Bannan’s Blues

Article by e-Crystal Palace Correspondent Alisdair Kemp

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Barry Bannan must drift to sleep every evening plagued by nightmares of managerial changes. Having been a regular fixture in Alex Mcleish’s Aston Villa sides he was almost completely frozen out following the arrival of Paul Lambert. Now lightning has struck twice for the diminutive Scotsman as his stock has once again fallen at Palace under Tony Pulis.

Having signed late on in the summer transfer window, Bannan took a while to settle at Selhurst Park – albeit not helped in the slightest by being played in seemingly every outfield position.

Deployed on the wing more often than not under Ian Holloway, he performed admirably against faster and more athletic full backs. Though he lacked the pace to get to the byline, his crosses from deeper positions were just as threatening and, for a while at least, had the surprise factor.

His ability to drift inside and between the lines made him hard to pick up and allowed him to enjoy more possession. From these positions, his ability to pick out passes that none of his teammates would even have seen, became evident, as he continually looked for that killer pass from even the acutest of angles.

During those dark days at the start of the season, Bannan’s flair and vision provided a rare cause for optimism, and propelled him into early contention for Player of the Year. Towards the end of the Holloway era, he was moved inside to play behind Chamakh and thrived playing between the lines (a good move all round as his tendency to drift inside when on the wing continually left the full back exposed).

Bannan then played a starring role under Keith Millen in the victory at Hull, a result that prompted a marked upturn in form. Disciplined defensively and clinical in possession, he even capped things off with the winning goal.

However, his honeymoon period was soon brought to an end. Bannan must have cursed his luck as Pulis walked through the doors at Beckenham.

When faced with a manager renowned for favouring height through the middle combined with pace and athleticism on the flanks, the writing really was on the wall for the Scotsman. Possessing not even a single one of those qualities, he was always likely to struggle to make an impression at first.

The fundamental issue with Bannan is finding a role that suits him and in which he can truly thrive, lest he becomes yet another player falling under the cliché of “being a victim of his own versatility”.

A problem he is always likely to encounter is the fact that in order to truly perform, he needs a team to be built around him. Defensive players are needed to cover the space he leaves behind when he goes looking for the ball and keen runners are required in forward positions to open up space for him in front of the defence, and to give him options to pass to.

This is simply not possible at Palace at the moment. As long as we enjoy limited possession and look to play on the counter-attack, we cannot afford a luxury such as Bannan who lacks both the pace to burst forward quickly and the defensive discipline to hold his position for long periods as we look to keep things tight.

Some may argue that having limited possession necessitates the inclusion of someone who rarely gives the ball away (a quality for which Bannan seems to have developed a reputation). With this in mind, the statistics (compiled by “whoscored.com”) may come as a surprise. Bannan has a lower mean pass completion percentage than Kagisho Dikgacoi – a player often maligned for conceding possession. Of course, this may be due to the difficulty of the passes attempted by both players but Dikgacoi also completes a high number of passes on average per game.

However, still a popular figure among the Palace faithful, Bannan’s talent could yet prove beneficial in the fight against relegation. Though he has yet to employ him in such a role, Pulis’ inclusion of Bannan in the 25-man squad may hint at an intention to use him as an impact substitute. For all the talk of bringing on fresh legs against tired legs, bringing on fresh minds can be equally effective. Bannan’s eye for a pass could prove devastating for a defence that has spent the rest of the game trying to shackle the all-action Cameron Jerome, as well as our fleet-footed wingers.

It is always sad to see a promising player disappear off the radar; however there can be no questioning Pulis’ judgement on this. Bannan could still be pivotal to the club as an impact substitute this season and, were we to avoid relegation and able to strengthen further, perhaps a role may be found for the popular playmaker in a team better suited to keeping possession.

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