Ian Murray (footballer)

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Ian Murray (footballer) bigraphy, stories - Scottish footballer

Ian Murray (footballer) : biography

20 March 1981 –

Ian William Murray (born 20 March 1981 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager, who is currently the player/manager of Dumbarton.

During his career, Murray has played for Hibernian, Alloa Athletic (on loan), Rangers and Norwich City. He also represented Scotland six times between 2002 and 2006. His versatility has seen him deployed in a variety of roles in his career, including centre back, full back and midfielder. Murray has previously stated that he prefers to play at centre back or central midfield.

Murray started his career with Hibs, and captained the club in the 2004–05 season after Grant Brebner left the club. Murray signed for Rangers under freedom of contract in 2005, but he was troubled with injuries during his time at Ibrox club; Murray was eventually diagnosed with a form of arthritis. He was released by Rangers in August 2007 and signed for Norwich City, but fell out of favour there after a managerial change. He returned to Hibs in January 2008, and was made vice captain of the team in July 2009. Murray left Hibs in May 2012 and was appointed player/manager of Dumbarton in November.

Playing career

Hibernian

Murray made his debut for Hibs against Dundee Utd on 22 January 2000 and he scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance, a 4–1 win against Dunfermline. Murray missed most of the 2003–04 season due to a knee injury. After returning from injury, Murray was made captain of Hibs in the 2004–05 season and formed a defensive partnership with Gary Caldwell.

Rangers

Norwich City

Murray signed for Norwich City following his release by Rangers in August 2007. He made his Norwich debut against Hull City two days later, but Murray had a difficult start to his Norwich career due to illness. He was substituted at half-time in a League Cup tie at Rochdale after a dreadful performance, with Norwich manager Peter Grant admitting afterwards that he should not have played Murray as the player was unwell. Murray’s health problems continued as he was ruled out of subsequent matches.

Grant left the club in October 2007, and Murray failed to establish himself in the Norwich first team under new boss Glenn Roeder. In an interview given after his departure, Murray said of Roeder, "It was the first time in my life I felt like chucking it during a game, a lot of the players felt that way. He’s an angry man, not nice to play for."

Return to Hibernian

After leaving Norwich, Murray moved back to his first club, Hibernian, on a contract until the end of the 2007–08 season; he subsequently signed a deal to keep him at the club until 2010. Murray was a candidate for the Hibs captaincy after Rob Jones left for Scunthorpe United in the summer of 2009. New manager John Hughes decided to give the armband to Chris Hogg, however, with Murray to serve as his vice captain.

Midway through the 2009–10 season, Hibs opened contract talks with Murray, whose contract was due to expire in the summer of 2010. At the same time, Murray started coaching East of Scotland Football League club Coldstream on a part-time basis. A two-year contract extension was agreed in February 2010.

Murray has spent the majority of his second spell at Hibs as a left back, although manager Colin Calderwood used Murray as a defensive midfielder to good effect as Hibs won 3–0 against Rangers in November 2010. The Daily Record newspaper commented that Murray showed leadership qualities which had been previously lacking in a struggling Hibs side. Murray was appointed captain, on a temporary basis until the end of the season, when Chris Hogg was released by the club.

Murray was awarded a testimonial by Hibs in the 2011–12 season. He played regularly in the early part of the season, but appeared infrequently after suffering an injured hip. Murray is out of contract at the end of the 2011–12 season. Murray left Hibs at the end of his contract in May 2012.

After leaving Hibs, Murray had a trial spell with American club Tampa Bay Rowdies. He then returned to Scotland and played as a trialist for Dunfermline in a pre-season friendly match. Murray played for Brechin City in a Scottish Second Division match on 1 September 2012 as a trialist.