IT SUMS UP THE FISCAL FOLLY of Leeds United that they are paying £200,000 a year to have their feet set in concrete. Robbie Keane, a Tottenham Hotspur player who is still on the payroll at Elland Road, scored what could be termed the £20 million goal, to wash away the last vestiges of hope and suggest that this abject assortment of plodders and toddlers is heading straight for relegation.

“They have to remember their great tradition,” David Pleat, the Tottenham caretaker manager, said of the Leeds players. Sadly, the past will only exacerbate the pitiful plight of a club that has been ravaged by the unbridled avarice of those trusted with the future. That Peter Ridsdale, the former chairman and architect of the decline, is allowed to reinvent himself at Barnsley, a £383,000 payoff in one hand and a bag of excuses in the other, underlines the unaccountability problems that blight football. In a season of troughs, this may go down as the blackest day yet for Leeds.

Mark Viduka left at half-time to return to Australia to be with his father, who is seriously ill. Eddie Gray, the Leeds caretaker manager, said that he did not know when Viduka would be back. That strips Leeds to the bare bones. Michael Duberry was injured on Saturday, David Batty and Lucas Radebe are still out, Dominic Matteo is due to start a suspension and Alan Smith is one inevitable booking from another ban.

It paints the gloomiest scenario for a team that had to win this match for manifold reasons. High among them was the need to convince any prospective buyers that they are investing in a top-flight club. A Leeds source admitted that this defeat could wipe £20 million off any takeover price. “That’s what any buyer will have to cover in lost revenue if the club goes down,” the source said. “Things have been delayed because nobody knows what division Leeds will be in next season. This was a can’t-lose game.”

Evidence of Leeds’s plummeting status has come via the sound beatings they have taken from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City and Portsmouth. “They let a lot of players go and you can’t afford to do that,” Keane said. There was a time when the Ireland forward was considered a fringe player at Elland Road. Now, with Harry Kewell and Robbie Fowler sold, Viduka in Australia and Michael Bridges looking the ring-rusty victim who has not scored for 3½ years, he would be the undisputed star.

Keane did not celebrate after Duberry was caught ball-watching and Mauricio Taricco’s free kick sent him scampering into the penalty area, where he finished with aplomb. “I still have a lot of friends here and I just don’t do that,” he said. Keane stayed with Stephen McPhail on Saturday night and no doubt asked why a midfield player with his dexterity cannot make the bench for a team devoid of creativity.

Before taking the club’s solitary skills manual back to Australia, Viduka admitted that the financial uncertainty was unhelpful. The January 19 deadline is not cast in stone, but Leeds need to prove that they are at least in discussions with prospective buyers by then. Viduka said: “Everybody is anxious to see something sorted out. There are a lot of people whose livelihoods depend on it, from the office staff to the team.”

With Tottenham winning twice in a week, Pleat’s problems have eased, even though this display afforded him no cause for smug satisfaction. “Escape from what?” he said in response to one inquiry about the club’s position. “I’ve never thought about relegation.”

The improvement in the second half, inspired by Stéphane Dalmat’s quick feet and Gary Doherty’s ability to deny Leeds a single clear opportunity, meant that Spurs deserved their win. As for Leeds: “It’s hard if you’ve lived the dream,” Pleat said. It was a soundbite that pointed to the true source of their misery.

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 5 — G Kelly 4, M Duberry 6, M Kilgallon 6, I Harte 2 — J Pennant 5, E Bakke 3, D Matteo 5, S Olembe 3 (sub: L Sakho, 66min 5) — N Barmby 2 (sub: J Milner, 66 5) — M Viduka 4 (sub: M Bridges, 46 4). Substitutes not used: S Carson, F Richardson. Next: Southamption (a). FORM: LLLDDW

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): K Keller 5 — S Carr 5, G Doherty 7, A Gardner 5, M Taricco 5 — S Dalmat 7, L King 4, D Anderton 5 (sub: G Poyet, 88), S Davies 5 — F Kanouté 4, R Keane 7. Substitutes not used: L Hirschfeld, H Postiga, J Jackson, S Kelly. Booked: Taricco. NEXT: Liverpool (h). FORM: WWLLLL

Shots on target: (h) 7 (a) 7. Fouls: (h) 13 (a) 5 Offsides: (h) 2 (a) 0.

Referee: M Halsey 5. Attendance: 35,365