Yeah I remember saying to my dad at the time that his injury was a bigger blow than losing Deane and Fiortoft. With all three gone we were a shadow of the team that beat Sunderland on the first day. Agree that he seemed to be morphing into a fantastic all-round player a la latter-years Giggs when he was done.
Whitehouse was an absolute joy to watch in the Prem seasons though. Power, aggression, speed, enough skill (had a great little outside side-step and acceleration away) and, as the great man said a, “shot like a traction engine”.
Makes a huge intangible difference having a blade or two in the side (see Sharp circa ‘16-‘21). Hopefully Blaster is the next one.