Another formidable display on foreign soil from the black and whites, as Sir Bobby's birthday bash extended into the weekend.

In truth it's hard to recall a Premiership game in which we've featured when the opposition were in such disarray  by the final whistle and the Toon fans had sore throats from "oléing" each successful pass and move.

And had the comparatively proficient BBC been covering the game rather than the slipshod ITV crew, then there's a good chance Barry Davies or Motty would have been drawing comparisons with the memorable runaround Southampton received on this ground in the 1970's.

At a venue that has become an increasingly happy hunting ground in recent seasons, we reshuffled our resources after the Leverkusen success and once again came up with an irresistible blend of attacking prowess.

Happily our backline also played their part, with Andy Griffin in "take no prisoners" mode as he returned to compensate for the loss of the suspended Bernard. After an early skirmish with Wilcox, the Leeds player wisely sought to avoid the man known in the club as "Fred West" and hid behind the Leeds fullback before wimping out at the interval.

Pre-match media talk had sought to make an issue out of the Woodgate situation, but with the player remaining on Tyneside and O'Brien, the man likely to make way excelling in defence, then it was a bit of a dead rubber.

The inevitable Woody chants from the toon fans in the early stages didn't provoke much of a response from a home crowd who appeared to have undergone a programme of mass sedation, and thereafter only the increasingly popular Peter Ridsdale song got an airing, interspersed with our more regular away repertoire.

Early stages of the game saw us easing our way into proceedings, rather than the turbo-charged opening salvo that has been our trademark on other occasions. However we still took the lead just after the quarter hour mark and never really looked likely to be pegged back after that as Leeds heads dropped.

Terry Venables had opted to avoid the match with the flu, and although his club fielded a full side for the game, many of those seemed equally under the weather and incapable of shaking a leg. A notable exception to this was Radebe, who once again did his level best to stem the tide and limped off with twenty minutes remaining after having bravely launched himself to deny Newcastle at least one certain goal.

Alan Smith also at least had the good grace to look p'ed off about the whole situation and did what he could by fair means and foul to try and raise his side and their moribund fans. In the absence of Viduka the responsibility for leading the line fell to him and he was as robust as ever, while maintaining the ability to tumble over at the slightest provocation.

Having seen his music hall act before though, Alan Wiley was wise to it and ignored a large proportion of his free-kick seeking antics, as well as the flag-waving of his linesmen when they attempted to halt play in Smith-related incidents. 

After two anxious moments each side of the break when Kewell looked set to test Given from positions that favoured the attacking side, Newcastle moved on to what aged hacks always call easy street with a stylish second from Dyer.

While he celebrated along with the toon end, the mood of the home fans darkened still further and many in the Lurpak Stand were quick to join in the ironic sack the board chants coming from the away sections, with a few daubed bedsheets being unfurled as a dry run for the post-match protest by home fans outside the main entrance.

Enough of the yorkies though, we've done our bit to help them out by agreeing the wedge of cash for Woodgate. And in return they go away and give more players undeserved pay increases and contract extensions.

Let's concentrate on the United that matters, and although the deluge of goals we threatened never appeared, the manner of our second half performance was one of a side oozing confidence bordering on arrogance as opponents were brushed aside by what was becoming an irresistible force.

One is almost tempted to say that it was the sort of performance often seen from Arsene Wenger's side on away grounds, with Dyer's second strike akin to some of the seemingly effortless goals scored by Henry et al.

Text and radio updates though in the first half had confirmed that Arsenal were inflicting even greater punishment on Kevin Keegan's side - as we seem to catch up then so they find an extra gear....

It's worth recalling though that while both our away wins this week were impressive results and deserved victories, the opposition in both matches was somewhat dispirited and had taken their eyes off the ball, metaphorically speaking. 

But how many times have Newcastle gone to grounds where points seem to be there for the taking, only to underachieve and hand the initiative to an inferior side? Far too often we've been the obliging guests dispensing relief to beleaguered hosts - West Ham away last season still sticks in the throat, but there are others....

Heartening then to see a toon team in form, playing with a purpose and a lack of fear and reaping the benefits. It's also reassuring to see that players are doing their allotted jobs, whether it's their chosen position or not. While Brian Kerr was unhappy at being forced into a wide right role when on loan at Coventry, he's giving it his best shot in our first team, happy just to be involved after a frustrating year or two when injury saw him fall behind McClen in the pecking order and then the likes of Jenas appeared.

He would be the first to admit he's not an attacking right-sided player, but he was deservedly applauded from the field by the toon fans for his whole-hearted contribution. Also in that category is Aaron Hughes, who occasionally gets found out by top-class players when employed in a full back role but slots in with the minimum of fuss and plays his part in a vastly improved defence among the meanest in the country.

While some mix and match, there are others who have their specific jobs and they were also earning their keep at Elland Road. Bramble again looked the part and rode his luck a little as he had in Germany but emerged unscathed, while Robert kept that goals / assists tally clicking on - now two converted crosses and one goal in as many games. 

On a purely personal note, it was reassuring to see that Robert had pulled out of his end of year depression that culminated in tossing off a performance at Wolves and looked to be enjoying proceedings at Leeds as much as anyone. He also broke with recent tradition and acknowledged the crowd with smiles and thumbs up while waiting to take a corner - acknowledgement richly returned by the Mags.

We now genuinely seem to have a squad in place that allows us flexibility to turn out different forward lines and not worry too much when key players aren't available about weaker replacements letting the side down.