25. Barry Bannan
Position: Midfielder Date of Birth: 1st December 1989 Place of Birth: Airdrie, Scotland Caps: 5* Height: 170cm
The young Scot started his career at his local youth team Lenzie Youth Club. He also played at under-14′s level for his boyhood club Celtic. Both Celtic and Aston Villa offered Bannan at trial to join their youth academies. Barry chose Villa, and headed down to Birmingham for a trial. During his trial took part in the Ergenzingen Tournament held in Germany in 2008. The promising Villa youth side won the tournament with Bannan being named Player of the Tournament after some impressive displays. It wasn’t long before Villa offered him a full-time contract.
During his first season in the youth side, Barry scored 13 goals in 32 games. The youth side went on to lift the Premier Academy League Title in 07/08. He also contributed to the reserve side lifting the Premier Reserve League South title that same year.
His first team debut for the Birmingham based side was against German outfit Hamburger SV in December 2009. Villa lost the game 3-1 away from home in the UEFA Cup group stages. His first start for the club came in 2-0 away defeat to CSKA Moscow in the same competition in February 2009.
In March 2009 Bannan went to Derby County on a months loan. He scored on his debut to pick up his first competitive league goal of his career. Derby extended the loan resulting in Barry staying with the Rams until the end of the season. He made 10 league appearances and scored 1 goal during his time at Pride Park. He returned to Villa and played in the reserve sides 3-1 victory over Sunderland reserves in the Reserve League Play-off Final.
His next loan came in November 2009. Championship side Blackpool signed Bannan for originally 2 months on loan, but later extended the deal to the end of the season when Barry impressed. His first goal for the Lancashire side came in a 1-1 draw with Coventry City. A stunning 30 yard lob is not a bad way to try to impress. He was disciplined by Ian Holloway after being seen at a nightclub 2 games before the league defeat to Leicester City. He picked up an injury and missed the end of the season, only getting the last 3 minutes of Blackpool’s play-off final victory over Cardiff, resulting in Blackpool gaining promotion to the Premier League. He played 20 times for Blackpool in the Championship scoring 1 goal.
He made his Premier League debut as 89th minute substitute against West Ham on the opening day of the 2010/11 season. His first Villa goal came in a Europa League qualifying match against Rapid Vienna. He started his first league game against Fulham in November due to injuries at the club. He then started the following two league games against Blackpool and Manchester United, impressing the fans in those games with his delightful range of passing. He made 19 appearances for Villa in all competitions that season, scoring the 1 goal against Rapid Vienna.
Barry again went out on loan in March 2011, this time going to Elland Road to play for Leeds for the remainder of the season. He made 10 appearances for the Yorkshire club without scoring, before Villa recalled the young Scot at the end of April 2011.
He has come in for some high praise during his short career so far. International teammate Darren Fletcher stated, ‘..he is in the mould of the best midfielders in the world. I’m talking about Xavi, Iniesta and Pail Scholes’. The praise didn’t end their as former manager Gerard Houllier said about Bannan, ‘He is an intelligent player, he can read the game well and adapt well. I don’t think Xavi and Iniesta, who are outstanding players, are of huge size. They are intelligent, they have the skill, they have the desire – young Barry has all of that.’ Blackpool manager Ian Holloway described him as ‘a beautiful football, absolutely lovely to watch.’
Honours;
Premier Academy League Winners 07/08 (Aston Villa)
Peace Cup Winner 2009 (Aston Villa)
Premier Reserve League Winner 08/09, 09/10 (Aston Villa)
Football League Championship Play-Off Winner 09/10 (Blackpool)
(*-as of 1st May 2011)
