Barry Bannan ⭑ From A-Z since '92
With his experience and reputation, Bannan was in some ways the perfect player to step in if the midfield needed refreshing during the season's final weeks. But maybe the new Xavi was not what was needed.
This is part of my (eight year long, it'll fly by) attempt to write about every Leeds United player since 1992. For more about why I'm doing this, go back to Aapo Halme, and to read all the players so far, browse the archive here.
For a while, in spring 2011, Barry Bannan existed in two parallel universes. At Aston Villa, fans were fuming about how, if only manager Gerard Houllier had stuck with Bannan and not sent him out on loan, their team might not be struggling to attain a fourth successive 6th place finish in the Premier League. And at Leeds, fans were trying to work out what the little 21-year-old midfielder was offering to Leeds' attempt at making the Championship play-offs that Neil Kilkenny wasn't already.
Giving Bannan a game for Villa had actually backfired on Houllier, and made him available to Leeds. "I'm sorry, I should have warned the fans before," Houllier said after changing his team to play Manchester City and getting knocked, 3-0, out of the FA Cup. At Leeds, Simon Grayson had been phoning everyone who might have a spare midfielder, trying to get someone on emergency loan — Keith Southern from Blackpool, Michael Johnson from Manchester City, Jordan Mutch from Birmingham — who might protect the fourth leakiest defence in the division. "I'm sure one or two managers will be fed up to the back teeth of me, as I'm ringing them every day," said Grayson. "They probably see my number come up on their phone and press the 'ignore' button straight away." Going out of the FA Cup was going to restrict Bannan's chances in the Villa team, so in early March, Houllier called Grayson back.
Bannan had some Championship experience to go with his Premier League and FA Cup appearances, after playing twenty times in Blackpool's promotion, through the play-offs, to the Premier League; he'd been a stoppage time substitute in the play-off final. He was hoping to repeat the feat with Leeds, who had topped the table at Christmas using a midfield five behind Luciano Becchio — Max Gradel, Bradley Johnson, Jonny Howson, Neil Kilkenny and Robert Snodgrass — but faltered badly when Johnson's suspension forced a midfield of four and a 3-0 defeat at Swansea. With his promotion experience and next-big-thing reputation, Bannan was in some ways the perfect player to step in if the core five needed refreshing during the season's final weeks.