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Gary Bannister

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English footballer

Gary Bannister
Personal information
Date of birth (1960-07-22) 22 July 1960 (age 64)
Place of birth Warrington, Lancashire, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1981 Coventry City 22 (3)
1980 → Detroit Express (loan) 22 (10)
1981–1984 Sheffield Wednesday 118 (55)
1984–1988 Queens Park Rangers 136 (56)
1988–1990 Coventry City 43 (11)
1990–1992 West Bromwich Albion 72 (18)
1992 → Oxford United (loan) 10 (2)
1992–1993 Nottingham Forest 31 (8)
1993 Stoke City 15 (2)
1993–1994 Hong Kong Rangers
1994–1995 Lincoln City 29 (7)
1995–1996 Darlington 41 (10)
1996-2001 Porthleven
Total 539 (182)
International career
1982 England U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gary Bannister (born 22 July 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played for Coventry City (two spells), Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Oxford United, Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Lincoln City and Darlington.

He had a long 17-year career lasting from 1978 to 1995 during which time he made 564 appearances in league and cup matches plus 42 as substitute. Bannister played as a striker, and at just 5 foot 7 inches (170 cm) tall and weighing little over 11 stone (70 kg) he relied on his pace and skill to score 199 career goals in all competitions. He made one appearance for the England Under 21 team against Poland in April 1982.

Early life

Bannister was born in Warrington, then in Lancashire. His father Gordon was a school caretaker and his sister Julie, played Hockey, representing England at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Holland.

Career

Bannister joined Coventry City as an apprentice and graduated through their youth team to make his first team debut in May 1978. He made only 22 appearances, scoring three goals in over three years for Coventry City before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in a £100,000 deal in the summer of 1981. Bannister was a crowd favourite at Wednesday, he was top scorer in each of the three seasons he was there with 22 goals in each campaign. In his first season (1981–82) he was voted Player of the Year, and represented England at under-21 level. In 1983–84 he formed a feared partnership with Imre Varadi; the pair scored 41 goals between them as Wednesday returned to the First Division for the first time in 14 years.

Bannister never played for Wednesday in Division One as he left to join Queens Park Rangers as a replacement for Clive Allen in the summer of 1984. He enjoyed considerable success at QPR, relishing playing on their "plastic pitch" at Loftus Road. He made 168 appearances, scoring 66 goals in his three and a half seasons with them. Highlights included two hat-tricks against Chelsea. The first came in the 6–0 demolition of their local rivals on 31 March 1986 at Loftus Road and the second in the 3–1 win on 12 September 1987 also at Loftus Road. He returned to Coventry City in March 1988 in a £300,000 deal. His second spell at Coventry lasted two years and was not a great success as he scored 13 goals in 44 appearances before moving to West Bromwich Albion for £250,000 in March 1990 where he stayed until the summer of 1992, making 66 appearances and scoring 19 goals.

Bannister's latter years as a professional included spells at Oxford United (on loan), Nottingham Forest (where, partnering Nigel Clough, he was unable the stop the team being relegated from the Premier League), Stoke City, Lincoln City and Darlington before retiring at the end of the 1995–96 season. He also spent one year (1993–1994) playing for Hong Kong Rangers.

After retiring, he moved to St Ives, Cornwall becoming involved in hotel maintenance and property development. He played for and coached Porthleven in the South Western Football League for several seasons. After about ten years in Cornwall, Bannister and family returned to the Midlands and a job in hotel maintenance in Birmingham.

Career statistics

Source:

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Coventry City 1978–79 First Division 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 1
1979–80 First Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
1980–81 First Division 11 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 14 2
Total 22 3 2 0 2 0 0 0 26 3
Detroit Express 1980 NASL 22 10 – – – 22 10
Total 22 10 – – – 22 10
Sheffield Wednesday 1981–82 Second Division 42 21 1 0 2 1 0 0 45 22
1982–83 Second Division 39 20 6 1 5 1 0 0 50 22
1983–84 Second Division 37 14 5 3 6 5 0 0 48 22
Total 118 55 12 4 13 7 0 0 143 66
Queens Park Rangers 1984–85 First Division 42 17 1 0 8 5 4 6 55 28
1985–86 First Division 36 16 1 0 9 2 0 0 45 18
1986–87 First Division 34 15 4 0 3 1 0 0 41 16
1987–88 First Division 24 8 3 1 3 1 0 0 30 10
Total 136 56 9 1 23 9 4 6 172 72
Coventry City 1987–88 First Division 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
1988–89 First Division 24 8 0 0 3 2 0 0 27 10
1989–90 First Division 11 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 2
Total 43 11 0 0 5 2 0 0 48 13
West Bromwich Albion 1989–90 Second Division 13 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2
1990–91 Second Division 44 13 1 0 2 1 1 1 48 15
1991–92 Third Division 15 3 1 0 2 0 2 0 20 3
Total 72 18 2 0 4 1 3 1 81 20
Oxford United (loan) 1991–92 Second Division 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2
Nottingham Forest 1992–93 Premier League 31 8 3 1 3 1 0 0 37 10
Stoke City 1993–94 First Division 15 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 18 2
Lincoln City 1994–95 Third Division 29 7 2 1 2 0 1 0 34 8
Darlington 1995–96 Third Division 41 10 3 1 2 0 5 0 51 8
Career Total 539 182 35 8 54 20 14 7 642 217
A.  The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup and UEFA Cup.

References

  1. "School Bids farewell to Dorothy and Gordon". Warrington Guardian. 5 August 2004.
  2. "1986 Women's World Cup : Bannister Julie - England Hockey Player". International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. "Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers all time results". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  4. "We tore Chelsea to shreds". BBC. 1 January 2008.
  5. "Bannister back in Coventry". The New Straits Times. 11 March 1988. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  6. "Blast from the past". Queens Park Rangers Official Website. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  7. Gary Bannister at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. – Player of the Year
UEFA Cup and Europa League top scorers
UEFA Cup
UEFA Europa League
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