Robert James Weir (born 9 December 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Crusaders. He has played in the English Football League for Tranmere Rovers, Burton Albion and Leyton Orient and Chesterfield.

Club career

Larne

Born in Belfast, Weir started his career with the Larne youth system. He started playing for the first team in the 2004–05 season as a 15-year-old and he scored his first goal in a 5–2 victory over Crusaders on 9 October 2004. He had unsuccessful trials with Fulham, Stoke City and Rangers, although Larne manager Jimmy McGeough criticised these, saying "I'm not sure it proves anything. He's a great prospect and one who'll learn his trade in senior football here". Weir agreed to sign for Championship club Sunderland in February 2005. He finished the season with two Irish Premier League goals and played in the 2005 Irish Cup Final, which Larne lost 5–1 to Portadown, and was named the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Young Player of the Year.

Sunderland

Weir played for Sunderland in their youth team and was part of the team that reached the Premier Academy League Final in May 2007, where they were beaten 4–1 by Leicester City in a penalty shoot-out. He joined Conference Premier club York City on 12 November 2010 on a one-month loan following a trial. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Wrexham on 14 November 2010 and after impressing manager Gary Mills the loan was extended until 10 January 2011 in December. He finished the loan with eight appearances.

Tranmere Rovers

Weir signed for League One club Tranmere Rovers on loan until the end of 2010–11 on 14 February 2011. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat away to Peterborough United as a 75th-minute substitute on 19 February. At the end of the 2010–11, Weir was released by Sunderland.

In May 2011, he was offered a contract by Tranmere and subsequently agreed to sign for the club permanently. He signed for the club on 29 June 2011 on a one-year contract. His first goal for the club came on the first day of 2011–12, in a 1–0 home win against Chesterfield. He was released at the end of 2011–12.

Burton Albion

On 31 May 2012, Weir signed a two-year contract with League Two club Burton Albion. He was released by Burton at the end of 2015–16.

Leyton Orient

On 6 June 2016, Weir signed for League Two club Leyton Orient on a two-year contract. He was ruled out for the rest of 2016–17 in January 2017, after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury. At the end of the season, Weir exercised a clause in his contract to leave the Orient after relegation.

Chesterfield

Weir signed for League Two club Chesterfield on 3 August 2017 on an undisclosed-length contract. Weir signed a new contract with the club in May 2019.

Waterford

On 31 July 2020 Weir returned to Ireland and signed for Waterford, now managed by his former Chesterfield boss John Sheridan.

Crusaders

On 21 November 2020, following the conclusion of the 2020 League of Ireland season, it was announced that Weir had signed a pre-contract with NIFL Premiership side Crusaders, to take effect from January 2021.

International career

Weir was part of the Northern Ireland national under-18 team in March 2005 and was capped during a week-long visit to the Canary Islands in February 2006. He was named captain of the under-19 team in October 2006 and led the team out in a 4–2 defeat to Belgium. In July 2007, he was called up for the 2007 Milk Cup and started as the team were beaten 4–1 by Israel in August. He was named in the under-21 team in February 2008 to play Israel as a replacement for Dermot McCaffrey. Weir was capped seven times by the under-21s from 2009 to 2010. He was capped once by the Northern Ireland B team in 2009.

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland2010–11Premier League00—00—00
York City (loan)2010–11Conference Premier5020—1080
Tranmere Rovers (loan)2010–11League One180———180
Tranmere Rovers2011–12League One393101030443
Total573101030623
Burton Albion2012–13League Two425403121517
2013–14League Two412302040502
2014–15League Two410103000450
2015–16League One360001010380
Total16078091711849
Leyton Orient2016–17League Two170101020210
Chesterfield2017–18League Two412000030442
2018–19National League32000—10330
2019–20National League19000—10200
Total922000050972
Waterford2020LOI Premier Division14010——150
Crusaders2020–21NIFL Premiership170100000180
2021–22NIFL Premiership310501020390
2022–23NIFL Premiership270401050370
Total7501002070940
Career total4201223013125148114

Honours

Burton Albion

Crusaders

External links

  • 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine at the Chesterfield F.C. website
  • at Soccerbase