Glenn Whelan

[Diggs246]

I've worked with people like that manager before. From my experiences they are out of their depth and try compensate for their deficiencies by being a bully or a bell end

[Eminence Grise]

That struck me too. Single out a senior player whose reputation stands out among a squad of weaker players, but who has only months left on his contract so is cheap to get rid of, to scare the squad (a lot of lower league journeymen and young players) into performing better and show what a hard man the new manager is. That said, I think any hopes that Whelan will get a Championship team are fanciful. His best days are long behind him.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Found a summation (not signing up to the Indo): https://punditarena.com/football/oisinmcqueirns2758/glenn-whelan-hearts-exit-2/

Hearts are floundering in a lot of ways if Whelan's comments on their admin side are true. I understand the manager has told the team captain he has no place there either. Seems like a desperate attempt to clear perceived deadwood and overpaid players to try and avoid relegation.

[Eminence Grise]

The headline is 'It feels like I have been thrown under a bus'. He says Stendal had a go at him from day one and nitpicked on stuff Whelan was doing in training. He highlighted a game against Celtic where they were 2-0 down at halftime, when he came on as a sub: the game finished 2-0, but Stendal still had a go at him. The stuff that fits with Diggs246 comment on bullying is that Whelan was not told he was being left out of match squads, only finding out by players' group chat, and arrived in for training on the 27th to find he wasn't in either the match recovery or non-playing training groups. He mentions that he got five MotM awards in eight home games and accuses Hearts administrators of being very amateurish.

The tone is that he's surprised and hurt and feels he can do a better job elsewhere.

[dynamo kerry]

just had a bit of a read of the hearts message board.. whelan's departure thread has over 300 post so far...

Seems the view at best is he start Ok, tailed off as it became clear the team was pretty poor and his ability to impact it by really really trying was limited. New coach comes in, wants a more attacking style, decides to move Glenn on. What's really clear, and poorly understood by the hearts fans is that hearts have dealt with it pretty badly. Glenn's interview seems to indicate that the new guy didn't really engage with him on the topic and "not part of the plans" equated to "not worth speaking to" which doesn't surprise me much for the football world at a lower level when no relationships exist. Stender doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will end up at man city in 3 years time. Christophe Berra shown the door as well in much the same way and he's been a hearts man thru and thru for years. (even when I used to live in scotland)

what it does highlight is that in a poor side Glenn is not able to change the game/make things much better. he'll need game time to contribute to any irish fixtures, i suspect he'll rock up in league 1, lower championship but I hope he's match fit....

[OMTY]

Joins Fleetwood Town in League One (https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/glenn-whelan-joins-league-one-side-in-bid-to-keep-ireland-place-for-crunch-play-off-against-slovakia-38888258.html)

[Diggs246]

Effectively a move to a League One team. Would have McCarthy ahead of him if fit obviously, but if Cullen and Molumby are playing regularly in the championship this season they should now move in front of him in the pecking order as well.

There must have been no championship interest in him at all for him to end up there.

James McCarthy and Josh Cullen would be a great DM pair

[pineapple stu]

Gets a big mention from manager Joey Barton (https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-rovers-gas-glenn-whelan-7059098) for his contribution this year as Bristol Rovers earned promotion on goals scored on the final day after a 7-0 win (they needed to win by 5). 21 minutes into the final day they were 1-0 up and Northampton were 3-0 up, so they were seven goals behind! Rovers also made a sub in the fifteenth and the nineteenth minutes of injury time, so seems an eventful game.

Fourth promotion of his career, at the age of 38.

[NeverFeltBetter]

I read there was a mass pitch invasion when Bristol got the required number of goals, the ref took the teams off the pitch until order was restored, hence 20 minutes of injury time.

[Trequartista20]

I read there was a mass pitch invasion when Bristol got the required number of goals, the ref took the teams off the pitch until order was restored, hence 20 minutes of injury time.

That seemed very unfair to me. It gave Rovers a clear advantage. I'm not sure if the club were censured over this, but they should be.

[pineapple stu]

The joys of football. Singled out for his contribution to promotion one week, and released on a free the next.

Does he have another season in him?

[Colbert Report]

Played his final professional match today. Great servant to us.

[Fixer82]

Great servant to Ireland.
His goal Vs Italy one of our finest ever goals.
Would have been nice for him to finish his international career with that effort (that walloped off the bar) going in Vs Switzerland

[nigel-harps1954]

One of the most underappreciated players we've probably ever had. Great servant over the years, and will likely go on to have a fine coaching career too.

[Yard of Pace]

One of the most underappreciated players we've probably ever had. Great servant over the years, and will likely go on to have a fine coaching career too.

Underappreciated? Not by himself, anyway.

https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/stokes-whelan-welcomes-gattuso-comparison-200002

A dire player.

[NeverFeltBetter]

A good servant and nothing bad to say about him really, but he had the misfortune of being a midfield mainstay in a period where our manager/managers didn't want us to have a pro-active ball-retaining midfield. Too many games passed him by through no fault of his own.

[Snapshot]

Underappreciated? Not by himself, anyway.

https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/stokes-whelan-welcomes-gattuso-comparison-200002

A dire player.

A dire post.

[seanfhear]

Another yard or two of pace would have brought him to that next level player.

I am sure he has made a very good living out of football = = Fair play to him.

[pineapple stu]

Underappreciated? Not by himself, anyway.

https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/stokes-whelan-welcomes-gattuso-comparison-200002

A dire player.
Dire players don't make 277 Premier League appearances. We could really do with someone as bad as him right now.

[Snapshot]

Dire Glenn Whelan 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCrsI__k36U

Dire Glenn Whelan 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWV5omYkyQ

Dire Glenn Whelan 3
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Glenn+Whelan+best+moments


With 91 caps and an excellent club career - the dire Glenn Whelan sure fooled a lot of good football managers along the way.

[Jd2793]

good player who had a career 90% of academy players would bite your hand off for. good luck to him

[ontheotherhand]

We could use a player like him now. He became a scapegoat for the style we played under successive managers at times. Gave us a lot more than he got credit for. Good luck to him.

[SkStu]

He performed a very specific role for us and he performed it well most of the time. He was limited but effective and never shirked his role or responsibilities. He suffered, i think, a little bit from being an ever-present player in teams where the managers had us set up to be uber-conservative - and as a result didn't get a lot of love from the terraces.

I did feel bad for him towards the end of his international career as his legs had clearly gone, and he was never the most mobile in the first place. He deserved more love than he got.

[tetsujin1979]

A rare interview with Whelan on the42 today
https://www.the42.ie/glenn-whelan-interview-6087686-Jun2023/

[John83]

In 2018, Pulis told The Irish Mail on Sunday that during their five years working together: “We tried to sign someone better.
“We always looked for an upgrade on Glenn, someone we thought was more mobile, technically better, quicker, stronger, but every year the bugger would confound you by playing better and better and get his place back.”

Even after Pulis’ departure as manager, this pattern continued for a period, and when Whelan finally was sold by Stoke, the club were promptly relegated the following season.
That about sums him up, I think.

[Snapshot]

He performed a very specific role for us and he performed it well most of the time. He was limited but effective and never shirked his role or responsibilities. He suffered, i think, a little bit from being an ever-present player in teams where the managers had us set up to be uber-conservative - and as a result didn't get a lot of love from the terraces.

I did feel bad for him towards the end of his international career as his legs had clearly gone, and he was never the most mobile in the first place. He deserved more love than he got.
There was no need to agonise about his legs. He was one of our best performers in McCarthy's final campaign.

[SkStu]

I wasn't agonising at all to be fair but the guy had already "retired" from international football to preserve himself. He knew it himself before he made himself available for a few more run outs. He never let us down but there were moments in his last two campaigns where, on the turnover, he was beaten before the race had started.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Was a Good player similar to John Sheridan, with McCarthy he had a Good partnership in France , McCarthy coming and going like an engine he doing just like the wolf stuff in Pulp Fiction

[Crosby87]

I think we all wheelie liked him.

[Fixer82]

Was a Good player similar to John Sheridan, with McCarthy he had a Good partnership in France , McCarthy coming and going like an engine he doing just like the wolf stuff in Pulp Fiction

He was absolutely nothing like John Sheridan. As for the second half of the sentence....what?

[Snapshot]

I wasn't agonising at all to be fair but the guy had already "retired" from international football to preserve himself. He knew it himself before he made himself available for a few more run outs. He never let us down but there were moments in his last two campaigns where, on the turnover, he was beaten before the race had started.
He never retired. I'm not sure why you use inverted commas. O'Neill told him he wouldn't select him again except for a farewell game against Northern Ireland. When McCarthy contacted him Whelan said he was always available. Your terming of the Euro 2020 qualifiers, in which Whelan vindicated his selection, as a "few more run outs" is interesting.

[SkStu]

Chill out lad. I used inverted commas because it became a bit of a running joke about whether he retired or was retired… my recollection/understanding was that when McCarthy came in he made himself available again if he was needed.

He made 9 (maybe more/less?) appearances after he came back - I think - either way it was just a figure of speech. You’re reading waayyy to much into my posts, remember my initial post was very complimentary to him and that he didn’t get enough credit - so not sure what you’re trying to achieve here…

[Snapshot]

Chill out lad. I used inverted commas because it became a bit of a running joke about whether he retired or was retired… my recollection/understanding was that when McCarthy came in he made himself available again if he was needed.

He made 9 (maybe more/less?) appearances after he came back - I think - either way it was just a figure of speech. You’re reading waayyy to much into my posts, remember my initial post was very complimentary to him and that he didn’t get enough credit - so not sure what you’re trying to achieve here…
There was no need to declare himself available again - he hadn't retired. Running jokes, figures of speech, assumptions and chill-outs aside, where did you see he retired "to preserve himself"? Just for the record.

[JR89]

Might be remembering it wrong but did MON have Whelan do one of the press conferences during that window and said something himself about Whelan will captain the team for NI because it's his last game. Which left Whelan puzzled because it was obviously news to him that he was "retiring".

[Fixer82]

Yes MON made a big deal of him retiring. Essentially MON was retiring him but then he lost his job and Whelan was selected again

[seanfhear]

Yes MON made a big deal of him retiring. Essentially MON was retiring him but then he lost his job and Whelan was selected again
So Glenn actually saw Martin O'Neill retired from the Irish job !

[SkStu]

There was no need to declare himself available again - he hadn't retired. Running jokes, figures of speech, assumptions and chill-outs aside, where did you see he retired "to preserve himself"? Just for the record.

I didn’t see it anywhere. It’s how I remembered it. That some of the Irish squad would laugh about whether he retired or was retired (by MON). Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong on any of my recollection because it’s actually not that important. You are getting yourself all worked up and needlessly cranky about my interpretation of events. It’s a bit weird. He was a good servant, a good player and deserved more love. That’s all I was really saying in the first place.

[Snapshot]

I didn’t see it anywhere. It’s how I remembered it. That some of the Irish squad would laugh about whether he retired or was retired (by MON). Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong on any of my recollection because it’s actually not that important. You are getting yourself all worked up and needlessly cranky about my interpretation of events. It’s a bit weird. He was a good servant, a good player and deserved more love. That’s all I was really saying in the first place.
All worked up and needlessly cranky? Weird? Check out the Puns thread. Your masterclass lives there.

[Snapshot]

Might be remembering it wrong but did MON have Whelan do one of the press conferences during that window and said something himself about Whelan will captain the team for NI because it's his last game. Which left Whelan puzzled because it was obviously news to him that he was "retiring".
Not the report I remember but I think this explains it. It's The S*n but contains direct quotes.

https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football/4785419/ireland-glenn-whelan-mick-mccarthy-euro-2020-denmark/

[tetsujin1979]

Interviewed in the times today
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/glenn-whelan-kevin-keegan-sent-me-to-bury-im-grateful-he-did-now-nq8k5bn6d

[seanfhear]

Looking back at it ~ And Stephen Kenny's time ~ And even now ~ You wonder why we didn't over-load midfield in comparison to the opposition considering that we were and are, lacking that bit of quality in our midfielders.

Whelan says that often when we were playing, that they were often playing 2 against 3 in midfield ~ Surely that is not good tactics considering our midfielders weren't exactly world beaters at international level ! !

[Fixer82]

I recall Andrews speaking on Euro 2012 saying something like ‘it was Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso in the middle against me and Whelo!’

[Eirambler]

At least under Trap there was a kind of logic to it. His call was to play two sitting midfielders, two wingers and two centre forwards. We were effectively playing six defenders (four at the back and the two holding midfielders), four forwards (two wingers and two strikers) and basically conceding midfield out of possession and playing it direct in possession, because we knew we wouldn't win midfield anyway. It almost got us to the World Cup and did get us to the Euros, but came unstuck badly against the likes of Spain, who just lorded it over us in terms of possession and basically walked the ball in at will.

Whereas there were times under Kenny where we actually tried to play through the middle but still under resourced ourselves in there. It was bad enough trying to play through in a technical style when we so obviously didn't have the midfielders to do it, but to try to do it with only two in there against some of the lower seeds was just asking for trouble.

[Fixer82]

At least under Trap there was a kind of logic to it. His call was to play two sitting midfielders, two wingers and two centre forwards. We were effectively playing six defenders (four at the back and the two holding midfielders), four forwards (two wingers and two strikers) and basically conceding midfield out of possession and playing it direct in possession, because we knew we wouldn't win midfield anyway. It almost got us to the World Cup and did get us to the Euros, but came unstuck badly against the likes of Spain, who just lorded it over us in terms of possession and basically walked the ball in at will.

Whereas there were times under Kenny where we actually tried to play through the middle but still under resourced ourselves in there. It was bad enough trying to play through in a technical style when we so obviously didn't have the midfielders to do it, but to try to do it with only two in there against some of the lower seeds was just asking for trouble.

I do recall Andrews and Whelan both being magnificent in Paris in that Henry game

[tetsujin1979]

Appointed first team coach at Wigan Athletic
https://wiganathletic.com/news/2024/september/21/glenn-whelan-appointed-as-wigan-athletic-first-team-coach-/

[Olé Olé]

Didn't see until today he was appointed interim manager at Wigan after Shaun Maloney got sacked. Has a draw and a win in his first two matches, albeit to sides beneath them in the table.