It will be interesting to see what happens with Harkes in the coming months. His contract, I believe, is expiring at the end of the season. It’s been a dub season for United, playing below expectations. They are sitting above the drop zone on goal differential. Harkes has carved out a decent reputation in the league so I assume he could drum up some interest. Celtic and Rangers are probably out of the question but a Hearts, Hibs, or Aberdeen wouldn’t be. I also wonder if there could be interested parties down south in the Championship. Maybe not a promotion chasing club but a comfortable Championship club. Or does he head back to MLS? Decisions…. Decisions… His wife was playing for Celtic but retired in November. He doesn’t have her playing career to contend with, if he were to leave Dundee United.
Celtic and Rangers are "probably" out of the question??? He's a mediocre (and I'm being kind here) performer on a bad SPL side. Even clubs like Aberdeen/Hearts/Hibs would be a big stretch for him. If he wants to move south, it isn't going to be to the Championship. His profile screams League 1.
He’s slightly above League One to me but… hey… to each his own. Over the years I’ve seen quite a bit of SPFL players on par with Harkes move to the Championship. Granted most were outside top 10.
Ga' ta him this gae gold ring, oh my love and all my joy Ga' ta him this gae gold ring, wa dearly looooves me. Ga' ta him this gae gold ring, and tell him we'll na meet again for bonnie Ian Haaarkes tae be burned in Dundee... It's a weird old song my great-aunt used to sing, but any time anyone mentions Dundee it pops in my head. Harkes, like Bonnie Susie Cleland, will never leave Dundee!
Over the last two or three years, I can remember: Olivier Nitchan (Swansea), Jamie McCart (Rotherham), Jak Albwick (GK - Cardiff), Conor McCarthy (Barnsley), Matt Lacey (GK - Luton), Jack Simpson (Cardiff), Sam Cosgrove (Birmingham),Jordan Archer (GK - Middlesbrough), Michael Rose (Coventry), Josh Reid (Coventry), James Scott (Hull City) There may be two or three that I missed. None of those guys really lit up the SPFL, yet found their way South to the Championship . Some of them may not been playing now with those clubs listed above and some were relegated to League One.but they all transferred from SPFL to Championship . My point is that Harkes could find his way South to the Championship. I think he’s decent enough even if I don’t think it would be a top 12 team.
I wasn't asking for a list of players who've moved from the SPL to the Championship, I was asking for names of players who've moved with similar profiles to Harkes (mediocre (and again I'm being kind, he rates out as one of Dundee's worst regulars this season), older field players from bottom SPL sides). To start with two of the names you listed above (McCarthy and Rose) actually moved to League 1 clubs or clubs that were in League 1 at the time of their moves. Three are backup GK's...and the market for backup GK's is a whole different animal than that for field players. Two (Ntcham and Simpson) moved from the Old Firm. Ntcham started in Man City's system, played in Serie A on loan and had a ton of minutes in the SPL/Europe for Celtic. Jack Simpson's career started at Bournemouth where he had 35 appearances (between the Premier League/Cups/Championship) before moving to Rangers. Now we're down to 4 players. Sam Cosgrove scored 47 goals for Aberdeen in the 2.5 seasons before his move to Birmingham. Josh Reid (18) and James Scott (19) were both teenage hotshots (ok, that may be overstating it, but you know what I mean) when they moved. Last but not least is Jamie McCart. He's really the only one with even a somewhat similar profile to Harkes though he was younger (25) when he moved (Harkes will be 28 this summer) and graded out a fair bit higher as a player in the SPL. And of course he moved to one of the worst/lowest spending clubs in the league (Rotherham operates on what is essentially a high end League 1 budget). The fact of the matter is that these days there isn't a ton of movement from the SPL to the Championship and those players that do move are either young prospects or higher end SPL players (which makes sense as the Championship is a considerably stronger league than the SPL), and Harkes doesn't fall into either of those categories.
I can’t read your mind. You actually didn’t ask that, you asked, “Quite a few??? Like who??”. I gave you names. And to me that’s a decent list of who’s moved from SPFL to Championship. If that’s doesn’t fit “quite a few” I don’t know what does. It’s not a long list but I wouldn’t expect it to be. I’m well aware of the profiles of each player I mentioned. That’s what I mentioned them. Agreed. The movement between the two leagues has been less and less over the last 5-7 years. No doubt the Championship is a stronger league. That’s clear. It hasn’t been a great season for United or Harkes. I still contend that Harkes can play in the Championship. I clearly stated it’s not a top half of the table team. You disagree. That’s fine. That’s the beauty of the game, we can have different views. We shall see where Harkes lands. Regardless, we both think he’s average. He isn’t going to light up any club he goes to.
Well, those questions were in response to this statement from you: "over the years I’ve seen quite a bit of SPFL players on par with Harkes move to the Championship." That's why I expected names of players with a similar profile to (or "on par with") Harkes who had made that move...and as I noted above none of the 11 names you listed really meet that criteria. Again, I just don't know why anyone would think a mediocre 28 year old player who certainly wouldn't grade out in the top 50% of SPL players (and tbh I'm think he's more like a bottom 3rd SPL player) would find a home in a much stronger league like the Championship.
Harkes was club player of the year last year, for a team who finished 4/12. But sure, not even top 2/3 of players in the league.
Eh, they gave out 3 POTS's and he got the Sponsors, he didn't get the Fans or Players. And yeah, they had a nice enough season last year, but when the SPL split the gap between 4th (Dundee United) and 10th (St. Mirren) was only 5 points, while the gap between 4th and 3rd was 16 points (and between 4th and 1st was 41). As for Ian, last season was obviously the high point of his career. Among Premiership players who appeared in half of the league matches he was 33rd of 147 at WS and 35th of 161 at Sofascore (not sure why the discrepancy in denominator between the two sites). However so far this season among players who have appeared in half of the league matches he's 157th of 189 at WS and 141 of 189 at Sofascore. In 2020-21 it was 111th out of 159 at WS and 129th out of 168 at Sofascore. And yes, I've watched him play occasionally over the years and these numbers are consistent with what I've observed. So yeah, I feel pretty comfortable saying that he'd grade out in the bottom 50% of SPL players (and might even be in the bottom 3rd, though that might be a bit harsh). Regardless, my points stands that mediocre SPL players like Ian don't move up to the Championship.
Starts: 📋 Our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 to face @CelticFC on 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 of the #cinchPremiership at Tannadice4️⃣ Four changes from last week⚡️ Harkes & Middleton return to XI🔙 Edwards and McMann back in defence🗞 | #UTDCEL | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/YE0dKqVzu3— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) January 29, 2023
Out injured: Dundee United have been dealt an injury blow after Ian Harkes was ruled out for several weeks. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/spo...-united/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Returns from injury to start: 📋 Jim Goodwin has named his first 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 as #DUFC manager to contest this evening's New Firm clash🇺🇸 Harkes back from injury⚔️ McMann at full-back🦁 Freeman makes return🗞 | #UTDABE pic.twitter.com/fHVAsyMN3r— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) March 4, 2023 Scoreless in the 50th.
Dundee United FC @dundeeunitedfc 70’ | Two United changes as we look to respond << Harkes and Sibbald >> A.Sadat and Djoum Freeman is carded in the follow-up 0-1 | #UTDABE | #DUFC They lost 3-1.
Started in 1-1 draw: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 for this afternoon's #cinchPremiership match against @SaintMirrenFC8️⃣ Pawlett back from injury⛔️ Edwards takes the armband💪 Smith returns to the XI🗞 | #DUFC | #UTDSTM pic.twitter.com/owC2V2vsI0— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) March 18, 2023 Dundee United FC @dundeeunitedfc 88’ | Another double change as we head towards full-time << Harkes and McMann >> Niskanen and Cudjoe 1-1 | #UTDSTM | #DUFC
Started: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 for this afternoon's #cinchPremiership match against @RangersFC at Ibrox8️⃣ Pawlett makes the line-up🐑 Freeman back in the side🏹 Fletcher leads the line 🗞 | #RANUTD | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/0Yv1PNgE34— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 1, 2023 Trailing 2-0 (Tillman brace) in the 75th.
Started & played 88' in a 2-1 win: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 for this afternoon's #cinchPremiership clash with @HibernianFC 4️⃣ Mulgrew in defence🦁 Fotheringham starts out wide 🏹 Fletcher skippers the side🗞 | #UTDHIB | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/p3UTqGyl5n— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 9, 2023
Started in a 2-1 win: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 to face @MotherwellFC in the #cinchPremiership this afternoon🔁 One change from Matchday 31🇫🇮 Niskanen starts out wide🦁 Five graduates involved🗞 | #MOTUTD | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/WJDEyHGMd9— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 15, 2023 Assisted on the equalizer: 🏴 Premiership🧐🇺🇸 Ian Harkes assist! 🅰️ https://t.co/8Ndo4rBov1 pic.twitter.com/NUEyP3K6LG— 🇺🇸 ⚽ east (@eastdeflection) April 15, 2023
Went 90' in a 2-0 win: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 to take on @LiviFCOfficial on 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 of the #cinchPremiership✅ Unchanged from Fir Park🦁 Five Academy graduates involved🗞 | #UTDLIV | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/6uBgWz5y5I— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 22, 2023
Starts: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 to face @StJohnstone on 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 of the #cinchPremiership✅ XI unchanged from Livingston clash🔙 Middleton makes the bench🦁 Five Academy graduates involved🗞 | #STJUTD | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/5inq98nLBh— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) May 6, 2023
87’ | Harkes makes way for Cudjoe🔄🔵 1-0 🍊 | #STJUTD | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/dOH8iWyrhm— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) May 6, 2023
Started: 📋 Introducing our 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 to clash with @RossCounty on 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 of the #cinchPremiership🔙 Edwards back in the XI🇫🇷 Ayina joins him in defence🦁 Academy graduate MacLeod starts 🗞 | #UTDROS | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/J36D0mjaRk— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) May 13, 2023 1-1 at the half.