Dyke claimed yesterday that United who already have their own radio station could one

Dyke claimed yesterday that United, who already have their own radio station, could one day become the sole broadcaster of home games, and he warned television companies that his club are unlikely to be the only one to go down the same road towards exclusive rights to their own games.
“I think that eventually clubs will be able to dictate who broadcasts from their grounds It will not come immediately, but it will come,” he said. Trying to evade such deliveries when you have a chronic back problem is easier said than done, and Atherton struggled, mainly because he was losing his balance and toppling over outside the line of the ball.Achieving balance the Gooch way, though, is all about co-ordinating your foot and head movement so that you are in a consistent yet relaxed position to play whatever ball is sent down.”If you’re meeting the ball off both back and front foot with your body weight forward and with the full face of the bat, everything else will follow,” Gooch says, “and surprise bouncers won’t catch you out of position, like they occasionally did with Athers last summer.”Mike has as good a technique as anyone, probably since Geoff Boycott But that doesn’t mean it’s OK to stand still You’ve got to keep pressing for improvements. “You didn’t get squared up at all today.”"Not bad,” counters Atherton nodding, the understatement as blunt and ever present as that famous forward defensive.For those with a fair smattering of strokes, batting is all about balance and confidence. Yet, as far as Atherton is concerned, both these aspects suffered last summer, as Glenn McGrath – largely on bowler-friendly surfaces – dismissed him time and again, mainly with awkward bouncers between chest and throat high. His main rivals overhauled him, none more gleefully than Burns, the 26-year-old Englishman.Burns said: “I knew I had six minutes more daylight than the others, so I went full force. In any case, whatever it is that he and Gooch have been tinkering with is not readily divulged, although by the way the area behind the popping crease is covered with powdered chalk, one suspects it is to do with the movement of his feet.This is more or less confirmed after the 40-minute net – which includes the Essex bowler Danny Law and a youngster called Damien Brandy – when master and pupil repair to a cubbyhole to analyse the video.”Your feet were moving superbly,” Gooch says. Marc Edworthy made a storming run down the right flank and his cross was met at the near post by Neil Shipperley, who steered the ball into the far corner of the net.Two minutes later, Padovano’s goalbound header was deflected just past a post.

From the subsequent corner, Hermann Hreidarsson had a free header but failed to find the target.By now, the White Hart Lane faithful were becoming restless as Tottenham failed to find any sort of rhythm. Palace were always ready to defend in numbers and Spurs had little idea how to break them down.Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-1-2): Walker; Carr, Scales, Campbell, Edinburgh (Vega, 25); Sinton, Anderton (Nielsen, 65), Clemence; Ginola; Ferdinand, Iversen (Allen, 65). Substitutes not used: Dominguez, Bardsen (gk).Crystal Palace (5-2-3): Miller; Edworthy, Linighan, Warhurst, Hreidarsson, Gordon; Roberts, Rodger; Dyer, Padovano (Veart, 80), Shipperley. Substitutes not used: Davies, Emblen, Zohar, Nash (gk).Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).. Fulham look to have been thwarted in their attempt to continue their spending spree, after the purchase of the Blackburn Rovers defender Chris Coleman fell through due to a hitch over personal terms.

Although Fulham were prepared to break their transfer record – which was only set a few weeks ago with the purchase of Paul Peschisolido from West Bromwich for pounds 1.2m – with an offer of pounds 2.1m, it seems they were unable to match the player’s wages of around pounds 5,000 a week.
Fulham did, however, pay Derby pounds 600,000 yesterday for the midfielder Paul Trollope.The Wimbledon manager, Joe Kinnear, was last night given the backing of the club’s co-owner, Sam Hammam, who insisted there had never been any plans to hire Norway’s coach, Egil Olsen.Hammam, who is in his native Lebanon on business, moved quickly to dispel rumours after Kinnear threatened to walk away if his position was not clarified. It is these two factors, along with an ageing new ball attack, that England will be hoping to take advantage of when they tour the Caribbean early in the new year.However, first they must put runs on the board, and Atherton becomes cagey when I suggest that the importance of seeing off the new ball is paramount to England’s chances of winning the Tests series. The West Indies have since been toppled from their perch by a resurgent Australia and a limit on the number of bouncers they can bowl in an over. Graham and I opened the innings together for England about 40 times, so he knows what to look for.”As tutors go, Gooch is undoubtedly a Regius Professor of fast bowling. While all around were getting blown away by the West Indian pace batteries that terrorised batsmen and dominated the world stage for over 15 years, Gooch remained steadfast and unflinching, a granite island in a sea of shattered stumps and bones.Fortunately, things are not nearly so extreme now.

“It’s just that over time, things creep into your game, and the Windies tour is the only one which gives you the time to tinker about with your technique and put it in good order.”If you are going to make adjustments, though, I think it is important to do it with someone who is not coming from a vastly different standpoint. These days, however, the quest for improvement knows no seasons, and Atherton has been afforded a rare opportunity to work on his game. More importantly, it is a chance to work with someone he trusts and who knows him and his game well.”The nets with Goochie aren’t specifically to do with the West Indies tour coming up,” the England captain points out, scotching the theory that he is preparing himself for the working over the West Indies’ fast bowlers normally reserve for visiting captains. “It will help you avoid the odd blow,” he adds with a malicious, knowing chuckle, the kind that implies the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean will be about as comforting as going five rounds with Mike Tyson with his gumshield removed.
“Don’t get too low.

When you do, your head pops outside the line of off- stump,” comes the shout a few balls later, as another bumper causes the back netting to bulge inches behind where Atherton’s head had been just before.For those accustomed to having their cricket nets in April, these may be unlikely sounds to be hearing on a brassy November afternoon. It is not every day that a one-to-one coaching session in an indoor net features 191 Test caps. But then it is not every day that Michael Atherton, troubled by minor defects in his game, consults his illustrious predecessor for a series of “tutorials” before he departs to do battle in the West Indies Yesterday Derek Pringle was at Chelmsford to watch. “Keep looking towards me,” shouts Graham Gooch, as he sends another bouncer down at the England captain from 18 yards. The sport’s world governing body is holding talks with the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, about organising the game.Exeter City’s player-coach, Noel Blake, could make his international debut for Jamaica, where he grew up, in the World Cup finals – at the age of 36.. Bolton are concerned at the number of Premiership matches Fish is missing because of international call-ups.The Leeds United defender David Wetherall has signed a new five-year contract with the Elland Road club.Fifa, the governing body of world football, is hoping to succeed where diplomatic efforts have failed by trying to set up a friendly match between Palestine and Israel in New York. He is in the first year of a five-year contract and he has received clear signals that Wimbledon wants him to see the contract out.”Bolton Wanderers have denied their South African defender, Mark Fish, permission to play for the Rest of the World against Europe in Marseilles on 4 December in an exhibition match which precedes the World Cup draw.