Listen to the full interview above via the podcast. It also includes the hilarious sit down with Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer, while Dietmar Hamann reminisces about Istanbul 2005.
As Ronnie Whelan told us at Vicar Street tonight, he had grown up wanting to play for Liverpool's bitter rivals Manchester United.
That dream was not realized but as it turned out his time at Anfield would yield six league titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and a European Cup.
"I will always say that Bob Paisley was the greatest manager that ever lived," said the Euro 88 hero of the manager who brought him to Liverpool in the first place back in 1979 just before his 18th birthday. That drew many a cheer from the vast crowd at tonight's Off The Ball live show and he also spoke about the importance of moving at that later age rather than at 15.
Whelan revealed exactly what made Paisley such a great manager and spoke about him as the "archetypal grandad".
The former Ireland man also talked about his own style of play in midfield, how long it took for him to break into the first team and how having an Irish contingent at Anfield helped him settle as he battled homesickness in the early days.
He also gave us an insight about what it was like to play at the heart of one of the great Liverpool sides.
Ronnie Rosenthal, Ian Rush, Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen and John Barnes in 1990 ©INPHO/Allsport
"I always wanted to get forward and score goals. But when you're asked to do that job and sit in front of the back four and try and dictate from there, I loved every minute of it," said Whelan, who spent 15 years at Liverpool.
He also revealed that he missed the camaraderie of his playing career but also chatted about the decline under Graeme Souness.
He had expected the former Liverpool midfielder to continue the success but felt he "changed too many things" after taking the manager's job in 1991. He also added that Souness' signings were inferior to the Liverpool players who had been at the club over the past two decades. But he had plenty of praise for the Scotsman's leadership ability as a player.
He also recalled the singing in the tunnel in the European Cup final against Roma in 1984, as well as the nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
Whelan also chatted about the progressive style of play at Liverpool during his time at Anfield, taking a dig the antics of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in the process.
"Mourinho mentioned prehistoric when he spoke about Pulis and West Ham, but this was more prehistoric than I've seen for a long, long time," said Whelan.
The 52-year-old also chatted about his Ireland career and the arguments with Jack Charlton and that goal at Euro 88.
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