How could we afford that without transfer income?"No one appreciates that more than Sam Hammam, the chairman of Wimbledon, who has turned the buying and selling of players for huge profits into an art form "We will become predators, not victims," he said. Stan's fee was kept within football and spread out through the League. "It would be wrong for people to think that millions are being saved." he said. "All it will mean is that instead of those millions going to clubs it will go to players."How the system works was exemplified by Stan Collymore's British record pounds 8.5m move from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool. Not only did Forest benefit but so did Southend, who had a sell-on clause inserted in the contract when they sold the striker to Forest for pounds 2.1m in July 1993. That fee, in turn, was spent on players from Leyton Orient, Plymouth, Boston United and Lincoln."Our hope is that some sort of voluntary agreement can be reached with the players' union," John Adams, Southend's vice-chairman, said "Otherwise the consequences could be disastrous.

Alternatively you watch him walk away to Manchester United for nothing."Those fears were echoed by Graham Taylor, the former England manager, whose First Division Wolves have spent liberally. Clubs will go part- time or disappear."It was a worry nagging away throughout the League's lesser-lights as the prospect loomed of young and expensively nurtured players disappearing to the likes of Anfield or St James' Park as soon as their contracts run out."The only solution would be to put your young players on five-year contracts as soon as they turn professional," Robin Fry, the managing director of Third Division Hereford United, said, "which would be the swiftest route I know to bankruptcy."It's all right offering someone like Eric Cantona a long contract because you know he is going to be a success, but the fall-out rate among young footballers is very high and you would end up paying a dozen lads who hadn't made the grade in the hope of holding on to the one who has. "We rely on transfer fees to stay in business and if our system does not survive I reckon 75 per cent of full-time players will be out of work. The least effect most could forecast was the wholesale destruction of their player development programmes. "It will mean clubs trying to survive through a youth policy are wasting their time," Terry Robinson, Bury's chairman, said. They understand the value of young footballers at Third Division Bury. How could they think otherwise when their commercial manager is Neville Neville, whose sons Gary and Phil are among the brightest of Alex Ferguson's fledglings at Manchester United? Yesterday, however, the possible cost of a youth policy was rammed home at Gigg Lane, too. The interim ruling in favour of Jean-Marc Bosman at the European Court of Justice may have been a blow for player freedom, but at lower division clubs it was greeted with varying degrees of apprehension.

Even competing in air-conditioned halls leaves you dehydrated Barcelona was bad enough This will be hell.". The 350-strong team were told to expect "hellish" heat and humidity in America's Deep South next July. Britain's women's fencing captain, Fiona McIntosh, who has been to the last three Games in Barcelona, Seoul and Los Angeles, said: "The city itself is fine, but it is utterly revolting to train and compete in."I have never been in such an environment It hits you just stepping out of the door. Olympic Games Britain's Olympic contenders were warned yesterday of the conditions they will have to face at next summer's Atlanta Games. He has been having intensive physiotherapy to enable him to compete.The Irish team have won the two toughest Nations Cups of the year (at Aachen and Germany) but they have yet to qualify for next year's Olympic Games - and these championships represent their last chance.EUROPEAN SHOW JUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS (St Gallen, Swit): Preliminary Competition: 1 Prokopp's As (T Fruhmann, Aut) clear, 50.15sec; 2 Feliciano (M Gretzer, Swe) clear, 50.76; 3 Flo-Jo (M Hughes, Irl) clear, 51.85 Best British placing: 8 Comex (W Funnell) clear, 55.49.. His sponsor, Vincenzo Muccioli of San Patrignano, died on Tuesday; four days earlier Sloothaak dislocated a disc during the Nations Cup at Modena.

The ground here is distinctly soggy after heavy rain, but that should be no deterrent to her mount, Endeavour, who usually goes well in wet ground.Franke Sloothaak, the world champion and a member of the strong German team here, has had a fraught preparation for these championships. She has also contributed five clear rounds in her four Nations Cups this year, making her an obvious choice for the team.Bradley is as dedicated as the late Caroline Bradley (no relation) who was on the winning European team in 1979. She won her first international class at Olympia last December and her first grand prix at La Baule in July. All four British horses have shown good recent form (Twostep won the Grand Prix in Calgary this month and Showtime took the top prize at the Pavarotti Horse Show in Modena last weekend) so there is plenty of confidence about Britain's bid to regain the European team title that they last won in 1989.Bradley's climb up the show jumping ladder has been swift and impressive. Bradley, 25, will go first for the British team and she is quite relaxed about that. "It's better going first, then I don't have to sit around and worry about it," she said, after the team was announced yesterday. "Once you're in there, you can forget about being nervous and concentrate on the jumping." Nick Skelton, riding Everest Showtime, will be the second Briton into the arena, followed by Michael Whitaker on Twostep and John Whitaker on Welham.

Alison Bradley will have her first ride in the senior European Show Jumping Championships when she partners the nine-year-old stallion, Endeavour, in the three-part competition which begins with today's speed section. Dean Jones, the Australian Test batsman, will captain Derbyshire for the next two seasons after agreeing to sign up as their new overseas player. The 34-year-old Jones, who has played 52 Tests, will take over from Kim Barnett, who left the job earlier this week after 13 years in charge. "It's a worthwhile opportunity. Derbyshire have a pretty good attack and I reckon we might be able to be pretty competitive," Jones told an Australian newspaper yesterday.Jones, who played in the County Championship with Durham in their maiden season in 1992, is currently the captain of Victoria, whose coach, Les Stilman, is expected to become Derbyshire's coach as part of the two-year package.n The all-rounder Dipak Patel will miss New Zealand's tour of India next month with an Achilles tendon injury, and will be replaced by his Auckland team-mate, Mark Haslam..