Bannan: Barry

2011-2011 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Airdrie: 01-12-1989

Debut v Preston North End (a) (substitute): 18-03-2011

5’7” 9st 4lb (2011)

Born in Airdrie, Bannan began his career at local youth team Lenzie Youth Club and soon played for the Under-Fourteen team of his favourite team, Celtic. He also played with Albion Rovers at Youth level. As a fourteen-year-old, Bannan was offered the chance to join Celtic's youth academy but instead chose to accept a trial offer from Aston Villa. Whilst on trial, he took part in the 2008 Ergenzingen Tournament in Germany. Villa won the tournament with a 1–0 win over FSV Mainz in the final, with Bannan being named player of the tournament. On 1st August 2008, the young Scot was offered a two-year contract with the club. In the 2007–08 season, he scored thirteen goals in thirty-two matches for Villa's Academy team as they won the League title. He also played for the Reserve team, which won the Premier Reserve League South. He signed a two-year contract with the club at the end of the season. His first team debut came on 17th December 2008, as a substitute in a 1–3 UEFA Cup group stage defeat to German side Hamburger SV at the Volksparkstadion, and made his full debut in the same competition, in a 0–2 away defeat to Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow on 26th February 2009. Bannan joined Championship side Derby County on loan for one month on 13th March 2009. He scored in his Rams debut, in a 2–4 defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane and his loan was extended to the end of the season. At Pride Park, he made a total of ten appearances, four of which were as a substitute, and scored once. Bannan was able to return to the Aston Villa Reserve side that were champions of the Premier Reserve League South, and played in their 3–1 win over Premier Reserve League North winners, Sunderland Reserves, in the play-off final. On 26th November 2009 Bannan joined Championship side Blackpool on loan, making his debut as an eighty-seventh-minute substitute in the 1–1 draw with Preston North End at Bloomfield Road. His full debut came in a 3–0 away win at Middlesbrough on 8th December 2009. In January 2010 the loan was extended to the end of the season, and two days later Bannan scored his first goal for the club, with a thirty-yard lob, in a 1–1 draw at Coventry City. Bannan came on for the final two minutes at Wembley as Blackpool won the Championship play-off final against Cardiff City and secured promotion to the EPL. While at Bloomfield Road, he had made four starts and played twelve games from the bench and scored once in the League, he also made four substitute appearances in the play-offs. Bannan returned to Villa for the 2010–11 season, and made his EPL debut on the opening day of the season, coming on as an eighty-ninth minute substitute against West Ham United. He scored his first goal for Villa in a Europa League qualifying match against Rapid Vienna. On 6th November 2010, Bannan was handed his first start of the season against Fulham and started the following two games against Blackpool and Manchester United. He was given a run of games due to the absence of many first-team players through injury. On 7th March 2011, Bannan joined Leeds United on loan until the end of the 2010-11 season. On 8th March 2011 Bannan made his Leeds debut as he came for seven minutes as a second half substitute against Preston North End. He made his home debut at Elland Road on 12th March coming on as a seventy-sixth minute substitute in a 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town. He played a full game at Bramall Lane as Leeds went down 0-2 on 19th March 2011. On 2nd April 2011 he started against Nottingham Forest in a fine 4-1 win at Elland Road, but was replaced by Jake Livermore after seventy-six minutes. He gave way for Livermore when Leeds visited Millwall on 9th April 2011, coming on as a seventy-fourth minute substitute. He was restored to the starting team for the visit to Derby County on 12th April 2011, in a 1-2 defeat, but he was replaced by Ross McCormack in the seventy-second minute. His final game for Leeds was as a substitute, coming on after sixty-eight minutes in a 2-2 home draw with Watford on 16th April 2011. Bannan was recalled from his loan spell at Leeds on Thursday 28th April 2011, as Bannan felt he better served by sittting on the Villa bench than the Leeds bench. Bannan has been capped by the Scotland Under-Twenty-One team, playing in Scotland's first five games in their 2011 UEFA Under-Twenty-One qualification campaign, starting with his International debut, in a 1–0 victory over Albania at the Stadioni Ruzhdi Bizhuta, Elbasan on 28th March 2009. On 15th November 2009 he helped the under-Twenty-One's beat Azerbaijan 4–0 at the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku. Bannan scored his first goal for the under Twenty-One's in a win against Austria that earned qualification for the play-offs. He also has one "B" cap, earned in a 3–0 win over Northern Ireland "B" on 6th May 2009. On 16th November 2010, Bannan made his debut for Scotland against the Faroe Islands, he played the full ninety minutes as Scotland won 3–0. Bannan's performance prompted manager Craig Levein to call him a future star of Scottish football. He played in all three of Scotland's games in the International Tournament in Dublin. On 9th February 2011, he played in Scotland's 0-3 defeat by Northern Ireland, on 25th May 2011. He played, as a substitute, in Scotland 3-1 victory over Wales, replacing Ross McCormack after seventy-three minutes. Then, on 29th May 2011, he played as a substitute, in Scotland's 0-1 defeat by the Republic of Ireland, when he replace Charlie Adam after fifty-two minutes. On 27th March 2001 Bannan played in the 0-2 defeat of Scotland away to Brazil, coming on as a fifty-sixth minute substitute for James McArthur. To the end of the 2010-11 season he had started seven League games and appeared in five further games from the bench in the EPL, started three F.A. Cup ties and three Football League games, and had scored once in two starts and one game as a substitute in European games for Aston Villa.