Jim Gannon - Playing Career

Playing Career

Gannon was born in Southwark, South London and moved with his family to Ireland at a young age. He considers himself to be 'a working class Irish Catholic'. In 1987 he received his start in higher level football with Irish club Turlough O'Connor's Dundalk. Whilst with the club he played in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in a highly successful period in the club's history. During his spell at the club they did the Irish double, winning both the FAI Cup and topping the League of Ireland in 1987–88. His performances for Dundalk earned him a £70,000 move to English team Sheffield United in April 1989. However he was unable to break into the first team at Bramall Lane. He spent a brief time in 1989–90 on loan at struggling Halifax Town, making two appearances for the "Shaymen".

In 1990 he moved to Stockport County, who paid United between £40,000 and £75,000 for his services. He remained at the club for ten years, during which the club would win promotion on two occasions, and make four Wembley appearances. On 10 March 1993, Gannon verbally abused Stoke City player Mark Stein, who reacted by assaulting Gannon. Gannon made a formal complaint to the police and as a result Stein was later required to appear in court for the attack. The two players' confrontation continued the following month after Gannon's then-girlfriend spat at Stein in a post-match interview. Stein was given a conditional discharge after the court accepted he was under "extreme provocation" from what he claimed was racial abuse. During his early days at the club Gannon was criticised by supporters for his performances, but he soon won them over after moving from centre-half to become a goalscoring midfielder. Stockport fans named him 'The Ghost', due to his knack of 'ghosting' in at the back of the box to score from crosses. He was also nicknamed 'Big Jimbo'.

In 1990–91, County achieved promotion from the Fourth Division as runners-up. In 1992 he made his first trip to Wembley Stadium, as Stockport lost 1–0 to Stoke City in the Football League Trophy final. During the same season, Stockport also reached the Third Division play-off Final, but were defeated at Wembley. The following year, County again reached the League Trophy Final, but lost 2–1 to Port Vale. In January 1994 Gannon joined Notts County on a brief loan spell to help him overcome some personal problems. Returning to Stockport, he finished the season with his fourth trip to Wembley in two years, as County were denied promotion from the Second Division by a 2–1 defeat to Burnley. The team finally achieved promotion from the division in 1996–97 as runners-up. This promotion was built on a strong defence, of which Gannon and fellow centre-back Sean Connelly were a major part. The following season, County achieved an eighth place finish in the First Division. He played under the management of Danny Bergara, Dave Jones, Gary Megson, and Andy Kilner.

On 21 March 2000, during a game with Manchester City, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligaments, keeping him out of action for several months. He was awarded a testimonial against Manchester City in August 2000, but got into a dispute with the club over the financial arrangements. He then left the club in November 2000, and issued employment tribunal proceedings for unfair dismissal. The following month he joined Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra on non-contract terms. After ten games with Crewe he returned to Ireland.

Following a break from football to obtain qualifications in accountancy, Gannon signed with Shelbourne in August 2001. Despite being appointed as captain upon his arrival, he initially struggled to get into the first team during the 2001–02 League Championship winning season, and considered a move back to England. However he found himself a key member of the defence when new manager Pat Fenlon took over. Under Fenlon, Gannon helped the "Shels" to a second-place finish in 2002–03, and also played in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase, scoring past Hibernians in a 2–2 draw at the Ta' Qali National Stadium. He did not feature extensively in the club's 2003 League Championship winning side.

Gannon holds a unique record, having scored in all four English divisions, the FA Cup, the Football League Cup, the Full Members Cup, the English League play-offs, the League of Ireland, the FAI Cup, the League of Ireland Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. He has received two distinguished honours from Stockport's supporters since leaving the club — being elected to the Stockport Hall of Fame and as Honorary Vice President of the Hatters Independent Supporters Club. His 479 club appearances puts him in third spot in Stockport's all-time appearance list and his 65 goals are ninth in their scoring records.