Veteran Whelan still stoking the engine as Mick’s Ireland get back on track
NOT everyone agreed with Giovanni Trapattoni’s choice of Glenn Whelan in central midfield for the Italian’s first competitive game as manager – against Georgia in neutral Mainz – in September 2008.
Andy Reid, a media darling was left out, as was Liam Miller, to accommodate Whelan. Almost 11 years on, Whelan continues to roll along, like ‘Ol Man River, and he ain’t washed up yet.
His contribution to Tuesday night’s 1-0 win against Georgia in the Euro qualifiers vindicated Mick McCarthy’s decision to pick up the phone and check out his availability.
Watching the way Whelan broke up play, kept his passes simple, and covered acres of turf at the Aviva Stadium, was a reminder of how he was missed during the annus horribilis of 2018 under Martin O’Neill.
There was even time for a nifty piece of fielding that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Edgbaston as he scooped up a tennis ball on the run and pegged it back into the crowd after Conor Hourihane scored.
Whelan was called on for a 90-minute shift and he didn’t flag. As he shepherded Ireland to a vital three points, McCarthy was entitled to be pleased with himself for bringing the Aston Villa veteran in from the cold.
‘I actually thought Glenn had retired and when I called him and spoke to him, he said, “No I haven’t, I was retired” so he was always in my thoughts,’ explained McCarthy, who felt Tuesday’s challenge was right up Whelan’s alley.
‘I put him in my initial squad and I knew I was going to have to play the way we played on Tuesday as I was never going to play 4-4-2 against Georgia.
‘We would have got bashed, they would have had the ball, we never would have got it off them, so we had to catch them up and we were better than them.
‘I did think he would play 90 minutes, he is in great shape which is testimony to how he has looked after himself and he is playing for Aston Villa and in fact he was the one that was going better than all the others, I thought.’
‘What do I like about him? I like his ability, his durability, his organisation, just his experience, he played that position brilliantly against Georgia and I thought some of his passes were excellent.
‘He got us playing. And he plays regularly with Conor (Hourihane) and that was always in my mind, that the two of them play together. It is nice to have a couple of partnerships, we haven’t got many on the pitch.
‘And organisationally he was very good, vocally helping the players around him and he should do because he is a very experienced lad and you would want him to be talking to them. I said to him that is his job.
‘Despite the fact we are all shouting on to the pitch we can’t organise it all the time, it is up to the players to do it.’
Whelan’s longevity is all the most remarkable given the accepted rate of attrition in the trenches.
With 86 caps, he is miles ahead of Liam Brady (72 caps) and Andy Townsend (70) in the engine-room roll of honour.
Had O’Neill not discarded him, he’d be over 90 caps by now, with every chance of becoming the seventh Irishman, and first central midfielder, to reach the
elusive 100-cap mark.
Could it happen yet? Perhaps. Ireland have six qualifiers and two friendlies to play this year, after which they may have the Euro 2020 finals to look forward to. If not, there is the probable back-stop of the play-offs next March.
By then Whelan will be deep into his 37th year. To stay involved, much would depend on what level of first team football he is playing then, at Villa or elsewhere.
But if the doughty Dubliner remains fit and keeps his enthusiasm levels up, then McCarthy would almost certainly find room for him in the 23-strong squad if Ireland qualify.
There are no guarantees in football and should James McCarthy, 28, get a summer move from Everton and land running at a decent level at the start of the next season, he may usurp Whelan.
Not that it will be easy as Whelan is currently manager McCarthy’s go-to guy for a deep-lying defensive shield.
Whelan’s recall was a one gambit that paid off for McCarthy, the other was David McGoldrick, who has shone like a beacon in the two qualifiers.
McCarthy knew McGoldrick from their time together at Ipswich and had a jersey provisionally set aside for him. Of the others, he went in there with his eyes open and a clean slate.
‘I am not bothered, not one flying flute, what has gone on in the past or what their careers were, so I came in on the 17th (of March) and we trained on the 18th and I have no background with them, except with Didsy.
‘I just took them on face value and they have all played pretty well.
‘Oh, they are triers. If they were not trying, we would have got beat by Georgia, they have had to put a real shift in, every one of them.
‘We’ve got six points and we are top of the group and we have played well and they are all buzzing. They will be busting a gut to come to Portugal, which is great for me and great for Ireland.’
Portugal was where it started for Glenn Whelan in the first training camp under Trap in May, 2008. Pending the Championship play-offs, he will be back there again in May, 2019.
His story is one of endurance and enthusiasm.