Oliver Ian Banks (born 21 September 1992) is an English professional
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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Stalybridge Celtic,
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
,
Scarborough Athletic
Scarborough Athletic Football Club is an association football club based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The club was formed on 25 June 2007 as a phoenix club following the winding up of Scarborough Football Club. After spending the ...
,
North Ferriby United
North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane.
F ...
,
FC United of Manchester
Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park.
Founded ...
, Chesterfield,
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
,
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
,
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
,
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
Banks is the son of former professional footballer Ian Banks.
Career
Banks began his career with
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
, scoring on his professional debut in May 2011. While with Rotherham he spent loan spells at
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Stalybridge Celtic. He made a total of 11 appearances for Stalybridge in all competitions.
He was released by Rotherham in May 2012. He then went on trial with
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
in July 2012. Following a trial with the club, he signed for
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
in August 2012. He later played for
Scarborough Athletic
Scarborough Athletic Football Club is an association football club based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The club was formed on 25 June 2007 as a phoenix club following the winding up of Scarborough Football Club. After spending the ...
,
North Ferriby United
North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane.
F ...
and
FC United of Manchester
Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park.
Founded ...
. He made a total of 18 appearances for FC United of Manchester in all competitions. While playing semi-professionally for FCUM he also worked part-time as a kitchen fitter.
In September 2013, Banks signed a professional contract with Chesterfield. In November 2013 he received the Football League's Young Player of the Month award. In April 2014 it was announced that Banks would be ruled out of the rest of the 2013–14 season through injury. He signed a new contract with the club in May 2014.
He moved on loan to
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
in November 2014.
He signed for
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
in July 2016. He scored his first goal for Oldham in an EFL Trophy tie against Carlisle United on 30 August 2016.
In November 2017, Banks signed for
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
on a one-month loan deal. He moved on loan to
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
in January 2018.
At the end of the 2017–18 season, when Oldham were relegated to League Two, Banks was one of seven players released by the club.
Following his release he re-signed for Tranmere Rovers in May 2018 on a two year contract. Banks signed a further one year deal with the club ahead of the 2020–21 season.
In January 2021 he moved to Barrow. he signed a new two-and-a-half year contract with the club in January 2022. In June 2022, Banks had his contract terminated by mutual consent.
On 1 July 2022, Banks rejoined
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
club Chesterfield on a two-year deal, six years after he had previously left the club. In the first league match of the season, he had to play for over an hour as a goalkeeper, after
Lucas Covolan
Lucas Covolan Cavagnari (born 6 June 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Maidstone United.
A Brazil under-20 international, he began his career with Trieste, before turning professional at Vasco d ...
was sent off.
Career statistics
Honours
Tranmere Rovers
*
EFL League Two play-offs
The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engl ...
:
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...