Paul Ince will seriously consider retiring from international football unless he receives the full backing of the England coach Glenn Hoddle over his latest run-in with the English FA.
The Liverpool captain is upset at the FA's decision to charge him with misconduct for apparently giving a V-sign to the England bench after his sending-off in the European Championship qualifier against Sweden.
Ince (31) last week, has already been suspended by UEFA from three qualifiers for his dismissal in Stockholm and his ensuing comments to the Italian referee Pierluigi Collina.
Ince believes he should receive the same support from Hoddle as Alan Shearer did last season when faced with a similar charge after an incident involving the Leicester midfielder Neil Lennon.
Hoddle publicly defended the Newcastle striker but has so far failed to offer Ince similar support.
Bruce Dyer has moved from Crystal Palace to Barnsley for £700,000. The 23-year-old striker, who became the country's most expensive teenager when he moved from Watford to Palace for £1.1 million in 1994, has a 21/2-year contract.
A meeting with Barnsley's playermanager John Hendrie convinced Dyer to sign. "To be honest, when I first found out about Barnsley's interest I thought it was a bit north bearing in mind I'm a Londoner," he said. "But when I met the gaffer, the welcome was superb and with Barnsley's potential my mind was made up straight away."
Dyer's exit from Selhurst Park is expected to herald the arrival of Lee Bradbury from Manchester City. However, the striker's £1.5 million move was put on hold yesterday because of a financial hitch.
Bradbury (23), has made little impact at Maine Road since his record £3 million move from Portsmouth in July 1997. He has scored only 11 goals and a move to Palace would renew his partnership with Terry Venables, the former Pompey chairman.
Wimbledon are confident of signing the Port Vale winger Gareth Ainsworth for around £1.5 million next week. Oldham have signed the former Scotland striker John McGinlay on a non-contract basis.
Nigel Clough was yesterday named as player-manager of nonleague club Burton Albion. The 32-year-old former Nottingham Forest and England international replaces John Barton, who left the Staffordshire club three weeks ago.
France has pulled out of the controversial Confederations' Cup due to be played in Mexico next January. The World Cup winners were to represent Europe in the eight nation tournament. Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Egypt, Brazil, New Zealand and the USA are the other countries set to take part.
