Ronnie Whelan
Football After Dinner Speaker
Ronnie Whelan was born 25th September 1961 in Dublin, Ireland. Ronnie is a popular after dinner speaker at Sporting Dinners & Lunches.
He played 459 games with 17 sub appearances scoring 73 goals
Honours - 1 European Cup, 6 League Championships, 3 League Cups, 2 FA Cups, 53 caps for Republic of Ireland.
Whelan nearly played for Manchester United after being a trialist at Old Trafford but after being released Liverpool picked him up from Home Farm. He marked his debut with a goal against Stoke but didn't become a regular straight away.
The gifted successor to Ray Kennedy on the left flank of Liverpool's midfield, Whelan made a massive contribution to the club's majestic triumphs under Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish in the 1980's winning six League title medals, three FA Cup, a European Cup and three Milk Cup medals.
A natural footballer, Whelan was signed by the great Bob Paisley from Home Farm in his native Dublin in October 1979, just after his 18th birthday. He gave a hint of things to come by scoring on his debut against Stoke in April 1981, the first of 73 goals scored for Liverpool in almost 500 senior appearances.
He had a talent for scoring spectacular and crucial goals, including a magnificent swerving shot that beat Manchester United at Wembley in the 1983 Milk Cup Final, the year after he scored twice at the same venue in the final of the same competition against Tottenham. As well as fierce shooting power Whelan’s lean build incorporated tigerish tackling ability.
Whelan did the simple things in the game to the highest of standards and mixed in the truly wonderful as well such as his habit of scoring from outside of the box to secure the League Cup. His first full run in the side saw him score two against Spurs to win the League Cup and end up being voted Young Player of the Year. His versatility saw him play in every midfield position and even at left back as cover for a while.
At the beginning of the 1987/88 season, John Barnes arrived at Liverpool, whereby Whelan moved to a central midfield role, which he thrived upon. His distribution was superb and his tackling stopped moves starting against the Reds. He was the complete player and went on to captain the side to victory in the 1989 FA Cup Final. Whelan had it all but sadly in the nineties he also started getting injuries too which hampered his career. After three to four seasons of injuries he was finally released by the club to join Southend where he eventually became player-manager.
Ronnie is available for all types of events such as: Golf Days, Sporting Lunches/Dinners & Corporate Engagements.
To book Ronnie Whelan, call Laughter UK on 01524 733310 or contact us online.
