FOOTBALL is changing. Alex Ferguson and Graham Taylor have changed their minds and decided not to retire and clubs are deciding not to throw daft sums of money at buying success.

The latter certainly seems to be the case after looking at the Middlesbrough, Man United, Dwight Yorke Paolo di Canio saga.

Middlesbrough were one of the first clubs to start paying players crazy money. It is a spiral which has culminated in David Beckham now wanting £100,000 a week.

But Boro showed some commonsense when they refused to bow to Yorke's wage demands of £50,000 a week and decided to drop their interest in him instead.

Yorke must have been wandering around in a confused daze for days after that. When it has come to wages players have become used to thinking of a figure, doubling it and having it served up to them on a silver salver with a cherry on the top.

Now suddenly a club has said 'No, enough's enough' and Boro are to be congratulated for making a stand.

United then showed there could be a wind of change about to blow through football when they pulled out of signing di Canio because they could not create a space for him by offloading Yorke.

In recent years United wouldn't have worried about making space for a player they thought could help them win the European Cup. Like every other top club they'd have signed him, paid him, played him and worried about Yorke later.

But times are changing, almost certainly because the television companies overpaid for the current rights to screen games and they will not pay anywhere near as much next time.

While managers and players may change their minds (Alan Shearer only needs a phone call from Sven Goran Eriksson and he'll be off to the World Cup like a shot) and clubs may be changing their spending habits, there are some things that will never change in football.

. .. but then again

ON a lighter note, here's a dozen things I reckon you'll never hear no matter how strong a wind of change may blow through football.

1 'The manager has got an open cheque book' - Deadly Doug Ellis. 2 'I was wrong' - Ken Bates. 3 'I've got no excuses' - David O'Leary. 4 'We'd like to welcome today's guests Barry Knight and Mike Riley' - Bolton Wanderers. 5 'We're not changing our kit this year' - Manchester United. 6 'I'm bored with football' - Kevin Keegan. 7 'Bolton Wanderers will stay up' - Mark Lawrenson, 8 'Today's attendance is over 4,000' - Bury FC. 9 'We're not a massive club' - Manchester City. 10 'No comment' - Dave Bassett. 11 'I did see it' - Arsene Wenger. 12 'I quit' - Dario Gradi.