Now Leeds sacrifice their heart and soul

Throughout the turmoil blighting the club since two players faced a criminal trial and the cracks began to appear in Peter Ridsdale's flawed dream, Alan Smith has been off limits to all comers.

Others came and went. Rio Ferdinand, for a British record £30m to Manchester United, because he wanted to following the champions' summer courtship.

Robbie Keane went because he wanted to, unable to convince Terry Venables he should start every game. Robbie Fowler was shipped out because financial problems had begun to bite. All these moves were accepted, by and large, in the Elland Road stands.

But it is the parallels with one departure that the fans found desperately difficult, if not impossible, to take which should be putting chief executive and acting chairman Trevor Birch on red alert should Smith, 23, complete the move to Newcastle United.

Birch has insisted time and again that selling Leeds' remaining stars - Smith, Paul Robinson and Mark Viduka - would be the last resort, beyond even asking the players to defer wages. As well he might.

Only 12 months ago, Toon chairman Freddy Shepherd clambered through the transfer window and, after much toing and froing, left with centre- half Jonathan Woodgate, one of the jewels in Leeds' crown. It was a fateful day. Woodgate, humbled and grateful that Leeds stood by him during a twice-held assault trial that brought a conviction for affray, had - like Smith - expressed no desire to leave the club.

When he went, Woodgate's departure opened up a rift between Venables and Ridsdale that never healed, with the former England manager claiming he had not been consulted over the £9m transfer. Ridsdale, too, was perplexed. He could not understand why Shepherd seemed so smugly certain that Newcastle would get Woodgate for the price they did, even when the Leeds chairman was telling him: No.

He has said since that he voted against Woodgate's sale, but when he told a press conference that Leeds did not need the money, merely felt it was too good a price to miss, the fans' rage knew no bounds.

The repercussions of Woodgate's exit were little short of seismic. Venables was soon sacked as Leeds' fortunes on the field dipped alarmingly enough for the spectre of relegation to first raise its head.

Ridsdale, the subject of death threats as well as a venom that left him fearing for his family's safety, quit as chairman then left the board as Leeds looked anxiously to the City to bail them out of trouble.

Meanwhile, Elland Road fans still gaze northwards with deep regret as Woodgate, now a genuine England candidate, effortlessly turns on the style at St James' Park.

He is the centre-half, after all, whose possible absence at Her Majesty's pleasure had spurred Ridsdale and David O'Leary into signing Ferdinand for £18m to ensure adequate cover. Having to watch Smith, too, perform in black and white stripes for the team who also took Lee Bowyer, albeit via West Ham, will take some effort - particularly if Leeds do so from the First Division.

Without Smith's snarling, adrenaline-charged commitment as the focus of what remains of Leeds' flagging effort to haul themselves out of the bottom three, manager Eddie Gray's team is even likelier to succumb.

Nor will he go quietly. Smith, it has always seemed, would go kicking and screaming, still kissing the badge and shaking a fist of defiance towards the Revie Stand.

He said last summer, after Peter Reid had guided Leeds through one perilous relegation battle, that he would prefer to stay with his hometown team even if they went down, regardless of his England prospects. But reality has bitten deep this season. If it were put to Smith that his transfer fee would ensure Leeds United had at least a fighting chance of staying alive, he would reluctantly collaborate.

Yet it is still a bitter pill for those fans who have cheered and cherished each goal and winced gleefully at every snapping challenge. Only one thing could be worse: a late successful bid from Manchester United.

Harry Kewell, unpopular as he now is at Leeds, at least commanded respect for refusing the siren call of Old Trafford, and Smith understands even better the enmity that exists in the fans' eyes.

It is said that, as a jocular Christmas present, he gave a friend and Manchester United fan a red shirt with his No.17 on the back, below the words YOU WISH. Old Trafford would certainly have been a step too far.

If Smith's move goes through, anything goes. And probably will.