Smith hurt by Woody sale

The West Yorkshire outfit have been forced to offload superstars such as Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler due to their financial plight, but Woodgate's departure to St James' Park hurt the most.

The young defender was seen as a key part of Leeds' future and was sold for £9 million just after Peter Ridsdale had promised that there would be no more departures following Fowler's sale to Manchester City.

England striker Smith says that the departure of Woodgate was by far the worst of the sales, saying: "We'd seen top players leave because of the club's financial situation and we understood why lads like Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Keane had to go.

"But, if I am honest, Woody's sale was the one that upset me the most.

"For me, it felt like losing a special friend who I'd known since I was 12 years of age and had grown really close to.

"So, to lose someone who you have grown up with just made me think that you never know what's around the corner."

Smith agrees with the fans who were furious with the sale of Woodgate.

"From the point of view of our fans, they saw it as one sale too many. It was the one that finally snapped their patience," he added in The Sun.

"Not least because they felt they had been betrayed after being told that the club would never sell its crown jewels.

"Woody, of course, was considered one of the crown jewels. He'd been at the club ever since he was 13 and our supporters absolutely loved him.

"At the start of this season, I could never have imagined that Woody would be leaving us for Newcastle or anywhere else.

"His departure came as a massive shock to me and everyone else."

Woogate will not be facing his old side when the two teams meet at Elland Road on Saturday due to a clause in his contract, and Smith was relishing the prospect of clashing with his old mate.

"I would really like to have played against him. In the past, we had some real good battles against each other in training but I have never been able to pit my wits against him in a competitive game.

"And that's a big shame because I reckon it would be a contest worth watching.

"Still, the fact Woody is not coming back to play in this one has got to be good news for us.

"That is because he is rated so highly by all the lads he left behind here. We all know Newcastle have got themselves a great centre-half."

Smith says he never had any intentions of joining the mass exodus from the club, and wasted no time in agreeing on a new contract with the club.

"I didn't take much persuading to sign the new deal. During discussions, I always maintained I wanted to sign and stay here.

"So it was only a matter of time before the details were sorted out.

"The fact that players were leaving did not influence my thinking at all.

"I am proud to play for my hometown team - the team I support, anyway."