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

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 le ...

who played in midfield. His most successful seasons were with

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

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 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for a fourth time by Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the final against Roma. The game had finished 1–1. Phil Neal had scored for Liverpool and Roberto Pruzzo for Roma ...

semi final and the

1987 UEFA Cup Final The 1987 UEFA Cup Final was a football tie played on 6 and 20 May 1987 between IFK Göteborg of Sweden and Dundee United of Scotland. Göteborg won 2–1 on aggregate, their second UEFA Cup triumph, following victory in 1982. It was Dundee Unit ...

. He began his career at Hearts in the mid-1970s before having a brief spell at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. He rejoined Hearts in 1988, where he remained for a further five years. He also managed

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large 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 ...

for a few months in 1996. Bannon gained 11

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

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 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-team format. Colombia ha ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Career

Hearts

Bannon began his career with Hearts, and made his début for the club against

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

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 William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s an ...

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. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

, including a hat-trick against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

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) Th ...

at the end of the season. In 1979 Hearts sold Bannon to

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 mortg ...

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 Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

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 former Northern Ireland footballer, football manager and journalist who played for and captained Tottenham Hotspur, including during their double-winning season of 1960� ...

. 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 football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. 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 In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

saw manager Danny Blanchflower sacked and replaced by

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...

. 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 Viaplay 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 existen ...

. He made his league debut three days later away at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

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 (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

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 Fo ...

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

, 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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

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

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...

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

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

, 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 Robert Sime "Roy" Aitken (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He made over 480 league appearances for Celtic, and later played for Newcastle United, St Mirren and Aberdeen. Aitken also made 57 international ...

mis-headered a Bannon corner, allowing

Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) 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 ...

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 Ralph Milne (13 May 1961 – 6 September 2015) was a Scottish professional footballer whose clubs included Dundee United, Charlton Athletic, Bristol City and Manchester United. He played as both an attacking midfielder or a winger. He began his ...

to clinch a 3–2 win. Dundee United went into their final league fixture of the season, against Dundee at

Dens Park Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, 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 ...

, 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 (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

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 Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

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

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 ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. 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 Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

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 Alan James McLaren (born 4 January 1971, in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Heart of Midlothian and Rangers. Football career Club McLaren started his career with Hearts in 1987 and made over 180 appearances for the ...

and

Scott Crabbe Scott Crabbe (born 12 August 1968 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish retired footballer. he played for several Scottish clubs, including Heart of Midlothian, Dundee United and Falkirk. He represented the Scotland under-21 team and was named SPFA Youn ...

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 Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

under

Tommy McLean Thomas McLean Jr. (born 2 June 1947 in Larkhall) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee ...

, before a final playing spell with

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...

. Now playing as a defender, Bannon helped them win the

1995 Scottish Challenge Cup Final The 1995 Scottish Challenge Cup Final was an association football match between Stenhousemuir and Dundee United on 5 November 1995 at McDiarmid Park in Perth. It was the sixth final of the Scottish Challenge Cup since it was first organised in 19 ...

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of . As well as St Jo ...

, 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 (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

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, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

. 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 spent 21 years with Dundee United. With Narey United were Scottish champions once and league cup winners twice. He also played in numerous cup runs in Europe inc ...

and

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

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, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they were ...

in a friendly against the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. 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 country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

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

on 19 December 1979 in a European Championship qualifier against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

. 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 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

tie against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

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

, 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 north-west Londo ...

for the last tie against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. 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 concept i ...

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 football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

for his 21-man squad travelling to play

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for a friendly in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Bannon was accompanied by four of his

teammates;

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

Maurice Malpas Maurice Daniel Robert Malpas (born 3 August 1962) is a Scottish former football player and coach. He signed for Dundee United in 1979 and spent his entire professional playing career with the club until his retirement in 2000. With him, United w ...

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 ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and started the next match against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. 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 Harald Anton "Toni" Schumacher (born 6 March 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he won a Bundesliga title and three DFB-Pokal titles with 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represen ...

. 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 ( es, República Oriental del 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 ...

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

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bannon, Eammon 1958 births Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland 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 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 Association football midfielders

Career

Hearts

Chelsea

Dundee United

Hearts

Later career

International

Career statistics

See also

References

External links