Hindsight is a frustrating tool in life. In hindsight I would never have bought those cinema tickets to see any of the Transformers movies or proclaim that Ramon Pereira would be a hit at Tynecastle. I wondered if any of the contingent of ex-Hearts players employed with Rangers were starting to think what if after another fustrating week on the park coupled with the circus show behind the scenes which now seems to include a mexican stand-off between the manager and the board. Obviously these players have been taken care of in a financial sense but what of their legacy as Rangers players? Instead of being heralded as the heroes that pulled a Scottish football institution from the basement of the football league to the upper echolons of the Premiership, they will now probably be remembered with the same fondness as greats such as Karl Svensson and Egil Ostenstad. Consecutive league championships will now forever be overshadowed by the defeats to Stirling, Forfar and Alloa.
Marius Zaliukas was a strange summer signing but predictable given the signing policy of this Rangers regime over the past three years. A talented individual but with lapses in concentration that seemed to be more visible when playing lesser known sides during his seven year spell in Gorgie. It would seem that his number is already up at Ibrox after unimpressive displays and injury problems have littered his first few months at the club. He will no doubt be content to stay out the limelight and receive his wages until his contract expires.
I don’t know where I stand when it comes to Lee Wallace. I admire him for his loyalty to Rangers at a time when most were fleeing the sinking ship and it is obvious that he craves a stable life with his young family over chasing a big move away from Ibrox. On the otherhand it is frustrating to see him struggle to maintain a high level of consistency after playing against part time sides during the past 24 months. As others have struggled to maintain a professional attitude during these turbulent times, Wallace has proved himself worthy of praise for never letting the surrounding atmosphere get to him on the park. I’m still hopeful that he gets a crack down south in the near future.
Rewind back to August 2012. Off the back of a couple of decent performances playing in the number ten role against Liverpool, David Templeton found himself on the brink of international recognition and was even gaining glowing reports from scouts from the English Championship. We will never know if those clubs down south were willing to make a concrete offer that summer and it would seem given the financial meltdown at Tynecastle there was probably a bit of pressure on the young lad to take the offer from the Glasgow side but surely in hindsight it would appear that the move has only benefited Hearts thus far. Given Templeton’s inconsistent performances during the previous season the money made on the deal was a great piece of business for Hearts. On the downside it has been frustrating to watch Templeton struggle to hold down a place in a team of long ball merchants while looking like he has aged considerably in the process. Rumours of a bad social lifestyle have circulated recently and it would be a shame to see the young man turn into a classic Scottish football cliche.
Given it’s christmas it seems fitting to finish this blog by focussing on our favourite panto villian Ian Black. Again a signing that is indicitive of a poor signing policy at Ibrox. It seems that the thought process behind the majority of transfers revolved around looking at who was a player of the year at various SPL clubs and snapping them up on inflated wages without giving any thought on how these players would compliment the rest of the squad. When paired with a ball winner at Hearts under Paulo Sergio, Black was allowed to focus on dictating a match and when given time on the ball would prove to be an effective playmaker. His time with Rangers has only seemed to highlight the flaws in his ability and attitude with his gamesmanship and snide tackling a constant during this season. Again like the others, he will look at this spell in his football career as a productive one in terms of the health of his bank balance but when the boots come off and he has time to take stock later in life, I would imagine he will not look back at the memories of wet and windy nights at Central Park with any fondness.
What are your views on these former Gorgie favourites? Do you agree on how I feel their careers have panned out? Please leave any comments below and thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
Scott
Monday Night Fitba 