WHEN Mark Viduka scored seven goals for Middlesbrough in the final seven Premier League games of last season, the club's supporters adapted a Leonard Cohen song in his honour.

Sung to the tune of "Hallelujah", and recorded by Boro-supporting Fame Academy runner-up, Alistair Griffin, "Mark Viduka" extolled the Australian's qualities in front of goal.

Yesterday, Viduka made his first return to the Riverside in the colours of his new employers, Newcastle United.

And by the time he swivelled in the penalty area to fire an accomplished finish past Mark Schwarzer with just 13 minutes left, a different part of Cohen's back catalogue summed up the prevailing mood amongst Middlesbrough fans.

"The Traitor" might not have achieved the same chart success as "Hallelujah" but, on Teesside at least, the 1979 recording provides a more accurate representation of Viduka's status this morning.

Less than three months after leaving Middlesbrough to join the club's North-East rivals, Newcastle, the 31-year-old returned to claim his first goal in black-and-white stripes against the club that did so much to develop him.

The fact that his replacement, Mido, also found the target in a thrilling 2-2 draw tempered some of the vitriol that was inevitably aimed in Viduka's direction, mocking both the size of his waist and his wallet.

But it could not prevent even the most ardent of Boro supporters from wondering what might have been had the Australian chosen the Tees over the Tyne this summer. And it was certainly insufficient to stop the travelling army of Newcastle fans from pondering what might lie in wait now Viduka has scored his maiden goal for the Magpies.

More strikes seem certain, with the Australian having lost none of his composure and finesse since moving to St James'.

Yesterday's goal was reminiscent of so many that he scored in a Middlesbrough shirt - it bore particularly stark similarities to the striker's final goal for the club against Fulham in May - with Viduka displaying strength to hold off Jonathan Woodgate before adding subtlety to slip the ball past a helpless Mark Schwarzer.

Signed to act as a battering ram at the heart of Newcastle's three-man attack, a role that Kevin Davies performed so successfully for Sam Allardyce at Bolton, Viduka is capable of providing his new manager with so much more.

His touch has always been exemplary, an attribute that enables him to provide a valuable outlet with his back to goal, and his awareness within a packed 18-yard box is commensurate with that of Newcastle's poacher-in-chief, Michael Owen.

But his team-mates still need time to pick up on his weaknesses. Despite his physique, Viduka is far from your stereotypical target man, and the aimless long balls that peppered Newcastle's play will reap little reward if they are pumped in his direction.

Incorporate Viduka's footwork into your approach play, and you are playing to his strengths. Ask him to toil for scraps, however, and Newcastle's new-look formation will quickly have a vacuum at its heart.

Gareth Southgate realised as much last season, and the Boro manager's decision to sell Ayegbeni Yakubu despite Viduka's departure underlined his intention to adopt a different playing style this term.

A new strike-force is already emerging, with Mido at its head, and while the African might share some of the same physical attributes as his predecessor, his playing style is much more suited to the high-energy, up-tempo football that Southgate is attempting to introduce.

Considerably more mobile than Viduka, the former Tottenham striker repeatedly stretched Newcastle, pulling to both sides of the field to trouble the full-backs and successfully play off the shoulder of England new-boy Steven Taylor.

Walk like an Egyptian? It is questionable whether Viduka would have possessed either the stamina or the inclination to drag himself into some of the positions that Mido was keen to take up yesterday.

His goal, taken with commendable composure after he controlled the ball on his chest and calmly rounded Steve Harper, proved that his finishing qualities are what you would expect of a £6m marksman, and although his relationship with Jeremie Aliadiere understandably remains something of a work in progress, his French partner, who was stretchered off midway through the second half, will surely benefit from his willingness to bear the brunt of any physical battle.

Two goals in two games have been enough to make Mido the darling of the Middlesbrough fans, and while yesterday's game included an unwanted blast from the past, Viduka's departure is hardly being mourned too strongly. 'The Traitor' has left - and Middlesbrough have moved on without him