WITH Sunderland's record-breaking purchase of Craig Gordon having taken Premier League spending to a staggering £380m this summer, it's a safe bet that the £400m barrier will have been broken by the time the transfer window swings shut on August 31.

The footballing gravy train shows no sign of slowing, but while supporters of some of the country's biggest clubs will be eagerly awaiting the debut of their side's latest foreign star this weekend, they would do well to glance a little further down the Football League for proof that the good times do not always last forever.

On Saturday, Leeds United will kick off the new season at Tranmere Rovers. As if that was not bad enough for a side who were contesting the Champions League semi-final little more than six years ago, they will do so 15 points adrift of their 23 rivals after they were penalised by the Football League for failing to comply with the organisation's insolvency policy.

Footballing falls from grace are nothing new, but rarely has one been as steep or as speedy as the crisis that has engulfed Elland Road in the last five seasons.

I must confess something of a vested interest at this stage, as my previous employer was the Yorkshire Evening Post and I was at Elland Road on May 2, 2001, as Leeds drew 0-0 with Valencia in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

It seems incredulous now but, at the time, Leeds were being hailed as the template for all Premiership clubs to follow.

They were "living the dream", a young team on the up, led by a chairman whose willingness to spend money underlined his emotional attachment as a fan.

As we all know now, of course, the dream was built on quicksand. The club was spending money it didn't have, and was borrowing extensively to fund a succession of lavish buys that became more and more unnecessary.

Rather than investing in infrastructure - something that rarely loses its value - Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale chose to invest in players. And boy did they start to lose their value when Leeds began to tumble down the Premiership.

Less than 12 months after they were rubbing shoulders with the European elite, Leeds found themselves in a position where they were unable to meet the interest payments on their bank loans.

They couldn't move players on at their supposed market values because other clubs weren't prepared to match Leeds' exorbitant wages, so they effectively began to pay their players to perform elsewhere.

At one stage, the Yorkshire club were paying an extraordinary four managers, as well as contributing to the wages of seven players who were no longer on their books.

The result was total meltdown, which led to two relegations in the space of four seasons and plunged Leeds into a financial crisis that continues despite a contentious and costly spell in administration. The lesson is clear - do not spend what you haven't got. But has it really been heeded by Leeds' one-time Premier League rivals?

On the evidence of this summer's spending, the jury remains out. While the likes of West Ham, Manchester City and Newcastle appear to be led by immensely wealthy owners able to stomach even the heftiest of financial blows, it is impossible to state with any certainty that there is not another Leeds among English football's nouveau riche.

Once wage commitments are taken into account, a number of Premier League clubs have spent close to £100m this summer. It would not take too much of a downturn for that bill to become a noose around someone's neck.

Golf's final major of the year begins in America today but, for once, it is Europe's players that will descend on Tulsa with a spring in their step.

Padraig Harrington's success at the Open finally ended the continent's lengthy losing run and, after years of living in their American opponents' shadow, the Irishman's peers are sensing that they are capable of emulating his achievement.

No European has ever won the US PGA title but, with the likes of Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson champing at the bit, this could be the weekend when another unwanted record bites the dust.

True, Tiger Woods appears to be in ominous form after his victory at last week's Bridgestone Invitational, and the world number one needs to win this weekend if he is to avoid an entire season without a major success.

But just as Seve Ballesteros' first major broke the dam for Europe's golfers, so Harrington's victory at Carnoustie could prove the start of something special.

England's cricketers look like they'll need something special if they are not to suffer a first series defeat on home soil for six years.

Obsessed by winning a series of increasingly infantile mind games with their Indian opponents, Michael Vaughan's side's chances would be enhanced if they were to concentrate on scoring more runs.