Bannan has his say

[shaef]

There is a protocol usually observed whenever a manager is sacked or resigns, whereby his heartbroken former players weep openly about their sad loss.

Clearly nobody has pointed this out to Barry Bannan.

The Aston Villa midfielder was far from distraught when word reached him that Martin O’Neill had elected to leave the Midlands club and had little problem with anyone knowing how he felt, somewhat euphemestically admitting that he had felt “a little bit happy”.

It had become apparent to Bannan that while O’Neill remained in charge there was little chance of him ever making the breakthrough at Villa. Although still just 20 and surrounded by a squad full of internationalists, the Scotland under-21 player felt he had earned the right to feature more often.

After spending last season on loan at Blackpool, it was O’Neill’s intention that Bannan returned there for the start of the new campaign but that move is on hold for now while Villa continue their search for a new manager. The player now hopes it was the lucky break he was holding out for.

“The gaffer has left now so it will be a fresh start for everyone at the club,” he said. “I was stalling [on his future] as I didn’t think I was going to ever get my chance with him in charge. I wouldn’t say I was joyful that he left as I got on well with him to speak to but I got never got my chance so, yeah, you could say I was a little bit happy.

“I was on the touchline watching the under-21 boys train when I started getting lots of text messages through on my phone. I was shocked in a way but, looking back, in our pre-season games he wasn’t as hands-on as normal. He was sitting back and hardly got out of his seat to say anything to the players.

“If you add that all up, he was acting a bit differently. He wasn’t the Martin O’Neill that we knew, but we still didn’t think he would walk out like that. He was close to going at the end of last season to Liverpool and either it fell through or he sorted out his differences [with the Villa board] so we thought he was going to stay.”

Promisingly for Bannan, the new caretaker manager is Kevin McDonald, a fellow Scot formerly in charge of the Villa reserve side in which Bannan once shone. McDonald has already turned down an approach from Blackpool to take Bannan back for another loan spell – a promising sign, the player hopes.

“Blackpool came back in for me and he [McDonald] told them ‘no’ which is a good thing as if I wasn’t going to feature in his plans he would have let me go. That’s a positive thing at the minute.

“Kevin knows me better than the gaffer did. He tried to tell the gaffer before to give me a chance but he [O’Neill] is his own man and shrewd. But under [McDonald] I should get a better chance as he knows my game inside out from all those years with the reserve team.

“I’m thinking really positively as I got on really well with him. He’s going to take the next couple of games until we get a new manager, and when the new man comes in I will look to impress him.”

Bannan is fiercely determined to establish himself at Villa Park but would rather go out on loan again if he is likely to be stuck on the fringes once more. “We’ve got a small squad at the moment and you have to register 25 players for the new season and I think I’ll be among that 25.

“If they sell the likes of James Milner then that would enhance my chances. If I was going to be on the bench and coming on, then fine. But if I was sitting on the bench and not getting a sniff then I’d rather go and play 90 minutes at another club, even if it were back in the Championship.

“To go back to Villa and just sit on the bench, get 15 minutes here and there, and play in reserve games would be hard.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/english-football/scotland-youngster-barry-bannan-is-shedding-few-tears-over-martin-o-neill-s-aston-villa-exit-1.1047987

[Greg N'Ash]

oh larf. even the players knew he'd set his heart on going to liverpool

[cdbearsfan]

I hope Bannan gets a chance or two. Think he good be good.

I don't understand though why he was "watching the under-21s train" - assume he means Scotland under-21s... why wasn't he taking part in training? And why is he allowed to have his phone on during training, I thought that was a big no-no at most clubs?

[pauliewalnuts]

It really is all starting to come out now. And it is only three days since he went.

[KevinGage]

Pretty damning, is't it?

Particularly with the reports that the Liverpool interest was all one way, him coveting them rather than the other way round.

[Ads]

I had no idea he was actually close to going to Dipperville.

[KevinGage]

He wasn't.

But he wanted to go.

[Ads]

He wanted to go to a club with tight financial constraints?

Erm...

[Greg N'Ash]

I had no idea he was actually close to going to Dipperville.

As i hinted at the time, my ITK told me Dalglish wanted him. spoke to him, dotted the i's, but then the yanks said "hell no". would explain the "i don't know if i'll be here" statements at the end of the season and then the about turn.  Him taking the villa job was all about getting a better job basically

[Brend'Watkins]

I had no idea he was actually close to going to Dipperville.

As i hinted at the time, my ITK told me Dalglish wanted him. spoke to him, dotted the i's, but then the yanks said "hell no". would explain the "i don't know if i'll be here" statements at the end of the season and then the about turn.  Him taking the villa job was all about getting a better job basically

On reflection, I think MON losing out on the Liverpool job is when he lost his enthusiasm for Villa. 

On further reflection, I wish he'd got that Liverpool job.

[cdbearsfan]

Then we could have got Hodgson.

[Mazrim]

In fairness to greg he did say MON wanted to go to Liverpool.

The way things have ended up, I wish he had.

[KevinGage]

I dunno if that was the case originally Greg -us being a stepping stone and all that.

His stock was exceptionally high at the time he joined us, he was regularly being linked with all the top jobs and being put forward as a possible successor to Fergie.

For us to get him at the time was a major coup, and he perhaps thought he could achieve most of his ambitions here -with more control than he'd get at the very elite clubs. There is a quote from him long before he pitched up here (back in 1991 IIRC) that someone on this site had as their tagline. Can't remember exactly how it goes, but it suggests he held the club in high regard. At least at some point in the distant past.

But maybe it dawned on him last year that he wasn't going to crack it at Villa (not to say that another manager couldn't) and he wanted one of the elite clubs on his CV. He's not getting any younger, afterall.  None of the others would have been daft enough to go for him, lets face it. But Liverpool were in a bind, that was his 'in.' 

Even they steered clear though. Shame.

I wonder how long it would have taken for him to start making sly digs at the support from the magnificent Kop, and I wonder whether his monkey mates on MOTD would have still defended him to the hilt.

[Greg N'Ash]

Dunno, maybe my opinion is coloured by subsequent events.. his head was definetely turned this summer though. My ITK is related to a member of the famous ex-boot room staff and he really, really didn't want MON, so he had no reason to make it up. MON has always struck me as ruthlessly ambitious and mebbe he saw this as his last chance especially if he'd been told to cut back on spending. Cant help feeling Lerner's been taken for a ride

[KevinGage]

*Cloughie stereotype alert* Could be that he viewed us as a somewhat bigger Nottingham Forest and the challenge was to upset the natural order. And for the first 18 months-2 years that was motivation enough.

Agree with your latter point though.