James McIntosh Weir (born 15 June 1969) is a Scottish professional football player and coach who currently manages Scottish League Two club Forfar Athletic. Weir played in the senior Scottish leagues for Hamilton Academical, Hearts and St. Johnstone. He has also worked as manager of Montrose, Arbroath, Brechin City, Elgin City and Forfar Athletic.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James McIntosh Weir | ||
| Date of birth | 15 June 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Motherwell, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1987 | Motherwell Orbiston B.C. | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1993 | Hamilton Academical | 186 | (5) |
| 1993–1994 | Hearts | 28 | (0) |
| 1994–2007 | St. Johnstone | 205 | (7) |
| 2008–2009 | Bankfoot Athletic | ||
| 2009–2010 | Arbroath | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Luncarty | ||
| Kinnoull | |||
| Total | 420 | (12) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Montrose | ||
| 2009–2010 | Arbroath | ||
| 2010–2012 | Brechin City | ||
| 2014–2017 | Elgin City | ||
| 2017–2019 | Forfar Athletic | ||
| 2024- | Forfar Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editAfter starting in youth 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.[1]
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.[2]
After his senior career, Perth-based Weir played Junior football for local sides Bankfoot Athletic, Luncarty and Kinnoull in between managerial appointments.[3][4][5]
Managerial career
editAfter thirteen years with St. Johnstone, Weir became the manager of Montrose on 8 February 2007.[6] In his first game in charge, on 10 February, the Gable Endies lost 1–0 at Berwick Rangers.[7] Just over a year after signing a contract extension,[8] Weir was sacked towards the end of September 2008 with Montrose third in the league.[9]
After the resignation of John McGlashan, Weir became the manager of Arbroath on 1 November 2009.[10] Weir failed to save Arbroath from relegation in the 2009–10 Scottish Second Division, as they finished ninth and were beaten by Forfar Athletic in the play-offs.[2] The Lichties also lost to junior club Irvine Meadow in the 2009–10 Scottish Cup.[11]
Weir joined Brechin City on 24 May 2010.[2] Brechin finished fourth in the 2010–11 Scottish Second Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, but lost in the final to Ayr United. Weir was sacked by Brechin in September 2012 after the club had made a bad start to the 2012–13 Scottish Second Division.[12]
Weir was appointed manager of Scottish League Two club Elgin City in November 2014.[13] After nearly three years in charge, Weir moved to Forfar Athletic in October 2017.[14] Weir was involved in a car crash after a training session in September 2019.[15] He left the club on 3 November, as he struggled to combine his work commitments and recovery from the car crash.[16]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of match played 17 December 2024
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Montrose | 
|
8 February 2007 | 29 September 2008 | 67 | 27 | 15 | 25 | 40.30 |
| Arbroath |
|
1 November 2009 | 24 May 2010 | 29 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 27.59 |
| Brechin City |
|
24 May 2010 | 30 September 2012 | 99 | 33 | 28 | 38 | 33.33 |
| Elgin City |
|
27 November 2014 | 1 October 2017 | 126 | 53 | 24 | 49 | 42.06 |
| Forfar Athletic |
|
2 October 2017 | 3 November 2019 | 91 | 37 | 14 | 40 | 40.66 |
| Forfar Athletic |
|
20 November 2024 | present | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Total | 414 | 158 | 93 | 163 | 38.16 | |||
References
edit- ^ Richardson, Alan (12 May 2004). "Saints fans hail legendary Weir". The Courier. DC Thomson. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ a b c Spence, Jim (24 May 2010). "Jim Weir resigns at Arbroath to take over at Brechin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "JUNIOR SIDE WILL PROVIDE TOUGH CUP TEST". Arbroath Herald. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ Lowson, Alison (29 January 2013). "Golden oldie Jim boots up again". Perthshire Advertiser. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ "Jim Weir moves swiftly to appoint his Elgin City assistant" – Press & Journal, 28 November 2014
- ^ "Era ends as Jim moves into management". St. Johnstone FC. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Berwick Rangers 1–0 Montrose". BBC Sport. 10 February 2007.
- ^ "New deal for Montrose boss Weir". BBC Sport. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ Dey, Graeme (29 September 2008). "Montrose boss Weir shown the door". The Courier. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ Spence, Jim (1 November 2009). "Weir appointed Arbroath manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ^ "Irvine Meadow 1–0 Arbroath". BBC Sport. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Brechin City part company with manager Jim Weir". BBC Sport. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ Elgin name Weir as new manager Archived 19 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, SPFL
- ^ "Manager Jim Weir departs Elgin City for Forfar Athletic". BBC Sport. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^ "Forfar Athletic: Jim Weir & Barry Sellars 'recovering well' following motorway collision". BBC Sport. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- ^ "Forfar Athletic: Jim Weir resigns due to personal reasons". BBC Sport. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
External links
edit- Jim Weir at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Jim Weir at Soccerbase
- Jim Weir management career statistics at Soccerbase
