Tony Whelan

Tony Whelan (born 20 November 1952 in Salford, Lancashire) is a former Manchester United footballer who currently works as the club's Assistant Academy Manager, responsible for the Under-9 to Under-16 player development programme.

Early career

Whelan grew up in South Manchester, attending St Paul's Secondary Modern School in Urmston, captaining his school team, as well as the local schoolboy representative team, Stretford Boys. Whilst playing for them he was spotted by Manchester United scout Joe Armstrong and invited to sign Associated Schoolboy forms in 1967.fact|date=July 2008

He signed Apprentice Professional forms upon leaving school in July 1968 and advanced through the various junior teams featuring in the FA Youth Cup team that reached the semi-final in both 1969 and 1970. They also won the prestigious FC Blue Stars Youth Tournament in Zurich, Switzerland in May 1969. He signed as a full professional in December 1969 and, in May 1970, aged just 17, he was selected to go on the first team's three week tour of Bermuda, Canada and the United States, where he played against Eintracht Frankfurt and the Bermuda national football team. The remainder of his tenure with the club was spent on the fringes of the first team, playing for the Reserves, for whom he was the leading scorer in 1971–72.

Manchester City and Rochdale

On leaving Manchester United in February 1973, he surprisingly went to Manchester City, where he was given his league debut within three weeks of his arrival. Whelan made several appearances over the next sixteen months before departing for Rochdale in July 1974. Whilst there, he scored 20 goals in 130 first team outings and was voted the fans' player of the year in 1975. In between, he played the 1976 season for coach Ron Newman's Los Angeles Skyhawks, helping them win the American Soccer League Championship. He was voted by his fellow players to the Divisional Professional Footballers Association All Star Team in 1976.

North American Soccer League

Whelan moved to the United States in April 1977 to play for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers from 1977 to 1979, and from 1982 to 1983, during which time they won the Eastern Division title and reached the American Conference final in 1978. During his two spells with the club, he played over a hundred games and had the dual role of Director of Youth Development from 1982 to 1983. He also received the honorary citizenship of Plantation, Florida for services to the youth of the community (1978).

Whelan was also selected for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "All Strikers Team" (1 December 1983) which included such luminaries as George Best, Gerd Müller, Teófilo Cubillas and Brian Kidd. Whelan was transferred to the Atlanta Chiefs for the 1980 and 1981 seasons and helped them win divisional titles, both indoor and outdoor, in 1981. During his time in America, he played in over 170 matches in the NASL.

Major Indoor Soccer League

Following the demise of the Atlanta Chiefs franchise in 1981, Whelan spent the 1981–82 season in the MISL playing for the Philadelphia Fever before they folded at the end of the season.

Coaching career

Upon returning to England in November 1983, Whelan continued to coach young players part-time on Manchester City's Community Football Programme between 1987 and 1990. In September 1990, he was invited by Brian Kidd to join Manchester United's Centre of Excellence as a coach, and joined the full-time staff in September 1998 when the Academy was established. His time as a player included, Whelan has been involved with the club for over 20 years.

Over the years, Whelan has gained several coaching qualifications, as well as a Bachelors degree in humanities from the Open University, and a Masters degree in sociology from Manchester Metropolitan University. He also wrote the foreword to "The First Black Footballer: Arthur Wharton 1865-1930 An Absence of Memory" (1998) and is the author of "The Birth of the Babes: Manchester United Youth Policy 1950-1957", which explores the impact of youth development and the building of the Busby Babes side at Manchester United.

In March 2008, the Voice included him on a list of the 30 most influential black people in English football in recognition of his work developing elite young players.