The immediate reaction from Elland Road was that the club will not get a better result all season. Neither Jonathan Woodgate (diagnosis: mental strain) nor Lee Bowyer (hamstring injury) will turn out for Leeds at home to Leicester tomorrow, but they will be back soon and, when that moment arrives, Sven-Goran Eriksson is guaranteed to be sitting in the stands.
The English Football Association last night welcomed Bowyer, who had been cleared of both charges, back into the England fold. The FA's head of communications Paul Newman said in a statement: "Following today's verdicts, the FA have decided that Lee Bowyer will be considered for selection with England. The FA are still studying the details of Jonathan Woodgate's case and will be talking to both Leeds United and the player in the next few days."
In Bowyer's case, a place in Eriksson's World Cup squad looks written in stone, provided the midfielder stays injury-free and despite having one of the worst disciplinary records in the Premiership, with 59 yellow cards and one red in five years at Elland Road.
Woodgate, who was found guilty of affray, may have been conspicuous only by his absence over the last year or so - "he totally disintegrated at the time of the first trial," said the Leeds manager David O'Leary - but, despite the FA saying they were "reserving judgment," he will also be made available to Eriksson in the new year.
That may upset many people but Tony Adams won the majority of his 66 England caps after serving 57 days of a four-month prison sentence for drink-driving in 1990.
"At the age of 19 Jonathan played for England against Bulgaria and was widely regarded as the best young central defender in the country," Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, said last night. "It's up to him now to get that situation (with England) back." Ridsdale was the picture of dignity at a press conference at Elland Road yesterday, but how Leeds have emerged from two tortuous trials and what the chairman referred to as 23 "extremely stressful months" is open to interpretation.
O'Leary, for one, might have been advised against making statements, at the start of the case, such as "we know what really happened" and "we will have our say one day."
Indignant throughout about the FA's stance, Ridsdale went on to state the club had been "vindicated" in their stance not to suspend either player. "We took the decision that they were innocent until proven guilty," he said.
"Jonathan Woodgate has clearly let down himself and the club but he will now be available for selection. After that it's up to the FA what they do."
According to O'Leary, Woodgate has lost almost a stone during the trial and the 21-year-old has generally been overlooked for the first team this season after admitting he was nowhere near the right frame of mind to play.
In comparison, Bowyer, somewhat perversely, has been in the best form of his career over the last 18 months and was named as the club's player of the year after scoring six goals in last season's Champions League.
He has become so important to the club that Ridsdale arranged for a chauffeur to drive him from court to night matches at Elland Road.
Where Michael Duberry will fit in is another matter, although Ridsdale spoke of his hope that the defender could work alongside Woodgate, against whom he gave telling evidence in court.
