoist will be disappointed if it is true that he is an admirer.  Black is widely despised among the Rangers support after a poor tackle on Nikica Jelavic resulted in the Croatian striker missing several months of the 2010/11 season. At subsequent Hearts-Rangers matches, he had become a magnet for derision.  This incident became a specific example of a style of play that was never likely to endear Black to many outside the ranks of his club’s supporters.

A number of fans took to social networking sites to bemoan the prospect of Black signing for Rangers, although some were willing to concede that he was a gifted and potentially beneficial player. It might also be pointed out that Rangers are relatively strong in midfield at the moment but this could change substantially depending on the resolution to the club’s current financial predicament. At the very least it is likely to change to some extent but the kind of resolution that would see an exodus of players would also render it unlikely that Black would be brought in.

Again, this is all dependent on the club finding a way to overturn the current transfer embargo. At the moment, the prospect is merely an intriguing diversion based on the slim hope that circumstances might conspire to facilitate an unlikely piece of football business.

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