Whelan reeling in the years to find inspiration

TEN years to the day and Glenn Whelan can tell you where he watched it, who else was there and what he was wearing. He’s not alone.

Over 50,000 people will never forget the electric pulse that gripped Lansdowne Road the day Mick McCarthy’s side defeated the Dutch. Twice that number saw it on a big screen in Slane before U2 took to the stage and millions more took it in from their living rooms.

Whelan? He was one of half a dozen Irish apprentices trying to cut it with Manchester City at the time. Four of them congregated in a small bedroom that Saturday afternoon to watch Roy Keane cut through Marc Overmars and Jason McAteer claim the winner.