 Brannan had a well-travelled career, beginning at Tranmere Rovers, before a £750,000 transfer to Manchester City in March 1997.Mostly used as a squad player at Manchester City, he was loaned to Norwich City between August and October 1998, scoring once against Sheffield United, and was then sold to Motherwell for £375,000 in October 1998, thus terminating his spell at Norwich.Brannan moved onto Wigan in February 2001, where he remained until November 2003, scoring once against Blackpool in the League Cup.