BURY chairman Terry Robinson has hit out at the European Commission plan to abolish transfer fees for players, saying it could be catastrophic for English football.

He said it would make it extremely difficult for smaller clubs such as the Shakers to survive and suggested that it could sound the death knell for many teams.

The Gigg Lane chief echoed the fears of clubs all over Britain who could face going to the wall if they are no longer allowed to benefit financially when their better players move on.

In later editions of yesteday's BEN, Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce warned that many clubs would simply go out of existence if - although it looks more like when - the plans become reality.

Mr Robinson described how Bury had received £2.4m from transfers while they were in the First Division - and without it they couldn't possibly have survived.

"If this happens we will have to completely rethink the way we run Bury Football Club," he said. "It is very worrying and I think it will be catastrophic for many clubs.

"Transfer fees are a major part of our income and clubs like Bury need to have the ability to sell players to boost our income.

"If transfer fees are taken away we are at risk of losing our own senior players because somebody else can take them for nothing."

Mr Robinson said the abolition of transfer fees could lead to a smaller football league and a smaller number of professional clubs in the country.

He added: "The only positive thing is that here at Bury we have been concentrating on youth development. But the problem with that is that we will have to sell them before they are 24 to get any cash."

Without anyone to pump money into the club and with low attendance figures, the Shakers rely on revenue from transfer deals to keep them afloat.

In the past deals such as the £800,000 which took striker David Johnson to Ipswich, £1m from Charlton for goalkeeper Dean Kiely and the same fee for defenders Chris Lucketti from Huddersfield and Paul Butler from Sunderland have kept Bury in business.

If transfer fees were to be abolished it would, as Terry Robinson acknowledges, put the Shakers in a very sticky situation.