IT WAS A TALE OF TWO strikers. One was hoisted high above the masses during a dewy-eyed love-in, while the other sat at the back of a stand with his son on his lap before slipping away quietly to footnote status. The contrasting farewells of Alan Smith and Mark Viduka jarred against each other and all reason. Smith was fêted as he was chaired around Elland Road by subscribers to the local-hero phenomenon, while Viduka appeared almost embarrassed as he bounced Joe on his knee.

Smith said that the reception he received on what is sure to be his last game in Leeds before a summer move was beyond his wildest dreams and that he would like to return to his hometown club one day. Mind you, last July, he said that he would remain even in the event of relegation. “It takes a better type of person to stay,” he opined. That was before reality bit.

The Leeds United supporters may worship Smith because he has an accent marinated in Tetley’s and beef dripping, but the truth is that he loves Leeds only to the extent where he does not have to take a pay cut and get his knees dirty in the Football League.

Viduka, meanwhile, is the latest in a long line of scapegoats that started with Peter Ridsdale and includes Lee Bowyer, Jonathan Woodgate and David O’Leary. When the post mortem is held, nobody should forget that Ridsdale’s punt on the European Cup looked an odds-on certainty until O’Leary split the dressing-room with his fatuous book.

The Australia forward’s crime is two silly dismissals in recent weeks. Never mind that he scored 59 goals in 130 league games for Leeds, whereas Smith mustered 38 in 171. Never mind that the claims of lethargy and a tortured mind were debunked in every season by a strike-record that exposed the limitation of his partner. Never mind the quality, feel the myth.

In pure football currency, Leeds will lose far more by selling Viduka than Smith. Yet the emotional scenes at the end of a match that Leeds contrived to draw with trademark profligacy had a symbolic resonance. “There has not been a bigger hero here,” Eddie Gray, the caretaker manager, said. That was quite an opinion given that Gray is the true epitome of loyalty and has been at the club since 1963. He has twice been sacked but keeps coming back for more and this week expects to lose his job as manager again.

Smith milked his moment. One fan ran on to the pitch to shake his hand at the end and the floodgates opened. A girl was knocked from her wheelchair in the rush, but the invasion was never anything but good-natured. “With supporters like that, it’s going to be hard to go away,” Smith said. “If an opportunity to come back came along then I would grab it with open arms. This will stay with me for the rest of my life.” He is so distraught at the prospect of playing against Leeds next season that he is considering moving to Valencia, the team against whom he once showed how much he cared by getting sent off in the European Cup semi-final.

The game itself was a sideshow. Alan Curbishley, the Charlton Athletic manager, talked about the importance of achieving the club’s best finishing position, but his players were non-plussed. After Matt Holland took advantage of Paul Robinson’s fragility from distance, they downed tools and Leeds relaxed.

Matthew Kilgallon, a promising centre half, slotted home an equaliser before Jermaine Pennant, another who will be missed, meandered into the box and lifted a shot above Dean Kiely. A penalty that was on the imaginary side of dubious — Michael Duberry wrestling himself to the floor — gave Smith his valedictory goal, but Leeds being Leeds, that was not the end of it. Duberry tripped Jason Euell, who converted the penalty, and some shambolic defending enabled the same player to restore parity.

Nobody cared. This was all about saying goodbye. They toasted Smith in the pubs, roasted Viduka on the metaphorical barbie and then contemplated Rotherham. For the fans there is no escape.

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 4 — F Richardson 6 (sub: L Radebe, 82min), M Duberry 3, M Kilgallon 6, I Harte 4 — G Kelly 4 (sub: J Wilcox, 73 5), D Matteo 5, S McPhail 6, J Pennant 7 — A Smith 5, J Milner 7. Substitutes not used: S Carson, N Barmby, J Winter. NEXT: Chelsea (a). FORM: DLLLDW

Charlton Athletic (4-4-2): D Kiely 6 — L Young 6, J Fortune 4, H Hreidarsson 5, C Powell 4 (sub: C Perry, 60 5) — G Stuart 4 (sub: R Kishishev, 60 6), M Holland 6, J Euell 6, P Konchesky 5 — J Johansson 4, P Di Canio 3 (sub: S Bartlett, 60 4). Substitutes not used: S Leite, M Fish. NEXT: Southampton (h). FORM: DDLLDW

Shots on target: (h) 8 (a) 7. Fouls: (h) 12 (a) 9. Offsides: (h) 6 (a) 3

Referee: M Halsey 4. Attendance: 38,986