The Exodus from League of Ireland clubs: Emmet Maloneon the flight of Irish players to Scotland

When Irish telecoms millionaire Pearse Flynn decided to spend a chunk of his considerable fortune on the purchase of Scottish Premier League outfit Livingston he explained the timing of the investment on the basis that: "Now is the time to get involved because the business is on its knees."

At the time, the Scottish game, and many of its leading clubs, were in crisis but a little over two years on there are signs the league there has turned a corner with a series of belt-tightening measures that have most recently included shopping for players here in Ireland finally enabling SPL outfits to start living within their means again.

Half a dozen players from this country have moved to Scotland in recent weeks with almost as many joining clubs in the lower English leagues. It is an unprecedented level of movement and it appears not to be over yet with Colin Hawkins set for talks with Dunfermline, Alan Bennett being chased by Premiership side Reading and Roy O'Donovan attracting interest from a string of Championship sides.

Opinion among managers here is divided on the significance of the transfers with Derry City's Pat Fenlon fearing the loss of so many talented players will take an inevitable toll on the quality of the domestic league, while Seán Connor at Bohemians feels the departures will simply encourage clubs to bring through fresh talent and hand opportunities to players previously denied their place in the limelight.

Most people involved in the Irish game, though, are alarmed by the poor returns obtained by Irish clubs for the players that have left. The 11 that have moved since the end of last season - a list that includes three members of Shelbourne's championship-winning side, one of whom (Jason Byrne) has been the league's leading scorer here for each of the last four seasons, have generated just €550,000 in guaranteed fees.

Those departing are hoping to emulate the success achieved by Reading striker Kevin Doyle, just as all of the buying clubs would dearly love to acquire a player of the calibre of one whose 10 goals so far this seasons have helped propel his value to somewhere between 50 and 100 times the €115,000 Cork City received for him a couple of seasons back.

"I would say that the thinking over there (Britain) just now stems primarily from the success of Kevin Doyle," says Eamonn Collins, an advisor to many young Irish players at English clubs. "The success of our clubs in Europe, though, and the fact that the bigger clubs here have gone full-time are important factors too. It's viewed as a decent league now, a far cry from the way it was perceived when I was playing and everyone was part-time."

There is a widely held view that the disintegration of Shelbourne's title-winning squad is a one-off factor that has exacerbated the current situation but most observers believe that a combination of more realistic financial management at clubs in Britain, combined with improved standards here, mean that greater levels of movement will be sustained into the future.

"The concentration on the Irish market is a measure of what little clubs can afford now and the level at which they must operate," is the rather damning verdict of David Glen, author of the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the finances of the SPL. It is not entirely surprising that those who work with players here are a little more upbeat in their assessment of the situation.

"I talked to Packie Bonner about it this week and he sees it as a fad," says Stephen McGuinness, interim general secretary of the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland, "just one of those things where one or two lads go over and do well so everybody follows suit. I see it differently.

"I think clubs there see that they are getting physically stronger, technically better players, many of whom have European experience and all for very little money. As long as that continues I can't see any reason why they won't keep coming back for more."

It's a view broadly endorsed by his predecessor at the union. Fran Gavin, now director of the reorganised League of Ireland.

"It's the full-time players who are going away," he says, "that's the trend. They are better players and better athletes who require less work from British clubs to make them capable of playing at that level, that's what is being recognised here."

The ability of those clubs to lure players away is not in question. Despite Cork City's stated determination to keep Bennett, the 25-year-old has said this week he would desperately like to go and while there may be some haggling over money, even the Irish club's reported asking price of €350,000 is scarcely a deterrent to a club like Reading.

Irish clubs, though, are entirely outgunned on the financial front by far lesser lights than the Premiership outfit. Prior to their current crisis, Shelbourne had been regarded as the country's biggest club with a turnover of something over €3 million per annum.

SPL outfit Motherwell generated slightly more than twice that during the season before last (the most recent for which figures are generally available) while Kilmarnock had revenues of some €9 million and even English League One outfit Blackpool (where Wes Hoolahan and Gareth Farrelly are among the Irish contingent) managed a figure of more than €7 million. All spent around 60 per cent of their money on wages and all have generated small profits in recent seasons.

In the SPL, in particular, there is an enormous disparity between what the top players get and what the rest take home with even highly-rated stars at lesser clubs like Kevin Thompson at Hibernian, Steven Naismith at Kilmarnock and Falkirk's Alan Gow earning relatively modest sums (€2,400, €1,500 and €2,250 per week respectively).

In the circumstances some of the players who have moved have managed to double their income but others have settled for simply maintaining what they were already on while achieving what they believe to be a far greater level of security.

"I wouldn't say that Irish players who go to Scotland think they are going to a great league or expect to get great money," says McGuinness.

"What they are attracted by, though, is the stability. At the end of each week they feel they can be sure of getting their wages."

It is this very lack of financial muscle that has limited Irish clubs' ability to demand higher fees for their players.

Contracts have traditionally been limited to just two or three years for fear of being lumbered with an underperforming player but that often means that the threat of a player seeing out his deal then leaving for nothing looms large.

Claims in the Scottish media that the buying clubs will damage the future of the game by not bothering to develop their own talent when a cheap supply of imports is so readily available are denied by both Dunfermline's Kenny, who feels that what is being experienced now is a temporary phenomenon, and his opposite number at Dundee United, Craig Levein, who feels the crisis experienced a few years back prompted a major rethink.

"We have eight players under 21 in our panel," says the man who recently recruited Seán Dillon from Shelbourne, "and even the Old Firm are looking to bring through their own players now. A few years ago that would have been a fair enough accusation but not now. The situation has changed dramatically if only because clubs had no choice but to alter their behaviour."

From a Scottish perspective, he admits however, the economics of buying here are pretty straightforward too. Four years ago Scottish clubs collectively spent €45 million on importing players but in two of the three seasons since the figure has been zero and at most clubs things remain very tight indeed.

"It's all to do with your budget and how willing or able you are to pay transfer fees," he says.

"I saw a few games in Ireland and like every league there are some good players. For a variety of reasons you could say that there is value to be had there. I certainly wouldn't rule out going back for more players but rest assured, it's not the only place we are looking."

Danny Murphy (Cork City) Motherwell

Patrick Kavanagh (UCD) Birmingham City

Seán Dillon (Shelbourne) Dundee United

Paul Keegan (St Patrick's Athletic) Motherwell

Trevor Molloy (St Patrick's Athletic) Motherwell

George O'Callaghan (Cork City) Ipswich Town

Bobby Ryan (Shelbourne) Dunfermline

Jason Byrne (Shelbourne) Cardiff City

David Forde (Derry City) Cardiff City

Mark McChrystal (Derry City) Partick Thistle

Stephen Ward (Bohemians) Wolves