HOW times have changed. Two goals, both of which Jonathan Woodgate might reasonably have been expected to prevent, gave Everton a third successive win to fuel their pursuit of a European place, and at the same time condemned Leeds to another defeat at the end of one of the most depressing weeks in their history.

Nothing is quite what it was at Leeds these days, and their team meeting at a hotel near Chester on Friday varied from the norm, in that it was the players who did most of the talking. With one voice, they urged Terry Venables to stay on as manager and pledged to do all in their power to make it worthwhile.

They were as good as their word yesterday, battling for every ball as if it was a cup final, but it was their misfortune to come up against a powerfully resurgent Everton, who matched them stride for stride and tackle for tackle.

Now level with Chelsea on 45 points, their dedication to the work ethic under David Moyes’s management is having handsome reward.

Leeds’ disgruntled fans will not have missed the fact that their defence was penetrated through the middle for both goals. They are unlikely to forgive chairman Peter Ridsdale and his board for the sale of Woodgate, their England centre-half, against the wishes of the manager. The furore over the £9m transfer will not go away and protests are planned at the next home match, against Gillingham in the FA Cup on Tuesday.

Before yesterday’s game, Ridsdale said: “I can live with myself. I have taken the decision (to sell Woodgate) as chairman of a public company, and not as a fan of Leeds United.Whether the fans want me to stay is another question. I will have to see how people respond to me.”

Yesterday’s verdict was unequivocal long before three white-and blue-clad fans got close enough to shout obscenities at Ridsdale as he left the directors’ box at the end. Protected from physical abuse by three bodyguards, he was subjected to a near-continuous verbal shellacking from the 1,000 or so disillusioned Leeds followers who bothered to make the trip.

“We thought you were Leeds, we were wrong,” was the least vitriolic of the chants.

For the first time all season, they chorused support for Venables, for which he was duly grateful. “That’s always helpful for any manager,” he said. “I feel for the fans. It must be just as frustrating for them.”

On the subject of his own position, he was non-committal: “I’d like a few days to sort that out, but it’s not possible because we’ve got so many games to prepare for.”

The reversal of fortunes between these two clubs could scarcely be more marked. Two years ago, Leeds were Champions League semifinalists and spending money like lottery winners, while Everton struggled along on a hand-to-mouth existence. Now it is Moyes’s rejuvenated team who are challenging for the Champions League, with Leeds in the paupers’ role.

The contrast was not lost on one of the brightest young managers in the game, who observed: “Leeds deserve credit for going for it a few seasons ago, but now we are seeing the real consequences. It’s not wrong to speculate, but I don’t know if you can afford to gamble.” Of Venables’s circumstances, he said: “Given the choice, I’d rather work with no money but in the knowledge you don’t have to sell your best players, because then you have still got an opportunity to build a team.”

From the start, it was apparent that Leeds were in resolute, combative mood. Harry Kewell had two decent chances in the first 12 minutes, but did justice to neither, his negligence greater when he nodded an excellent cross from Jason Wilcox weakly into the side- netting.

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