WITH GLENN WHELAN contributing a man-of-the-match performance in midfield, Fleetwood Town boosted their promotion hopes with a big win on Saturday.
Joey Barton’s side are now just two points adrift of a play-off place following their 2-1 victory against League One’s most in-form side.
Fourth-placed Peterborough United were aiming for a seventh win on the trot, but they came up short against a Fleetwood outfit who also find themselves in a rich vein of form.
Fleetwood, who hadn’t won in the six games prior to Whelan’s arrival last month, have yet to taste defeat in the six games they’ve played with the veteran Irishman in the team.
They have jumped from 11th to eighth place in the table since signing the 36-year-old Dubliner, who had been a free agent as a result of his premature and somewhat acrimonious departure from struggling Scottish Premiership club Hearts.
Saturday’s win was their fourth in succession. An extension of that run at home to fellow promotion chasers Portsmouth this Saturday could be enough to push the Lancashire club into the play-off spots.
Liam Lawrence, who played alongside Whelan for Stoke City and the Republic of Ireland, spoke about his former team-mate’s impact while appearing as a pundit on Quest TV’s EFL highlights programme over the weekend.
“He’s one of the most professional footballers that I’ve played with – his character, how he trains, how he plays, how he prepares,” Lawrence said. “He’ll have a big influence on that dressing room and the people around him, especially the youngsters.”
Fleetwood, whose leading goalscorer is Irish striker Paddy Madden, have never reached the heights of the Championship. The club, whose Highbury home ground holds just over 5,000 spectators, were promoted to the Football League for the first time in 2012.
Whelan has experience of promotion from League One from his time at Sheffield Wednesday, with whom he tasted play-off success back in 2005.
Before making his Fleetwood debut on 25 January, Whelan hadn’t played a game in five weeks. However, he has not missed a minute of action yet for his new club.
Despite dropping down to the third tier of English football, Whelan looks likely to retain his place in the Republic of Ireland team for next month’s Euro 2020 play-off against Slovakia.
“Glenn, for me, who has been probably the star man in three or four of our games, he has the edge on those, without any doubt,” Ireland manager Mick McCarthy said last week when asked about the selection prospects of players like James McCarthy, Jayson Molumby and Jason Knight.
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Amidst all the complaints about traffic etc on Sunday, I’m genuinely excited to see a state of the art, modern GAA venue this weekend. Looks fantastic.
@Marcas Ó Callanáin: Having said that, those seats in the North Stand at the Blackrock End look to have their views severely obscured…?
@Marcas Ó Callanáin: trying to put negativity aside it’s very hard to call this a state of the art modern stadium. It has one new stand that is modern but basic by international standards. The rest is a concrete bowel with no facilities that was designed in 1976 and rebuilt identically. Half the stadium is terraced. It’s new but that’s about it.
@Marcas Ó Callanáin: Great views from all around especially the North stand. Found it better sheltered and gave an overall better view
I think it looks fantastic. The floodlight design and seat colouring look a bit like London Olympic stadium. Look forward to seeing the game at the weekend.
@Evan Geoghegan: a boy kev nev
Be nice when you buy a stand ticket on a wet day only to get soaked because there are no sides on the stands.
@Ruairi O’Bric: must be awful to be so miserable about life Ruairi.
They have done a very nice job.
@MK76: how is pointing out the obvious being miserable?
@Ruairi O’Bric: Passive aggressive then. Either way, you’re hardly a beacon of sunshine and light.
@Ruairi O’Bric: Rain, poor you, wear a jacket
Could have made it new and modern but made it pretty standard
I think the stadium looks bang average. Design isn’t very modern and you still have 2 uncovered ends. What is it with Ireland and the way we design and build stadia. Did I read it cost €80 million?
Lack of big screen seems an over sight
@Pádraic Ó Maoláin: well they went €16million over budget without including the Astro pitch scope so they hardly had room for luxuries like a large tv! “Sure what would they want that for when de game is right of front of them huh”
@Leo Erah: That’s nonsense. The whole thing is new. Not just one stand. Bizarre statement.
@Kieran Lynch: the design is anything but new. No imagination at all. Two uncovered 70s style terraces. One stand double the size of the other. For the money they spent they could have had a fully enclosed stadium, with covered terracing.
@Pa Burke: It’s still a new stadium though. Design issues is another argument.
@Pa Burke: It’s still pretty cool all the same.
@Kieran Lynch: it is what it is. It’s a damn sight better than as lot of other county grounds, but for me, after spending 80m it’s disappointing.
@Pa Burke:”For the money they spent they could have had a fully enclosed stadium with covered terracing” And where would they have got that Pa?? Woodies DIY :-).I have not seen it yet but their seems to be alot of negativity around, and not quite sure if it is towards the stadium, the County board, or Cork in general?.Right or wrong it is their to stay and the most important thing now, is we keep producing quality young hurlers and footballers to play in it for years to come.
@Kieran Lynch: the stadium was rebuilt from scratch so it is new, I never said otherwise. Unfortunately 3 of the 4 stands were rebuilt identically to the design from 1976. A 40 year old design. There is a new 40m stand that by modern standards is plain and the rest of the stadium is as you were except for a bit of roof on the north stand. The whole thing is a travesty and an example of how not to rebuild a stadium.
@John Carroll: I never mentioned the board or cork in general. The design of the stadium is embarrassinly Irish. The fact that Cork will be playing in a 70s style stadium for another 40 years is depressing.
https://ewanmackenna.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/grounds-for-concern/
@Pa Burke: Not a prayer for 80 million. Stadium you are shopping for would cost 3 or 4 times that.
A crowd of 10,000 turned up… for the first 10 minutes
Nice evening and a very good first half of hurling. (Apparently). View from both sides is good, plenty of space between seats and upper tier is not crazy Croke Park high. Pitch looks good and approach concourse and 4 G pitch is impressive. The same issues persist though, no parking other than on street within 15 mins walk, difficult to get in to and away from. I don’t think there will be enough toilets to cater for large crowds and few food options. If you get there, you will have a grand view, the location is still the biggest issue though.
@DJ Cronin: apparently a new traffic management system is being introduced because it was a part of the planning permission. The black ash park and ride is being mooted with gaa buses to the stadium. Will be some laugh trying to get the old school cork GAA clowns to buy into that one.
Agree also on the facilities comment but really what did people expect, most of the stadium bar he new stand is the same as pre upgrade and has no food/bar facilities. This is nothing like thomond/crowe park/aviva etc.
@Leo Erah: traffic management? We don’t need no steenking traffic management
@Leo Erah: 13 bars in fact.