LeedsUtd - 0 Newcastle Utd - 3 Jonathan Woodgate's nickname among the players and staff at Elland Road was "The Ghost". A clause in his contract when he left for Newcastle United last month stated that because of the inflammatory nature of his £9 million transfer, Woodgate would not play in this match.
Bobby Robson went a stage further in telling the central defender not to bother attending it. But Woodgate was here on Saturday, in spirit.
"Where's your Woodgate gone?" taunted the Newcastle fans as soon as they entered the ground. Haunted by their former favourite, the Leeds crowd turned on the chairman Peter Ridsdale. "Ridsdale, Ridsdale, what's the score?" they sang in the 57th minute as Lucas Radebe narrowly prevented Kieron Dyer from completing a hat-trick to make it 4-0. An hour later hundreds of the same fans were outside chanting "Where's the liar gone?" and "Where's the money gone?" It was a muted demonstration, though, in keeping with the Leeds performance. There is a sense of acceptance at Elland Road and on Saturday it extended to the pitch. "We didn't compete," said Eddie Gray, standing in for the flu victim Terry Venables.
It was a withering verdict. Gray called Newcastle "a proper team". Leeds were not. Half a dozen of them were anonymous. It might have been different had Harry Kewell scored once he rounded Shay Given in the 21st minute, but Andy Griffin got back to make a vital block.
Newcastle controlled the next 69 minutes with the sort of ease that bordered on mockery.
Only Alan Smith and Kewell showed any sort of defiance. But they found themselves up against two young men in fine form, Andy O'Brien and Titus Bramble. Newcastle are hardly a club renowned for their central-halves but Bramble and O'Brien played a major role in them keeping an 11th clean sheet of the season.
The contrast with the Radebe-Michael Duberry pairing was obvious. It was Duberry whom Dyer rounded to make it 2-0 and it was Duberry again whom Shearer beat to Laurent Robert's free-kick to head in Newcastle's third.
The pain for Leeds was pronounced: it would have been Woodgate beside Radebe. Where Woodgate fits in at Newcastle is now the question. After Bayer Leverkusen at St James' Park on Wednesday, it is Chelsea at home on Saturday. Win that and they will be seven points ahead of the Blues with a game in hand.
Newcastle have a behind-closed-doors friendly arranged today in which Woodgate and Hugo Viana will play, but Robson has been ambiguous about whether Woodgate will make his debut against Chelsea.
In Germany last week Robson was cooing about Woodgate but here he was cautious: "He hasn't played for seven weeks and I've got to be sure when I put him in. We've got to be sure he can give himself a good start." It would be hard on O'Brien but Bramble and Woodgate could be the combination that takes Newcastle to the next level.
LEEDS UNITED: Robinson, Mills, Radebe (Lucic 72), Duberry, Bravo, Kelly, Okon (Barmby 70), Seth Johnson, Wilcox (Milner 45), Kewell, Smith. Subs Not Used: Martyn, Harte.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Griffin (Dabizas 86), O'Brien, Bramble, Hughes, Kerr (Ameobi 81), Dyer (Acuna 81), Speed, Robert, Shearer, Bellamy. Subs Not Used: Caig, Chopra. Goals: Dyer 17, 48, Shearer 54.
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
