Davie Weir was surely one of the best central defenders Hearts have had in modern times. A key member of Jim Jefferies` 97/98 Scottish Cup winning side, Weir`s supreme reading of the game and composure at the back very quickly became apparent after a slightly uncertain start to his Hearts career. Before long he was forming one of the most effective central defensive partnerships the club has possibly ever had (with a young Paul Ritchie), as well as representing his country in the World Cup. A distinguished career with Everton south of the border followed when the inevitable ‘big money` offers starting coming in for his services, and no-one at Hearts could begrudge Weir the chance to prove himself at a higher level in the game, especially as he`d helped play his part in something special back in `98.
Aside from his obvious footballing abilities though, one of the things that Davie Weir was most admired for was his demeanour on the field of play. He generally went about his business with the minimum of fuss and appeared to command the respect of team-mates and opponents alike for his professionalism and good sportsmanship. Indeed the only time I ever saw him losing his temper was during that infamous afternoon at Ibrox when Hearts were reduced to seven men in ludicrous circumstances, something that I think anyone would be forgiven for!
So it would be fair to say that it was more than slightly disappointing to see just what Davie Weir has become after his performance for Rangers at Tynecastle on Saturday. The unflappable, classy defender who once graced the hallowed Tynie turf was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a snarling, bitter man who couldn`t stay out of the referee`s face for more than a few minutes at a time. Honestly, it would have put Willie Miller in his prime to shame, although to be fair to Miller he would have had more class than to partake in the sort of cowardly challenge that Weir subjected Gary Glen to in stoppage time on Saturday, when he charged a man half his size into the crowd after the ball had gone out of play. What was that all about, exactly?
What has happened to Weir? Is it just that he`s a bit past it now and he can`t handle not being able to quite manage what he once could? Or is it the ‘captain of Rangers` thing whereby he feels he had a divine right to be getting all of the decisions all of the time, which for once his team didn`t on Saturday? I don`t know what it is, but he appears to be a very different guy to the one he was, which is a pity.
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I think DW could be forgiven in these last 15 mins actually – he was clearly (and understandably) frustrated that his team had played the better football and had loads more shots on goal than us – yet were about to lose. The financial crisis at Rangers has meant there’s little scope for new recruits – and they’ve lost their 2 top scorers in the space of a year – so its little wonder he’s feeling the pressure a bit now, especially with Celtic looking like they have the upper hand right now. The Glen thing was not much more than a good old fashioned shoulder charge – much like we’ve seen from Elvis, Robbie, Jose and Zaliukas in recent years (in my opinion).
A shoulder charge after the ball had gone out of the play. Weir knew exactly what he was doing there…I just couldn’t imagine him doing that sort of thing 10 years ago. There’s definitely a nastiness there that he never showed whilst at Hearts…..either that or my maroon tinted specs were particularly blurry back then…!
you’re night about the ‘nastiness’ in his game, but equally i think you’re being a little harsh. I thought the push on elloitt was particularly silly, but no more than roughing up the opposing strikers in a frustrating game. As specs said its no worse than Zal has done many a time, and Elvis was a pro at it too. As captain there is that much more responsibility, and you rarely get good ‘nice’ captains. ;o)
Your last comment is very true….the thing that annoyed me the most was his constant narking at the referee, something he never did whilst at Hearts.