Bob Banks
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Owen Banks | ||
| Date of birth | Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "?". 1965Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "?".Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "?". | ||
| Place of birth | Riverton, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder, Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| -1984 | Allerton Town | ||
| 1984 | United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984-1986 | United | (?) | |
| 1986- | Leston Villa | ||
| National team | |||
| England | |||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
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Bob Banks was a fictional English footballer who played as a forward and appeared in the *We are United* comic strip in the British boys’ comic Champ and the *Goals of Jimmy Grant*. He first appeared in 1984. His fact file on *Champ* was number 17 in 1985.
Career
Club
Banks was born in 1965 and he first played for non-league club Allerton Town. At Christmas 1984, he signed for First Division United under manager Joe Pearson for a fee of £30,000. Though he played as a midfielder for Allerton Town, Pearson put him up front, a position he was enjoying. He started from the United Reserves’ first team, his favourite team as he stated. In his first game for the Reserves he banged 4 goals and quickly was promoted to the first team. His debut for United’s first team was in January 1985 at the Mill against Oldcastle, just a week after he turned professional. United beat Oldcastle by 4-0 and Banks scored his first goal in the top flight. The following week he scored the winner against Northfield.
But he didn’t find a starting place in United’s line-up, though his talent was there and Pearson had a lot of faith in him. After 1986 Banks signed for Leston Villa where he was a regular.
International
During the 1986/87 season, while playing for the Villans, England manager Brian Colby went to watch him as there were rumours about a call-up to the national team. But instead he called another young player, Jimmy Grant.
Style of play
Banks was initially a midfielder. Pearson put him up front and he continued playing as a forward with a desire to score goals.
Legacy
Spectacular start for Reserves and first team but he didn’t have a long career with the club. From 1974 until 1984 he never missed a United’s home game as he was a lifelong fan.
Personal life
Banks’ father was not alive to see him signing for United; the player’s biggest disappointment. He started going to the Mill with his father to watch United.
Honours
Note that all records are fictional, as of the 1983/84 season.
Cups
- FA Cup: 1986
- League Cup: 1985
