Name: Glenn Whelan
Position: Centre Midfielder
Date of Birth: 13/1/1984
Nationality: Irish
Place of Birth: Dublin
Squad Number: 6
Nickname: None
Former Clubs: Manchester City, Bury, Sheffield Wedensday
Joined Stoke: 2008 (£500,000)
Whelan, a popular player with supporters, is without doubt the most creative of Stoke’s centre midfield options. This, along with his eagerness to shoot at the first sight of goal and his tendency to make mistakes means he is rarely a dull player to watch. Tony Pulis was a long-term admirer of his during his Sheffield Wednesday days, and eventually secured his signature on transfer deadline day in January 2006. The Irishman came straight into the side and made an immediate impact, revitalising the midfield as the side went on the run of six straight Championship victories that was so key to our promotion.
He started our first ever Premier League game at Bolton in August 2008, but reacted angrily to being substituted mid-way through the second half, which Pulis certainly did not take kindly to, limiting Whelan, a mainstay in Giovanni Trapattoni’s Irish side, to League Cup appearances only for the next four months.
Back in the side he flourished, producing several key assists, and arguably the defining moment of our season, sending home a superb strike to salvage a late, late point at Aston Villa. The one criticism to be made of his performances is a lack of consistency throughout games. He may boss the midfield for the first half an hour of a match, then drift completely out of it for the next half hour. If he is to mature into the vital player we hope he will, it will be important for his to improve this area of this game.
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