In January of 2007, Rangers were not in a good place. Having finished third in the SPL the previous season, the club had replaced manager Alex McLeish with former Lyon manager Paul Le Guen.
What had seemed like an exciting, ambitious move for a top European coach had gone badly wrong, with many of his new signings failing to impress, and established first team players not taking to his training methods. Although Rangers had secured European football after Christmas, they had been knocked out of the League Cup by First Division St. Johnstone, and were 17 points behind Celtic in the SPL. Le Guen left by mutual consent early in January, and Rangers identified former manager Walter Smith, then Scotland manager, as the man to replace Le Guen. The SFA were not keen to allow Smith to leave his post to return to club football, but eventually relented, and Smith returned to Ibrox on January 10th.
After a convincing home win in his first game, Smith made David Weir his first signing. Smith had previously taken Weir to Everton from Hearts, and Weir had gone on to become Everton captain, making over 250 appearances for the club in his 8 years there. But Weir too had not enjoyed the 06/07 season to that point, and had made just 6 appearances when he returned to Scotland to sign for Rangers.
The news of Weir’s arrival hardly had Rangers fans in raptures, as he was already 36 years old, and there were doubts over his fitness and ability. It seemed likely that Weir would be a short-term option, a veteran presence in the team for the rest of the season, before being replaced the following summer.
Few could have predicted what would come next. Earlier this week, 5 years after signing for the club, Weir announced that he would be leaving Rangers. Now 41, Weir has played over 230 games for Rangers, and has captained the club since April 2009, during which time Rangers have won three successive SPL titles. In his four full seasons at the club, he missed just 4 SPL matches, and made over 50 appearances in three of those seasons, including an astonishing 61 in the 07/08 season, after Rangers played 18 European matches during their run to the UEFA Cup final.
For the last two or three seasons, some Rangers fans would worry that Weir was finished. That at 38, then 39, then 40 that he was over the hill and couldn’t play to the level expected any more. But year after year he would be consistently outstanding, playing almost every game and rarely making mistakes. David Weir was never blessed with pace, but he knows exactly what he can do, and was always able to get himself into the right place at the right time to make a tackle or a block and just do his job.
It’s no surprise that both George Burley and Craig Levein sent out S.O.S’ to Weir and recalled him for the national team when other centrebacks were injured. He won the Scottish Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year award in 2010, just a few days short of his 40th birthday. He was a steady presence alongside Carlos Cuellar and Madjid Bougherra and a key part of the team that broke Celtic’s run of three SPL titles in a row in the 08/09 season, after he had replaced Barry Ferguson as captain.
After playing 53 times last season, Weir had made just a single first team appearance this term when he announced he would be leaving. He started at Ibrox as Rangers faced Malmo in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier, but lasted just 28 minutes before suffering a hamstring injury that kept him out for most of the season. He is fit again, but with new signings Carlos Bocanegra and Doran Goian forming a solid partnership in central defence, he has been out of the picture under new manager Ally McCoist, and is set to leave after making an appearance at half-time during the match at Ibrox against Aberdeen.
David Weir will return to English football, still eager to play on, despite turning 42 later this year. He will be remembered as one of Walter Smith’s greatest signings for Rangers, and as one of the club’s best captains.
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