FA -PREMIERSHIP: NEWCASTLE - 3 LEEDS UNITED - 1:Football's equivalent of bodyline may yet win Leeds United their first title in a decade but, just as Douglas Jardine discovered, it may also lose them a few friends. If Newcastle's performance conjured up the most delightful emotions, David O'Leary's kickers presented an image of alley cats playing the role of aristocrats.
Not only were Leeds given a lesson in how to pass, but they were also reminded that the game is often contested in an area measuring no more than four or five inches, namely the gap between a player's ears.
Sadly, too many of O'Leary's players seemed intent on depicting themselves as the type who get their kicks from chucking rocks at the moon. Right now, they seem to be revelling in their notoriety rather than cringing at the damage it is doing.
Trophies have never been handed out on the basis of popularity but, then again, disciplinary points have never helped a team climb the league. Leeds' behaviour, with six yellow cards, a red for Danny Mills and, finally, a white flag at the end of a spiteful performance, will result in a £25,000 fine from the FA.
A mere pinprick, perhaps. But what price the real damage in the following weeks and months? O'Leary will be unable to call upon Mills for four games. Another senseless booking means Alan Smith will be banned for the next five matches, ruling him out until March 3rd. And lest it be forgotten Lee Bowyer, along with Mills, already faces another enforced spell on the sidelines when they answer FA disciplinary charges on February 5th.
Perhaps O'Leary was just trying to protect his players. "We're a competitive team, not dirty," he argued. "I'm not worried we're getting a reputation."
Maybe he does not skirt the truth behind closed doors. Or maybe it is just a Leeds thing. "Have you ever seen a referee like that?" Norman Hunter wanted to know afterwards. "There wasn't a bloody tackle in the game."
Graham Barber, admittedly, did have his moments of ineptitude, but the players hardly helped. David Batty's scything lunge into the side of Andy O'Brien, shortly after Michael Duberry's own-goal had begun the Leeds downfall, could not be filed under "tackle". Nor could the forearm-smash with which Mills split open Laurent Robert's lip inside the opening 10 minutes.
Mills, statistically the Premiership's dirtiest player, proudly revealed to the Guardian on Saturday how he would "bend the rules, not break them", but that assault, and the hack at Craig Bellamy's shins that precipitated his dismissal, was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
All of which detracts horribly from the most endearing aspects of the match. Newcastle were magnificent. "We gave a performance that had everything," enthused their manager Bobby Robson. "We had great desire, resolve, skill, pace, everything."
Most of all, they had Kieron Dyer. "I've played with Ryan Giggs and some other great, great players but Kieron's the best I've seen," said Bellamy. "He will be at the World Cup and he will be a superstar."
Sven-Goran Eriksson, watching from the stand, must have tingled with appreciation at the way Dyer, bursting from midfield for the umpteenth time, put Newcastle ahead on the hour before setting up the goal for Bellamy that the Welshman's zestful display deserved.
Robson may be right when he says the championship is beyond Newcastle but in this form, and with a relatively easy run-in, a Champions League place is attainable.
For O'Leary it is time to return to basics. Eriksson will have appreciated the manner in which Smith belted in the opening goal, after only 25 seconds, and Jonathan Woodgate's stout performance will not have escaped his notice either. But, as a team, Leeds are about as endearing as a bluebottle in a loaf of bread.
Guardian Service
NEWCASTLE UTD: Given, Hughes, Dabizas, O'Brien (Distin 86), Elliott, Solano, Dyer, Speed, Robert, Shearer, Bellamy. Subs Not Used: Acuna, Harper, Lua-Lua, Bernard. Booked: Bellamy, Robert, Dabizas. Goals: Duberry 44 og, Dyer 60, Bellamy 87.
LEEDS UTD: Martyn, Mills, Woodgate, Duberry, Matteo, Kelly, Johnson (Wilcox 66), Batty, Bowyer, Smith, Viduka. Subs Not Used: Harte, Robinson, McPhail, Richardson. Sent Off: Mills (70). Booked: Duberry, Woodgate, Batty, Viduka, Wilcox, Smith. Goal: Smith 1.
Referee: G Barber (Tring).
