Eamonn John Bannon (born 18 April 1958) is a Scottish former international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in midfield. His most successful seasons were with

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

where he won two league cups and the 1983 League Championship. Numerous runs with United in European football included playing in the

1983–84 European Cup The 1983–84 European Cup was the 29th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won for a fourth time by Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the final against Roma. The game had finished 1–1. P ...

semi final and the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. He began his career at Hearts in the mid-1970s before having a brief spell at Chelsea. He rejoined Hearts in 1988, where he remained for a further five years. He also managed

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

for a few months in 1996. Bannon gained 11

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and played at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Career

Hearts

Bannon began his career with Hearts, and made his début for the club against Ayr United during season 1976–77. The young midfielder impressed with his skilful play but was unable to save Hearts from relegation. Former Scotland manager Willie Ormond took over as manager the following season, and with little money available to rebuild the side he relied heavily on Bannon. Bannon repaid Ormond's faith in him by scoring thirteen goals in the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

, including a hat-trick against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

in December 1977. Hearts duly secured promotion back to the

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

at the end of the season. In 1979 Hearts sold Bannon to Chelsea for £220,000, with the transfer fee paying a £200,000 debt which their bank were threatening to

foreclose Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mort ...

on. In this first spell at Hearts, he made a total of 71 league appearances and scored 19 goals.

Chelsea

Chelsea bought Bannon in February 1979 to replace the departing Ray Wilkins and he soon found himself a first team regular. Bannon was seen as Chelsea's playmaker by manager

Danny Blanchflower Robert Dennis Blanchflower (10 February 1926 – 9 December 1993) was a Northern Ireland footballer, football manager and journalist who played for and captained Tottenham Hotspur, including during their double-winning season of 1960–61. H ...

. He impressed with his clever play and passing ability, and became popular with the fans. Bannon scored his first, and only, goal for Chelsea in his third game, a match away at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Despite making a good impact, Bannon was unable to save Chelsea from relegation at the end of the season. Chelsea made a strong start to the 1979–80 campaign, but two consecutive league defeats and an early exit in the League Cup saw manager Danny Blanchflower sacked and replaced by

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

. Although initially selected by Hurst, Bannon gradually slipped down the order at Chelsea and was sold in October 1979 to

for £165,000.

Dundee United

Bannon's £165,000 transfer to Dundee United in October 1979 was a Scottish transfer record at the time. He made his début for United on 31 October 1979 in a 0–0 draw against Raith Rovers in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

. He made his league debut three days later away at

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and scored in a 3–0 win. Bannon quickly established himself as a regular in the Dundee United team, and won his first winners medal in December 1979 when United defeated Aberdeen 3–0 in the League Cup final. He went on to make a total of 31 appearances that season, scoring 4 goals. The following season saw Bannon miss only two of Dundee United's 36 league fixtures, with him scoring eight goals, including a double in a 4–1 win over Rangers at Ibrox. Dundee United retained the Scottish League Cup, defeating local rivals

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

by 3–0 in the final on 6 December 1980. Bannon played in all eleven games in the League Cup, scoring four times en route to the final. He also helped United reach the 1981 Scottish Cup Final, again playing in every match and scoring against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in a 3–2 win in the semi-final. United however were beaten 4–1 by Rangers in the final. Bannon helped United reach a third consecutive

final in 1981–82, scoring a hat-trick away against Ayr United, but they lost narrowly to Rangers in the final. Dundee United enjoyed their best season to date in Europe, reaching the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. En route, Bannon scored two penalties in a 5–2 win away against

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

and the fifth goal in Dundee United's 5–0 win at home against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

, an outstanding solo goal where he ran from wide left on the half-way line towards goal, before cutting in to shoot past the Borussia goalkeeper. Season 1982–83 saw Dundee United involved in a tight contest with Celtic and Aberdeen for the

title. Bannon proved to be an important player for United, scoring ten league goals. As the season neared its end, Dundee United faced Celtic at Parkhead on 20 April 1983. United took the lead in the first half when Celtic defender Roy Aitken mis-headered a Bannon corner, allowing

Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and the Scottish Le ...

to score. Celtic equalised before half-time but Bannon converted a penalty kick early in the second half to restore United's lead. Celtic again equalised, but on 84 minutes Bannon's cross from the right was volleyed in by Ralph Milne to clinch a 3–2 win. Dundee United went into their final league fixture of the season, against Dundee at

Dens Park Dens Park is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yards (183 metres) away. History Dundee moved to "Dens" from the ...

, still needing a win to guarantee the title. Bannon had a penalty kick saved in the first half but scored from the rebound to put United 2–0 ahead, and despite Dundee pulling a goal back, United held on to win their first ever Scottish league title. Dundee United's league success saw them take part in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

in 1983–84. United reached the semi-finals, with Bannon scoring once against Ħamrun Spartans in one of the early rounds with a header. United failed to reach the final, losing 3–2 on aggregate to Roma in an ill-tempered tie. Dundee United also failed to retain their league title, finishing in third place and 10 points behind winners Aberdeen. Dundee United maintained a regular top five placing in succeeding seasons. Bannon remained a key figure in a United side that went on to reach the 1987 UEFA Cup Final and the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1988. They lost in all of these finals, and the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1988 Scottish Cup Final defeat to Celtic was Bannon's last match for Dundee United, as he then returned to Hearts.

Hearts

Bannon returned to Hearts in June 1988 who bought him for a transfer fee of £225,000, and he spent the next five years there. He didn't win any silverware, but played in the famous 1–0

win over Bayern Munich at Tynecastle in February 1989 (although they lost the second leg 2–0 in Germany to go out on aggregate). He was also credited with having a positive influence on the younger players breaking through at that time, such as Alan McLaren and Scott Crabbe.

Later career

At the end of his playing career he had a spell as player-coach with Hibs during season 1993–94, making one solitary appearance in the league in April 1994, playing in central defence. Bannon returned to Hearts in the summer of 1994 for a season as assistant manager under Tommy McLean, before a final playing spell with Stenhousemuir. Now playing as a defender, Bannon helped them win the 1995 Scottish Challenge Cup Final at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

, as they defeated his old club Dundee United on a penalty shootout. Bannon went on to manage

for a few months in 1996 before buying a guest house in Edinburgh, which he has run since 1997. Bannon played for

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

for a couple of years before retiring at the age of 40, although he continued to coach the side. Bannon also does matchday work for the

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and ...

. In 2009, Bannon was inducted into

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

, alongside former teammates such as

David Narey David Narey (born 12 June 1956) is a former Scottish international footballer who played as a defender. Narey spent 21 years with Dundee United, winning the Scottish championship once and the league cup twice. He also played in numerous cup ...

and

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

International

Bannon began his international career in 1978, making his début for the Scotland under-21 team on 17 September at

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground o ...

in a friendly against the USA. He went on to play a total of seven games at Under 21 level between 1978 and 1980, scoring once in a European Championship tie away against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in a 2–2 draw. Bannon made his full international début for

on 19 December 1979 in a European Championship qualifier against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

. Bannon played in the first half, but was replaced at half-time by Davie Provan as Belgium eased to a comfortable 3–1 win. He didn't feature again for Scotland until getting a recall for the 1983 British Home Championship tie against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

at Hampden on 24 May 1983. Although the match finished 0–0, Bannon impressed with his pace and crossing of the ball, and was considered one of Scotland's best players on the night. He kept his place in the side for the next British Championship match four days later in Cardiff against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, helping Scotland win 2–0. Scotland travelled to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

for the last tie against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 1 June. However, Scotland were outplayed and Bannon failed to match the form he had shown in the previous two games. England ran out comfortable 2–0 winners to clinch the British Championship title. Bannon faded from the international scene after that, but scored what proved to be his only Scotland goal in November 1983 away against

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. In January 1986, with Scotland making preparations for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in Mexico, Bannon's form at club level saw him selected by

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

for his 21-man squad travelling to play

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for a friendly in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. Bannon was accompanied by four of his

teammates; Richard Gough, Maurice Malpas,

and

. Bannon played in the match for Scotland, his first cap in over two years, which Scotland won 1–0. Back in the Scotland set-up, Bannon was part of the 22-man squad that travelled to Mexico for the World Cup. What transpired to be his final two games for Scotland came as a substitute in the defeat to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and started the next match against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. It was in this game he had an outstanding shot from the edge of the box, forcing an excellent save by German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. Scotland went on to lose the match 2–1, and Bannon was not included in the squad for the final group match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. His nephew, Paul Telfer, also played for Scotland.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bannon, Eammon 1958 births Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players The Spartans F.C. players Scottish football managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. non-playing staff Falkirk F.C. managers People educated at Liberton High School Scottish Football League representative players Scottish Football League managers Men's association football midfielders

Career

Hearts

Chelsea

Dundee United

Hearts

Later career

International

Career statistics

See also

References

External links