“The Irish league is the Irish league. It’s not the Premier League.”
The latest comments from former Leeds and Ireland stalwart Ian Harte have provoked a cohort of League of Ireland fans, and with good reason.
The 47-year-old Harte was speaking on a blog for betwayinsider when he gave his thoughts on the recent spat between Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley and Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson.
Bradley criticized Hallgrimsson when the latter said he hoped that more players would move from the League of Ireland to English football.
Harte said:
“The Irish league is the Irish league. It’s not the Premier League.
“If you’re going to benefit yourself and, not only that, your international football team, you have to go, you have to move, 100%.
“It’s the only way players are going to develop and be better. I definitely think for them to benefit then you either need to go to England or they need to go to Europe.
“The Irish league, no matter how good it is – it has a certain level that it can only reach. Whereas, when you’re moving abroad, it opens so many more doors.”
However, he went on to say that he believes Irish clubs are unfairly pricing out English clubs, to the detriment of younger players.
He used former Hoops midfielder Justin Ferizaj—who is now playing in Serie B with Frosinone—as an example.
Harte added:
“Listen, Irish [domestic] football is good. It is good, it obviously gives you a platform, but the best league in the world is the Premier League. Young lads want that opportunity to push themselves. If it does work out, then brilliant, if it doesn’t, then they can always come back.
“From what I’ve heard it’s difficult for these young lads. There was a young lad who was at Rovers – Justin Ferizaj – there were loads of big Premier League teams interested. But the price tag that was put over his head by Shamrock Rovers priced a lot of teams out of the market.
“Ultimately it’s about young players and giving them opportunities to make a career in the game. But if you’re out-pricing them with a move to England, certain big clubs, it’s wrong of Irish football clubs to be doing that because you’re killing these young lads’ chances.”
Many of the League of Ireland faithful took to X to voice their criticisms; saying that if anything, Irish clubs were not charging enough, and pointing out the fact that Harte would have bias given that he is a football agent.
