SPORTS LETTERS

From David James

Nobody can deny that Alan Shearer is a first-class footballer, but nowhere in the coverage of the pounds 15m transfer deal did I read one word of condemnation of this grossly inflated fee. Have we now in this country become so inured to the excesses of the free-market economy that we can no longer see the inherent immorality of such sums being spent on comparatively trivial concerns? One fears that the national game will become dominated by a few super clubs and that the ordinary fan will be expected to foot the ever-growing bills.

Perhaps a tax of 10 per cent could be imposed on all fees over, say, pounds 3m, which would go towards a trust fund to help save bankrupt clubs and encourage young players to enter the game.

DAVID JAMES

Wytham, Oxfordshire