Eamonn John Bannon (born 18 April 1958) is a Scottish former internationalist 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. 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, including a hat-trick against Kilmarnock in December 1977. Hearts duly secured promotion back to the Scottish Premier Division 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 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. He made his league debut three days later away at Aberdeen 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 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 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 Scottish League Cup 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. En route, Bannon scored two penalties in a 5–2 win away against AS Monaco and the fifth goal in Dundee United's 5–0 win at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach, 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.