The game that never was and replay that cost Falkirk boss Bannon his job

In the end, the choice was Eamonn Bannon, a former Scottish internationalist and vastly experienced as a player, most notably at Tannadice, Tynecastle and Stamford Bridge.

In managerial terms, he was untried, his coaching experience having been gained at Tynecastle and Easter Road.

His last post had been playing and coaching with Stenhousemuir and he was appointed ahead of several candidates.

Chairman George Fulston was confident he had got the right man for the job, and Bannon signed a two-year deal.

At the time,Falkirk were rarely out of the headlines, often for the wrong reasons.

The Sunday Mail ran a story about an alleged scandal involving payments to Andy Gray, allegedly of £30,000 and involving a third party.

Whatever the truth, the story brought further discredit to the club and didn’t help instill confidence in the current management.

Fulston revealed plans for a new 15,000-seater stadium, but more than a few supporters were sceptical.

There were plenty of ex-Hearts players arriving at Brockville and Brian Hamilton, Craig Nelson and Neil Berry made their debuts in a friendly in Blackpool.

The new navy and sky-blue chessboard strip was not universally popular and there were increasing doubts surrounding the new management after a shock League Cup exit at the hands of Albion Rovers.

League form was erratic, but there were plenty of interesting side-shows.

The Battle of the Brockville Tunnel and the arrival of Chris Waddle were two such events.

Bannon felt that certain players were “scared” to play at home.

The ex-Hearts contingent was increased with the arrival of Wayne Foster from Partick.

Bannon was reported to be trying to bring Kevin McAllister back to Brockville and saw the 33-year-old as the ideal player to lead a revival.

Chairman George Fulston was asked to consider his position as off the field events worsened.

Three directors had resigned, secretary Sandy Moffat complained about a lack of information on decisions being made, and minority shareholders were far from happy about the running of the club.

Attendances dropped and Falkirk were not going to feature in any title charge.

Bannon seemed to be as frustrated as the fans, and his management was having little effect.

Despite everything, Falkirk were still at the right end of the table, but their style of playing was not attractive.

It’s not often you go along to Brockville and see Falkirk win a match, collect three points, have them removed, be forced into a replay and eventually, cost their manager his job.

“The Game That Never Was” took place on Saturday, November 23 at Brockville against St Mirren.

A last minute goal by trialist John Clark saw Falkirk stretch their unbeaten run to four games.

Clark had been freed by Dunfermline manager Bert Paton on the Friday afternoon, but was quickly signed later that same evening.

He had left Brockville to sign for Dunfermline in February, after a fall-out with then manager John Lambie.

The game was heading for a 0-0 draw, which would have been a fair reflection of the game, when Clark scored from six yards out after good work by Wayne Foster.

St Mirren had played some good football and had several promising youngsters.

Falkirk, by contrast, had the look of an Edinburgh Old Boys XI.

The mysterious Norwegian trialist was replaced at half-time by Foster, and Falkirk looked a more menacing side after the break. Kevin James had an outstanding game in defence and looked a really useful prospect.

Bannon’s words at the press conference were to be prophetic: “John was quite nervous at first but settled down and made an important contribution.”

His contribution was to prove extremely costly in more ways than one.

The turmoil behind the scenes continued with the news that Sandy Moffat had resigned as a director - the fourth to do so in seven months.

His statement illustrated his dilemma: “ When you are legally responsible for things that are happening, but don’t know they’re happening, and only get told long after they’ve taken place it becomes impossible to continue.”

Moffat claimed he knew nothing about the intended share issue announced by George Fulston and felt the decision to resign had been taken for him. An EGM had been called to discuss a motion from Wilson Young and Roy Easton that George Fulston, Jim Turnbull and Neil Binnie be removed from the board.

As Fulston owned around 57 per cent of the shares, the chances of success were nil.

Further adverse publicity came with the news that two Elgin City players on trial at Brockville had been “treated shabbily”, not given a chance, and asked to do cleaning duties.

Manager Bannon denied this.

Three ineligible players had been fielded in a game, despite the fact that the club chairman was a vice-president of the Scottish League.

After a boring goalless draw at Brockville against Morton, there were rumours of a fall-out between Bannon and Paul McGrillen over the latter’s substitution by McGraw.

McGrillen was confronted by Bannon as he attempted to run up the tunnel and ordered to sit in the dug-out.

The public nature of the incident didn’t help improve the club’s image.

Little did the supporters realise it, but this was to be one of the manager’s last acts as Falkirk boss.

Fulston’s lawyer, Jock Brown, issued a terse press statement: “It is with regret that I have to announce that Eamonn Bannon has today been dismissed as manager of Falkirk FC.”

Bannon had 17 months of his contract remaining and had been due to attend the players’ Christmas party in Glasgow.

The John Clark Affair had been the final straw.

Falkirk had apparently been reprimanded for fielding ineligible players before, the latest being Walter Kidd against Morton in August.

Scottish Football League Rule No. 47 stated that you couldn’t re-sign a player within a year of him leaving the club.

John Clark played in November after leaving Falkirk in the previous February.

Falkirk were fined £25,000 and the game was to be replayed.

The three points won in the game were to be deducted. Fulston had been on a short holiday at the time of the Clark Affair, but felt the fine was harsh.

“It will be hard to find the money to meet the fine. I thought the loss of three points would have been harsh enough.”

There were those who suspected that the fine and loss of points was an ideal opportunity to remove Bannon, and many felt he had been made a scapegoat for the errors of others.

Falkirk supporters reacted badly to yet another set of headlines they could have done without.

The usual guessing-game started as to the identity of the next manager.

Alex Totten had been dismissed as Kilmarnock manager in the previous month and was available.

He was reported to be considering a lucrative two-year deal in the Far East but jumped at the chance to return to the club.

He had been a supporter, player and manager of the club and his appointment was a popular one with supporters.

Totten expressed sympathy for Eamonn Bannon, stating: “ I can understand how Eamonn Bannon feels, but I’m just delighted to be back at a club I love.”

Many felt that Bannon would pursue a case through legal processes.

To this day, Bannon has not returned to football management, but has coached with Spartans in Edinburgh.