Grilled Birds today bid adieu to three senior players as they were traded for a total of S$890000. Ding Sun-Nee, 30, a constant at the club since its formation, but saddled with form problems for much of his four seasons, moved to Romania's Fifth Division Raddingham Cats for S$200000, possibly to end his career.

"It's my last chance to ply my trade in a different country," Ding beamed. "Besides, a first team place is increasingly difficult to get, with the board quite blatantly angling for an excellent defender now."

Raddingham had also expressed interest in teammate Rafael García Sole, along with Cultural of his native Spain and two teams from Sweden, William Tigers and Team JULOP CK. His destination turned out to be Division Two Clarinbridge City of Ireland who have also recently swooped for Maurycy Dzierzega of Poland to the tune of S$4100000.

"It's been great at Grilled," Sole mumbled as he gave countryman Machado a last handshake, "but Clarinbridge's undeniably a larger club. I can't be sorry to play at the eighty thousand seater Clarinbridge City Swamp stadium. Hopefully I improve there as much as I did here." Grilled recieved S$490000 for the deal.

American veteran Tom Pence was sought after first by MUPS of Sweden, but ended up with busserulls, a Fifth Division Norway outfit. "Didn't know I was still worth two hundred grand, even if it was in Singapore dollars," he drawled in the Southern accent that many teammates have come to like. "Old club, Luver, let me go for eighty-six, so I guess I've gone up in the world. Gd'day all, maybe I'll visit sometime, eh?"

Grilled coach Li Kum-Seng explained that the three sales were made more to balance the books than anything else, as Grilled had just this week blown S$784000 on German teenager Tim Blissenbach and Swedish backup midfieldman Patrik Jonasson. "Also, Ding and Tom were not getting any younger and would have been worth far less if we had just waited a season longer, while Rafael wasn't happy that he had been left out of competitive soccer matches for this season and much of the last one. We had to make space for developing young potentials like Blissenbach, anyhow."

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