Howard's way works well in the Leeds generation game

Wilkinson's French system is paying dividends for a Swede.

Long before a well-travelled Swede decided to mirror the ideas of a couple of prominent French Premiership managers with the international set-up, a much maligned Englishman was quietly implementing equally radical changes on his unfashionable Yorkshire side. Sven Goran Eriksson has received much of the credit for the current England turn-around, just as Arsène Wenger and Gérard Houllier have at Arsenal and Liverpool, but Howard Wilkinson is the unsung hero of yesterday's friendly against Portugal.

Wilkinson was one of the first and most vocal advocates of the merits of centres of excellence. Nearly a decade before Wenger and Houllier opened their clubs' Academies, Wilkinson had masterminded the building of Thorp Arch, Leeds United's state-of-the-art training complex. His vision was simple: create a system in the French mould that will produce technically gifted and versatile players. Wilkinson was subsequently sacked before he was able to work with most of his young protégés.

Now technical director of the Football Association, Wilkinson will have relished watching the player he signed as a teenager put in the man of the match performance yesterday. Alan Smith was everywhere, mixing clever running with robust hold-up play. Glenn Hoddle remarked that he reminded him of a young Teddy Sheringham. The current England manager said simply that Smith "is a good player and can go on to become a great player. He looked fit and strong, and scored a wonderful goal. He enjoyed himself, I'm sure".

So did Wilkinson, as Smith started and the other product of his pioneering Leeds Academy, Jonathan Woodgate, played in the second half. Two other adoptive Yorkshire sons, Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills, were also handed places in the original line-up. Bowyer and Mills were actually formed at Charlton Athletic's excellent Academy, but their moves North were wholly in keeping with the Leeds United strategy. Youth has long been the club's motto, and the policy seems to be paying its dividends. It will not have gone unnoticed that, but for Rio Ferdinand's naked ambition and the small matter of a £30m transfer fee, Leeds would have had four players in the starting XI.

Even allowing for the three Manchester United absentees – Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and captain David Beckham – you have to go back to the early Seventies for the last time there were more Whites than Reds in an England team. Whether or not this United crop can replace the one from across the Pennines remains to be seen, but the Leeds contingent showed enough positives in yesterday's draw to suggest that they will have a significant role to play in the years to come. The young goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, was the only one not to make an appearance but, he too, will have his day.

Top of the class, though, were Smith and Bowyer. The pair have developed reputations, both on and off the field, but they showed nothing but endeavour and enthusiasm at Villa Park. It seemed somehow appropriate, therefore, that the two should combine for England's best move of the first half and, ultimately, the opening goal. Smith's run and powerful header were excellent, but the quality of Bowyer's cross was sublime. Such precise delivering emphasised his potential in the wide-right position, not least because it might finally allow Beckham to move inside. As Eriksson observed, "there was a lot of Leeds in that goal".

Woodgate, meanwhile, may only have come on at half-time, but he did not need long to justify his inclusion. Owen Hargreaves, who looked lost at right-back after he replaced Mills at the interval, surrendered possession inside his own half and could only watch as Portugal created one of their best openings of the match. It took all of Woodgate's speed and timing to block Nuno Gomez's shot.

Woodgate took over from Ferdinand yesterday, but you suspect that they may yet form England's ideal defensive partnership. Sol Campbell has proven himself to be strong, but Woodgate is a more natural athlete, and his ability to offer sound cover could eventually allow Ferdinand to play a more active role. Given time, they could conceivably combine in the same way as Marcel Desailly and Laurent Blanc used to for France, with the former holding fort and the latter venturing forward regularly.

England may only have managed a draw yesterday, but Leeds United and their international representatives will consider themselves as winners.