Murray training at an open session staged at Easter Road, August 2009. |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian William Murray | ||
| Date of birth | 20 March 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Utility player | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hibernian | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Dundee United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2005 | Hibernian | 141 | (13) |
| 2000–2001 | → Alloa Athletic (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Rangers | 43 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Norwich City | 9 | (0) |
| 2008– | Hibernian | 106 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2006 | Scotland | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ian William Murray (born 20 March 1981 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish professional association football player who is captain of his home town club Hibernian. Murray has represented Scotland six times. 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3]
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Murray began his professional career with Hibernian, where he was appointed captain for the 2004–05 season.
Murray joined Rangers on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 2005, but injuries troubled him during his time at the club.[2] It was eventually diagnosed that Murray was suffering from reactive arthritis.[2] His return to the team against Motherwell was manager Paul Le Guen's last match in charge.
Murray signed for Norwich City following his release by Rangers in August 2007.[1] 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.[4]
Grant left the club in October 2007, and Murray failed to establish himself in the Norwich first team under new boss Glenn Roeder.[5] 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."[6]
After leaving Norwich, Murray moved back to his first club, Hibernian, on a contract until the end of the 2007–08 season;[7] he subsequently signed a deal to keep him at the club until 2010.[8] Murray was a candidate for the Hibs captaincy after Rob Jones left for Scunthorpe United in the summer of 2009.[9] New manager John Hughes decided to give the armband to Chris Hogg, however, with Murray to serve as his vice captain.[3]
Midway through the 2009–10 season, Hibs opened contract talks with Murray, whose contract was due to expire in the summer of 2010.[10] At the same time, Murray started coaching East of Scotland Football League club Coldstream on a part-time basis.[11] A two year contract extension was agreed in February 2010.[12]
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.[13] The Daily Record newspaper commented that Murray showed leadership qualities which had been previously lacking in a struggling Hibs side.[13] Murray was appointed captain, on a temporary basis until the end of the season, when Chris Hogg was released by the club.[14]
Murray was awarded a testimonial by Hibs in the 2011–12 season.[15]
Murray captained the Scotland Under-21 side; his debut for the full national team came as a substitute against Canada in October 2002, in a 3–1 win. He did not win another cap until two years later, when he came on during a World Cup 2006 qualifier at half time against Moldova, in a 1–1 draw. His only start for the national team so far was a disappointing 1–0 home defeat against Belarus, during which Murray was substituted at half time. In total he has won six caps for Scotland, although he admitted in October 2009 that he believes his international career is over after he was overlooked by George Burley for a friendly match against Japan.[16]
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