Ian Black (footballer, born 1985)

Black began as a youth player with Tranent Boys Club. He was also a youth player at Hibernian, where he played alongside Scott Brown.[3] Black first signed a professional contract with English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers,[4] but he did not play for their first team.

After being released by Blackburn, Black joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle in July 2004.[5] Black made his debut as a substitute on 7 August 2004 against Livingston,[6] with his first start coming on 9 April 2005 against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.[7] In his first season, he made 13 appearances.[8]

He scored his first goal for the club on 5 November 2005 with a fifth-minute strike against Dunfermline.[9] The following season on 30 December 2006 he was sent off for a second bookable offence against Falkirk.[10]

He made 132 league appearances for Caley, and scored eight goals.[11] His last game for Inverness was against Falkirk in a 1–0 loss for Inverness, which saw them relegated to the Scottish First Division.[12]

It was reported in The Scotsman newspaper on 24 December 2008 that Black had agreed in principle to sign a pre-contract agreement to join boyhood heroes[13] Heart of Midlothian in the summer of 2009.[14] Hearts confirmed that he had signed the agreement on 28 December and would join up with the club for the 2009–10 season.[15] On 2 July 2009, Black finally signed for Hearts after signing a pre-contract agreement in December 2008,[16] marking a return to the club he once served as a ball boy.[17] He made his debut on 17 August 2009 as a substitute against Dundee United at Tannadice,[18] with his first start coming on 23 August against Rangers.[19] He scored his first goal for Hearts on 13 February 2010 with a long-range effort against Falkirk in a 3–2 win.[20] In his first season with the club he made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring once.[21]

Early in the 2010–11 season, Black was criticised by Rangers player Nikica Jelavić, who claimed that Black had intentionally injured him during a match.[22] Black apologised for injuring Jelavic.[22] On 7 August 2011, he was sent off for challenge on Keith Lasley, who was also sent off later in the same match. Hearts eventually lost 1–0 to Lasley's club Motherwell.[23] He was sent off again against Kilmarnock on 29 October 2011.[24] On 14 January 2012 he was given a yellow card for an attempted trip on Paul McGowan,[25] invoking a ban because he went over the points threshold. This prompted his manager to comment that he was being booked because of his reputation rather than the incidents.[26]

In December 2011, with Hearts having problems paying wages, it was reported that Black had taken a part-time job as a painter.[27] At half time in the match against Dunfermline on 17 December the stadium announcer played Paint it black[28] and after the Edinburgh Derby on 2 January 2012 he revealed a T-shirt with the message "I'll paint this place maroon" in reference to his part-time job.[29] On 30 April 2012, Hearts announced that Black would leave Hearts in the summer.[30] Black helped Hearts win the 2011–12 Scottish Cup, defeating Hibernian 5–1 in the 2012 Scottish Cup Final.[31]

It was reported on 4 July 2012 that Black had agreed a deal in principle to sign for Rangers, depending on which division of the Scottish Football League the club was admitted to.[32] On 24 July 2012 he began a trial training spell with the club.[33] It was announced on 28 July that Black had signed a three-year deal with Rangers subject to clearance.[34] He made his debut for Rangers as a trialist on 29 July against Brechin City in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup, Rangers won the match 2–1.[35] Black scored his first Rangers goal in a 4–0 victory against Queens Park on 9 February 2013.[36]

In September 2013, Black was suspended and fined £7,500 after admitting breaches of Scottish Football Association rules in relation to betting on matches.[37]

Black was released by Rangers at the end of the 2014–15 season.[38]

Following unsuccessful trial spells at Berwick Rangers[38] and Raith Rovers,[39] Black signed for English League One club Shrewsbury Town in September 2015.[40] He made his debut in a second-round tie of the Football League Trophy against Fleetwood Town the following month,[41] and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in November.[42] Black played regularly for the remainder of the season, helping Shrewsbury avoid relegation and also reach the fifth-round of the FA Cup, although he had a poor disciplinary record, picking up 13 yellow and 2 red cards in less than seven months.[43] Featuring only sporadically at the beginning of the following season, Black scored his second Shrewsbury goal in a 1–1 draw against AFC Wimbledon in September 2016,[44] He left Shrewsbury on 31 January 2017, after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.[45]

In February 2017 he joined League Two side Blackpool on a deal until the end of the season.[46] Black was released in May 2017, after making 10 appearances for the club.[47]

Black joined Northern Premier League side Skelmersdale United in October 2017.[48] He moved on to National League North side Chorley at the end of October.[49][50] Black signed for Scottish junior club Tranent in January 2018.[51]. Signed for East of Scotland League, Premier Division side, Dunbar United, on 10th March 2020.[52]