Playing Career
After starting in junior football with his hometown boys club, Motherwell Orbiston, Weir signed professionally with Hamilton Accies in 1987. He spent six years at Douglas Park, making close to 200 league appearances for the club, before joining Premier League Hearts, then under the guidance of Sandy Clark. Weir's stay at Tynecastle was brief and he moved to St. Johnstone within a year, signed by Paul Sturrock in a swap deal that saw Colin Miller move in the other direction.
He ruptured his Achilles tendon during the final game of the 1997/98 season, which ruled him out of most of the following season. He returned to the starting line-up, as a right-back, on 4 April 1999, against Rangers, and scored the first of Saints' three goals in a 3–1 victory. Following a knee operation, Weir was preparing to return to first-team action against Aberdeen when he broke his nose (for the sixth time) in a training-ground collision with teammate Paddy Connolly. After getting back into the team, he was again injured in training (a broken jaw and cheekbone) which meant he missed more of the campaign.
A serious knee injury put Weir out of action until January 2004. He managed seven appearances before being injured again, but was able to play against Newcastle United in his own testimonial match in May, featuring as a young Newcastle side won 2–1 in front of just under 3,000 spectators.
Despite his numerous injuries, Weir, club captain for the majority of his time at St. Johnstone, made over 200 appearances for the Perth club, and received an award when he achieved the 200 mark in August 2001. With his playing days near an end, Weir became assistant manager, firstly, to John Connolly and then Owen Coyle.
Read more about this topic: Jim Weir
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or career:
“Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)