Bristol City Football Club in England isn't the only institution that thinks footballer Shawn Goater has something to offer.

Six years after the Bermuda international signed for top English club Manchester United, the Bermuda Regiment are still after their man, though Goater is about to sidestep the latest sliding tackle.

A notice in yesterday's newspaper listed 132 young men who "were deferred from Military service and were placed in Holding Company of the Bermuda Regiment''.

Those persons have now been served notice that they have not requested further deferment and are now eligible for service and were to report to Warwick Camp at 6 p.m. yesterday for administration purposes.

"I've got a few hours,'' Goater joked when contacted at his home near Bristol yesterday.

He insisted he wasn't in any condition to serve anyway, as he has a knee injury that has put him on the sideline.

In any case, Goater's absence is unlikely to be pursued by the Regiment -- even though it threatened those failing to report with disciplinary action before the Commanding Officer and Magistrates' Court.

"The last time I had to deal with the situation was when I was deferred when Manchester United offered me a contract,'' Goater recalled.

"I remember I had to show them that I was going to work overseas and proof of it. So obviously I got all that proof, showed it to them, and that was the last I heard of that.

"It's come up again, but I don't know what they'll be wanting from me...I'm a cripple anyway! I feel great when I represent my country in football terms but I'm not the guy you'll want in the trenches.'' Added Goater: "I'm in a situation where there is not much I can say. I'm surprised by it, but if what they need is proof from my employers than I'll get that, as I did last time.

"I'm not the guy for the trenches -- if you see me on the football field you'll see how I shy out of tackles. Having been over here for a while everybody says I need to get a little rougher but I'm still the same Shawn.'' Goater's call up A Regiment spokesman said it was understood that Goater was delivered a letter from the Regiment over the summer seeking to verify his status. The fact that they never heard from him resulted in Shawn Leonardo Goater appearing on the list of wanted men. In his defence Goater said he doesn't recall receiving the letter.

Corporal Saltus said that while the Regiment realised Goater was playing professionally, they still needed confirmation from his employers every year.

Otherwise his name would appear on the list every year until he reached the age of 33 in seven years' time.

"What we need is a letter from his employer -- we know he's out there playing football -- stating that for the 1997 year he is employed with us,'' the spokesman said. "Although he's a public figure and we know (what he is doing), we have a lot of people who say they are away in school and could be lying to us. A whole lot of people try to evade the army for whatever reason.'' Goater's last appearance at Warwick Camp was in 1992 when he stayed there with the Bermuda team during the World Cup qualifying. In pre-season training this year he and his Bristol City team-mates spent a week at a military camp near Essex. The experience was nothing like what he would expect at Warwick Camp.

"I wouldn't compare that to Bermuda,'' he said. "The camp where I went they were training guys to be Green Berets...they were trained to kill.

"They were killing me with their looks, to be honest.'' Shawn Goater