Stephen Ireland keen to become an agent of change

PORTRAIT: Stephen Ireland during his Manchester City days. Pic: Stephen Pond/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Stephen Ireland stresses he doesn’t court controversy but seldom does it avoid him.

Even nowadays, four years on from his retirement, his involvement irks people in certain aspects of the Irish game.

From infamously not participating enough in his playing days, his detractors claim he’s too immersed here and not for the betterment of it.

That invariably goes with the territory of being an agent.

It’s a job specification he distances himself from, moreso a mentor in his eyes, yet the reality is he’s handling the futures of a cohort of emerging Irish stars.

Ireland can write the playbook of pitfalls facing players navigating the hamster-wheel of professional football.

Much of his personal woes – the period around Grannygate he brands as ‘carnage’ – was self-inflicted but trust is an elusive commodity in the ruthless world of the multibillion football industry.

Being there to guide his players and their families is his prime motivation, he’s not the first agent to insist, but the mechanics of that mission statement aren’t conducive to widespread approval. Equitability is moot.

Ireland’s transformation from midfielder to middleman has had consequences he’s unapologetic for, even to some in his beloved home city of Cork.

The 36-year-old is among a throng of fellow ex-internationals, including Graham Barrett, Stephen Hunt, Wayne Henderson, Ian Harte and Clive Clarke, who’ve transitioned into advising the next generation.

That the majority of his 25 clients are in their mid to late teens has, however, carved out a reputation for him as central to a release clause culture that has pervaded the Irish sector.

Clubs, and by extension their fans, become outraged when details emerge of the risibly low fees that gems fetch for national league clubs.

A public plea last July by Bohemians chief operating officer Daniel Lambert for the collective introduction of a minimum “get-out” figure failed to gain any traction.

Bohs had been stung last year by the departures of Promise Omochere and Dawson Devoy to English League One clubs for a combined fee of around €200,000 but that was the top end of the clause spectrum.

Younger players entering into their first professional contracts usually do so with their agents stipulating five-figure fees to trigger their release.

Cork City know all about the frustration as three of their Academy graduates were sold in the past year for upfront fees that caused annoyance.

Cathal Heffernan’s €35,000 release clause smoothed the way for his move to AC Milan, Mark O’Mahony’s deal put €50,000 on his head for Brighton and Hove Albion to swoop while Crystal Palace didn’t hesitate in moving for Franco Umeh once made aware of the €75,000 price tag.

All three teens had been blooded in the first-team but their sale value will only be realised by City by sharing in the player’s success.

Milestone bonuses for appearances and internationals and sell-on kickbacks are what City and the league as a whole generally relies upon in the present market climate.

Ireland, who represented Heffernan and O’Mahony, doesn’t see that changing until the investment comes to professionalise academies.

That, like the infrastructural upgrades floated by the FAI, depends on a scale of government support that is in no way guaranteed – especially in the short term.

“I work for the player and if their ambition is to reach a higher level, I’ll help that,” Ireland says about the outlook for his company, SIre-7.

“It’s tough to keep everybody happy. There’s the player, his family and two clubs so somebody is bound to feel hard done by.

“I’ll do my best to ensure the club does well from incentives and bonuses but I don’t know how clubs can complain when they’re not paying the player.

“The vast majority of 16-, 17-year-olds are on amateur contracts, training twice per week and playing a game at the weekend. How can clubs then expect a fee of €100,000? They can still be paid compensation under Fifa’s system.

“And then when they’re put on professional contracts, the weekly wage can be as low as €50. Ireland still has a lot of work to catch up.” 

This year’s advent of the minimum wage across the national league ensures that a teen awaiting his 18th birthday to overcome the Brexit restrictions and move to the UK is entitled to just over half that wage per week.

It’s still a fraction of what apprentices at English clubs earn by comparison and Ireland contends domestic clubs, as a whole, are not equipped to substitute the tutelage players gained before Brexit applied the brakes on the annual exodus of 16-year-olds.

That’s why he’s at the frontier of the drift towards European club transfers, unaffected by Brexit rules.

Another of his players, Cathal O’Sullivan, could choose to emulate Heffernan by moving to the continent from City.

“I cannot stress how important the two years between 16 and 18 are for a player’s development,” he emphasises.

“At 16 going over, our lads were competing against English players signed to Premier League Academies four years earlier and the Brexit obstacles stretched it further.

“Mark O’Mahony had a good base from training with Cork City for the year but it’s still a step-up coming over at 18.

“Remember, Mark is the same age as Evan Ferguson and he broke into the Brighton first-team during that two-year period.

“The European option is there now. I understand, with the language difficulties, that it’s not for everyone and Mark decided to wait for England at 18 but he still benefited in the meantime from going on trial to clubs across Europe.

“I know from my contacts in Belgium, Germany and Italy that there’s a growing interest in our players. And the situation with the market means Irish clubs are sitting ducks because they’re losing ridiculously good talents on the cheap.

“Given what AC Milan spend on players of all ages, they couldn’t go wrong with what they paid to Cork City for Cathal Heffernan.

“Cathal is flourishing in Milan. He sees himself staying there for the next few years and part of my job is to help him achieve that.

“Cathal O’Sullivan might go that route too. He’s a different player to what Ireland produces, someone very much in a Spanish style. He’s got a big future ahead.” 

Between the weekly five-a-side matches he organises around the Manchester area for his peers like Darren Fletcher and Nedhum Onuoha, and his agency work, Ireland is getting the football fix he requires post-retirement.

He still enjoys being party to a game that at various times over his career he tended to grapple with.

His son Joshua is hitting one of those junctures at half his Dad’s age.

The midfielder was involved with both the England and Ireland underage camps but he struck pause.

“I know how talented Josh is but he’s at a crossroads, not sure if football is for him,” he explained. “He’s taking his time before choosing what to do but I’ll support him in whatever he does. Football is a tough industry so deciding on your future path at 18 is difficult.” 

He’s overly qualified to inform those listening how pivotal they are.

Stephen Ireland was speaking in association with Boylesports about Euro 2024 betting.