Eamonn Bannon

Eamonn Bannon

Personal information
Full name	Eamonn John Bannon
Date of birth	18 April 1958 (1958-04-18)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1976–1979	Heart of Midlothian	71	(19)
1979	Chelsea	25	(1)
1979–1988	Dundee United	290	(71)
1988–1993	Heart of Midlothian	114	(9)
1993–1994	Hibernian	1	(0)
1995–1996	Stenhousemuir	29	(1)
1997–1999	Spartans
National team
1978	Scottish League XI	1	(0)
1979–1986	Scotland	11	(1)
Teams managed
1996	Falkirk
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Eamonn John Bannon (born 18 April 1958 in Edinburgh) is a former Scottish football player, who played in midfield for Hearts, Chelsea, Dundee United and Scotland.

Career

Bannon began his career with Hearts before moving to Chelsea in 1979. He was bought to replace the departing Ray Wilkins and soon found himself a first team regular. He was seen as Chelsea's playmaker by manager Danny Blanchflower. Blanchflower, however, was sacked after a poor run for the club and he was replaced by Geoff Hurst. Although initially selected by Hurst, Bannon gradually slipped down the order at Chelsea and was sold in October 1979 to Dundee United for £165,000, a then Scottish transfer record. He made his début for United against Raith Rovers in the League Cup in a 0–0 draw but scored in only his second game for the club and helped United win the Scottish League Cup, their first national trophy, in season 1979–80, repeating the feat the following season.

Bannon was again present as United narrowly lost their third consecutive Scottish League Cup final to Rangers and also lost the Scottish Cup final in the same season. The following year United won the Scottish League title for the first time, with Bannon, now the regular penalty taker, the midfield talisman. They maintained a regular top five placing in succeeding seasons. Bannon remained a key figure in a United side that went on to reach a European Cup semi-final, the 1987 UEFA Cup Final and the Scottish Cup finals of 1981, 1985, 1987 and 1988. They lost in all of these finals, and the Scottish Cup was the only domestic trophy Bannon failed to win in his career. The 1988 Scottish Cup Final defeat to Celtic was Bannon's last match for Dundee United, as he then returned to Hearts.

At the end of his playing career he had a short spell with Hibs, where his solitary match came in an Edinburgh derby against Hearts. Bannon returned to Hearts for a spell as a coach, 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.

Bannon went on to manage Falkirk for a few months 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.

International

Bannon was also a Scotland international, making his international debut in 1979 and winning 11 caps for his country. His final two games for Scotland came at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico where he was a substitute in the defeat to Denmark and played a large part of their next match against West Germany. It was in this game he had an outstanding shot from the edge of the box spectacularly saved 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. His only international goal came in 1983 against East Germany.

His nephew, Paul Telfer, also played for Scotland.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1976–77	Heart of Midlothian	Scottish Premier Division	13	1	5	0	-		1	0	19	1
1977–78			39	13	3	1	7	3	-		49	17
1978–79			19	5	-		2	1	-		21	6
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1978–79	Chelsea	Football League First Division	25	1	-		2	0	-		27	1
1979–80		Football League Second Division
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1979–80	Dundee United	Scottish Premier Division	24	4	2	0	5	0	-		31	4
1980–81			34	8	7	1	11	4	3	0	55	13
1981–82			36	12	5	1	11	5	8	4	60	22
1982–83			32	10	-		5	3	6	0	43	13
1983–84			33	7	3	0	9	3	8	1	53	11
1984–85			35	10	6	3	6	2	6	1	53	16
1985–86			31	11	5	1	5	1	6	2	47	15
1986–87			39	9	4	0	4	0	11	0	58	9
1987–88			26	1	9	4	2	0	3	0	40	5
1988–89	Hearts		30	2	3	2	4	0	8	2	45	2
1989–90			33	2	3	0	3	1	-		39	3
1990–91			19	2	-		3	1	3	0	25	3
1991–92			13	2	5	0	-		-		18	2
1992–93			19	1	2	0	-		3	0	24	1
1993–94	Hibernian		1	0	-		-		-		1	0
1995–96	Stenhousemuir	Scottish Second Division	29	1	N/A		N/A		-		29	1
Total	Scotland		500	103	62	13	77	24	64	10	703	150
Total	England		25	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	27	1
Career total			525	104	62	13	79	24	64	10	730	151

External links

• Independent profile
• Eamonn Bannon management career stats at Soccerbase