Played For Both - Barry Bannan: Bolton Wanderers vs Sheffield Wednesday

Tomorrow afternoon sees Championship football return following what seems like an age-long international break, however, the break hasn't necessarily come at a for us at this stage whilst in such bad form and with injury set backs being given chance to be minimised ahead of tomorrow's game. Yet to pick up our first league win of the season and without a goal in eight, Wanderers face Sheffield Wednesday in what proves to be a huge clash and will potentially determine the length of Phil Parkinson's future at the club.

One familiar face will make the trip across the pennines to the Macron Stadium tomorrow, Barry Bannan. The Scotsman, who spent the second half of the 2014/15 season on loan at Bolton, is now a regular outfit in a strong Wednesday team who we managed to beat 3-2 in the Carabao Cup back in August and will inevitably be looking for revenge tomorrow.

Bannan, also a regular feature in the Scottish national side, who recently failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, is a player who you could always tell would do well in a better team than ours and showed his potential during his loan spell with us in creativity, intelligent football and his link-up play with the likes of Zach Clough and Adam Le Fondre and has gone on to prove that, making a international selection almost guaranteed upon each call up.

In the early days of his career, Celtic were his employers for two years before he was transferred to Aston Villa where he made a name for himself in English football. He was then loaned out to Derby County, Blackpool and Leeds United over a three year period gaining some experience at lower levels before returning to the top flight with Crystal Palace after he was signed by Ian Holloway who had brought him in at Blackpool previously.

It was at Palace that he was approached by Bolton and loaned out to us on deadline day. Barry made 16 appearances for Bolton but failed to score despite his best efforts and coming incredibly close on numerous occasions. At the end of his loan spell at Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday snapped him up on deadline day in August of 2015 and is now a first team regular and so nearly helped them to promotion last season.

On his most recent encounter with Bolton, Bannan had a considerable role in the beginning of the tussle between the two managers in the cup game following a horrendously late challenge on Filipe Morais late on in the game which saw Wanderers' fans opinions of Bannan decline rapidly.

With the final scoreline of that game ending in Bolton's favour, it was Wanderers fans that had the last laugh as both Bannan and Owls manager Carlos Carvalhal disgraced themselves on that occasion. However, I'm not sure we'll be the ones laughing come 5pm tomorrow. Regardless, lets hope for three points.

COYWM!