Glenn Whelan will never be loved by the RTE panel, or even the casual Ireland supporter, but he is a stalwart, a soldier, a tireless worker who has toiled in the crazed Eyre Square Supermacs kitchen at 2am on a Saturday night that is the Ireland midfield for eight long years with barely a complaint. Whelan turns 32 today. A mature age, an age where a man can look back on his achievements as a man and look forward to the future still in hope. We examined the Sportsfile archive today for Whelan photos and what we found were a whole lot of photos of Whelan applauding Ireland fans after wins, losses and defeats.
These photos epitomise the pro that Whelan is: diligent, considerate and apologetic after a dire, turgid 90 minutes of football. He knows Irish football fans are aesthetes at heart. Deep down, I believe Whelan is aesthete as well. But we must work with the tools given to us. Win, lose or draw, Whelan is always thinking of the fans.
