Eamonn Bannon

Eamonn John Bannon (born 18 April 1958) is a Scottish former international footballer who played in midfield. His most successful seasons were with Dundee United 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 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 for a few months in 1996.

Bannon gained 11 Scotland caps and played at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.

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. 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. He impressed with his clever play and passing ability, and became popular with the fans. 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. Bannon played in all eleven games in the League Cup, scoring four times en route to the final.

Bannon helped United reach a third consecutive Scottish League Cup final in 1981–82, scoring a hat-trick away against Ayr United, but they lost narrowly to Rangers in the final.

Season 1982–83 saw Dundee United involved in a tight contest with Celtic and Aberdeen for the Scottish Premier Division title. Bannon proved to be an important player for United, scoring ten league goals. Dundee United went into their final league fixture of the season, against Dundee at Dens Park, 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 in 1983–84. 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.

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 was also credited with having a positive influence on the younger players breaking through at that time, such as Alan McLaren and Scott Crabbe. 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, as they defeated his old club Dundee United on a penalty shootout. before buying a guest house in Edinburgh, which he has run since 1997. Bannon played for Spartans 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. He went on to play a total of seven games at Under 21 level between 1978 and 1980, He didn't feature again for Scotland until getting a recall for the 1983 British Home Championship tie against Northern Ireland 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, helping Scotland win 2–0. 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.

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 and started the next match against West Germany. Scotland went on to lose the match 2–1, and Bannon was not included in the squad for the final group match against Uruguay.

Career statistics