Bannan arrested following M1 car crash (now suspended by AVFC)

[achilles]

From Auntie:

Aston Villa footballer Barry Bannan has been given an 18-month driving ban after admitting drinking and driving and other offences following a crash.

The midfielder crashed near Watnall, Nottinghamshire, on the southbound carriageway of the M1 on 23 October.

Bannan, 21, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was fined £4,500.

He was also charged with failing to stop after an accident, driving without due care and attention and driving on a provisional licence.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard the Scotland midfielder crashed his Range Rover Sport at about 05:30 BST.

He was found to have almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Bannan had been on a night out with friends in Leeds following Villa's 2-1 home defeat against local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

A friend collected Bannan and they left for Leeds at 18:30 BST.

Bannan drank two cans of beer on the journey then drank more at a nightclub that night, magistrates heard.

The midfielder, who has been capped nine times by Scotland, got a taxi to his hotel at 03:00 BST and waited for his friends to return.

When they failed to return, Bannan decided to get changed and drive back to Birmingham as he feared he would miss a meeting with a youth football team coach he had known for 11 years.

Bannan said he took the decision to drive as he felt "alert, in control and clear headed", the court heard.

IF that story is true then it certainly has a few discrepancies!

He gets a lift to Leeds, gets a taxi to his hotel and then when his friends fail to turn up decides to drive back to Brum. Correct me if I am wrong but the story makes no mention of him having taken his car to Leeds in the first place! Still I suppose it doesn't really matter now!

[AV82EC]

From Auntie:

Aston Villa footballer Barry Bannan has been given an 18-month driving ban after admitting drinking and driving and other offences following a crash.

The midfielder crashed near Watnall, Nottinghamshire, on the southbound carriageway of the M1 on 23 October.

Bannan, 21, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was fined £4,500.

He was also charged with failing to stop after an accident, driving without due care and attention and driving on a provisional licence.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard the Scotland midfielder crashed his Range Rover Sport at about 05:30 BST.

He was found to have almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Bannan had been on a night out with friends in Leeds following Villa's 2-1 home defeat against local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

A friend collected Bannan and they left for Leeds at 18:30 BST.

Bannan drank two cans of beer on the journey then drank more at a nightclub that night, magistrates heard.

The midfielder, who has been capped nine times by Scotland, got a taxi to his hotel at 03:00 BST and waited for his friends to return.

When they failed to return, Bannan decided to get changed and drive back to Birmingham as he feared he would miss a meeting with a youth football team coach he had known for 11 years.

Bannan said he took the decision to drive as he felt "alert, in control and clear headed", the court heard.

IF that story is true then it certainly has a few discrepancies!

He gets a lift to Leeds, gets a taxi to his hotel and then when his friends fail to turn up decides to drive back to Brum. Correct me if I am wrong but the story makes no mention of him having taken his car to Leeds in the first place! Still I suppose it doesn't really matter now!

He's only got a provisional licence so I imagine his mate drove the pair of them in Bannans car to Leeds.  When his mate then stays out all night, bannan having already got back to the hotel stupidly decides to drive his own car back to Brum on a provisional licence full of beer.  Makes perfect sense to me.

[pauliewalnuts]

Leaving football entirely to the side - and in that sense, I hope he has learned his lesson and gets on with his career, and becomes a better person out of this - but someone who drives on a provisonal license, gets shit faced, then drives a powerful car like that on the motorway, crashing it, then doing a runner before the rozzers arrive, really does deserve to go to prison.

He's not the first young person to make that mistake, but I really do think we'd take a different, harsher approach if he didn't play for us (and I include myself in the hypocrisy there)

[1_Pablo_Angel]

I bloody love him as a player, I really do, but that is just indefensible. I'm gutted to be honest.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

I remember when he was talking about how he was learning to drive on the OS.

Wasn't Pat Heard his driving instructor?

Can't believe he still only had a provisional license.

Surely a professional football could just have a lesson every day after training and be passed in no time.

[olaftab]

Surely a professional football could just have a lesson every day after training and be passed in no time.

No that's not possible!
Straight after training they have to go to the pub and after that they are not able to drive or take lessons.

[joe_c]

From Twitter

BBannan25 Barry Bannan
Gonna go for a mohawk soon tweeps wot u think

There's a Taxi Driver gag crying to be set free from that I'm sure.

[supertom]

Instead of getting himself into shit and now tweeting about what haircut he's gonna get like all too many prick footballers these days, he should get his head down and start playing consistently at the top of his game. If he does he can be a creative spark we sorely lack. Thus far, Bannans only shown flashes of quality. I want to see far fucking more, and we all as fans deserve nothing but. It's not just McLeish's tactics, it's our players failing to pass the ball to someone in their colour. Even Eck would demand that at the very least. Bannan needs to take the bull by the horns in games and dictate the game a bit. He's not been very good this season in all honesty.

If he doesn't do something this season, I'd just fuck him off to be honest. For his age, what he's offered and what he's now done outside of the club, he should be on last chance saloon IMO.

[supertom]

From Twitter

BBannan25 Barry Bannan
Gonna go for a mohawk soon tweeps wot u think

There's a Taxi Driver gag crying to be set free from that I'm sure.

Maybe Gabby can point him to a few skunk pussies.