Stuart Bannigan
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Stuart Bannigan
Stuart Bannigan
• Stuart Bannigan, 2020 (PTFC)

born in Scotland

Stuart Bannigan was born on Thursday, 17th September, 1992, in Glasgow.

The 5' 9 (11st 9lbs) midfielder signed for Ian McCall's Thistle on Wednesday, 27th May, 2009, having most recently been with Partick Thistle U-17.

Aged 17, he made his debut appearance on Tuesday, 13th July, 2010, in a 2-1 friendly defeat away to Dumbarton.

Stuart scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 5th May, 2012, in a 2-2 draw away to Hamilton Academical in the SFL First Division.

He scored the last of his 21 goals on Saturday, 20th January, 2024, in a 3-0 win away to Ross County in the Scottish Cup.

He played his last game for the club on Friday, 16th May, 2025, in a 2-0 defeat away to Livingston in the SPFL Premiership play-offs, having clocked up a mighty 468 appearances as a Jag.

At June, 2025, his club-list included Partick Thistle and Ayr United.
Bio Extra

Stuart came through the youth set up at Thistle, and had already featured for the reserve team before joining the club full-time as a modern apprentice in the summer of 2009. After impressing during pre-season, Stuart made his first team debut for Thistle against Clyde on the opening day of the 2010-2011 season. Stuart spent much of the latter half of season 2010-2011 on loan with Ayr United and he helped them to promotion to the First Division via the end of season play-offs. In the second half of season 2011-12, Stuart really started to establish himself in the Thistle first team, scoring his first goal on the final day of the season at Hamilton and showing he can play in a number of positions, filling in at left back from his more usual central midfield role.

Stuart really began to shine during the 2012-13 championship winning season, establishing himself as one of the club’s most promising stars and he was rewarded when he was selected for the Scotland Under-21 side in an away match with Greece before winning a further cap later in that season. Stuart adjusted easily to life in the top flight of Scottish football and continued his excellent form at the heart of the Thistle midfield. He was rewarded with a new two year contract until at least the summer of 2016. Stuart maintained his tough tenacious style of play in the heart of the midfield as he became an automatic selection choice for Alan Archibald.

After a serious knee injury saw Stuart miss two years of action, Banzo returned to the Thistle line up in September 2018. From that point, he featured in 21 of Thistle’s next games, only missing one fixture due to a yellow card suspension. He finished the 2018/19 season as captain having played 28 games taking him beyond 200 for the Club. The midfielder led the Jags to safety on the final day of the season, scoring the third and final goal in a 3-0 win over the team he returned against, Queen of the South, from the penalty spot before celebrating passionately with the Thistle fans behind the goal.

Bannigan was a standout for the Maryhill men during the 2020/21 season as he played a big part in Thistle’s League One title win. The number eight was voted by the fans as the McCrea Financial Services Player of the Year that term and signed an extension to his contract during the close season. With Ian McCall’s side back in the Championship, Stuart continued to feature regularly, racking up 46 appearances during the 21/22 season, taking him past the 300 competitive games marker. On 17th September 2022, he scored on his 30th birthday in a 2-2 League draw at home to Cove Rangers, becoming the first player to do so since Iain Flannigan did likewise in a 6-1 win over Stirling Albion back in January, 2011.

His excellent service to the club was officially recognised by his induction into the Partick Thistle Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2023, Stuart became the 10th longest-serving Thistle player of all-time, and the longest serving (single spell) Jag since Jackie Campbell who bade his farewell in 1982. 13 years, 2 months and 4 days on from his debut in July, 2010 he enjoyed his testimonial match at Firhill, featuring around 20 of his old team mates as well as the current crop. See 'Gallery' tab above. That day - 17th September 2023 - also happened to be his 31st birthday, and he became just the 6th Jag in history to play in successive birthdays.

In what was a difficult final season for the club in 2024-25, Stuart was regularly one of the team’s most consistent players, evidenced by three consecutive Player of the Month awards won that winter. Stuart's final 4 seasons as a Jag all ended with promotion play-off games, but all ended in defeat. He fell out of contract at the end of season 2024-25 and, although there were talks of another deal, no agreement was reached and he signed a one-year deal with Scott Brown's Ayr United on 18th June 2025. Upon his departure, Partick Thistle head Coach Mark Wilson praised his contribution:

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Having played against Stuart during my playing days I always admired his tenacity and the way he put everything on the line for his team and having worked with him as a coach with the Academy and as a player with the first team, I’ve developed and even greater respect for what he has brought to this club over the years. To play over 400 games for one team is something very rare and something that I know Stuart is very proud of. The resilience he showed by coming back from what was essentially a two-year long lay-off is testament to his character and the passion he has for the game and Partick Thistle. He’s an undisputed Jags legend and I’m sure every Thistle fan would join me in wishing him the best for the future.
(PTFC/WS)



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