Look Sharp... or you're out!

THE Anticipated battle between two of the Championship's big beasts failed to materialise as both teams failed to reflect their status as promotion favourites.

The result - secured by a crisp and clinical finish which shone like a beacon through a fog of mediocrity - served to preserve Watford's unblemished record.

And it ensured Sheffield United's search for their first league win of the Bryan Robson era will continue for at least another week.

But it is, quite frankly, impossible to believe that what actually transpired was a fair reflection of either side's top-six credentials as they both failed to equal the sum of their parts.

Having praised his forwards for their application and endeavour during Tuesday's Carling Cup triumph over Chesterfield, Robson chose to lay the blame for this defeat squarely at their feet.

Indeed, the manager's post-match appraisal of United's contribution contained a thinly-veiled threat that unless there is a change in performance before his former club, West Bromwich Albion, visit Bramall Lane on Saturday, then there could well be a change in personne, especially if Billy Sharp recovers fully from a broken hand.

"When I put out a forward line of James Beattie, Jon Stead and Danny Webber then I expect I lot more than that," Robson said.

"I told them at half-time that I wanted to see more from them physically, and if they had done that then I think we would've gone on to win the game.

"But they didn't.

"They started giving the ball away and that was the reason we couldn't get the midfield into the game.

"But it's early days, we will definitely improve and it's something we'll be working on in training."

Honest and accurate, Robson's assessment of his players' failings at Vicarage Road served to highlight not only his plans for the training ground but also the transfer market.

Twenty-four hours before boarding the coach to Hertfordshire, Robson had admitted that 90 minutes of toil against a club with a fearsome reputation for brutish football represented an opportunity to fire a warning shot across the bows of the rest of the division and a chance to judge his own squad's strengths and weaknesses in the process.

Lee Williamson's 56th-minute goal prevented United from achieving their first objective.

And, despite coming within a hair's breadth of claiming a draw when Tommy Smith hacked off the line after Michael Tonge's free-kick had proved too hot for Mart Poom to handle, they served to expose the problems which, with Lee Hendrie nursing a damaged cartilage, can hopefully be addressed before the deadline for new signings at the end of the month.

In Tonge and Keith Gillespie, Robson possess two midfielders with the ability to split open even the most watertight of defences with a single pass. Although they showed flashes of that here, all too often they found themselves being dragged into the trenches, highlighting the Blades’ need for a different dimension.

Providing, of course, a suitable candidate can be identified.

“I’m still looking,” continued Robson, “Ideally, I’d like to bring another player in and it’s the midfield that I’m looking at.

“But I’ve said all along that I’m not going to get someone just for the sake of it.

“They’ve got to be better than what we’ve already got here.”

As Robson rightly points out, August is far too early to start making judgements about how the season will unfold.

Having drawn with Colchester in the opening day, United had undoubtedly hoped for a better start - but a glance through the options at his disposal suggests it should only be a matter of time before Robson, with a few minor adjustments, finally strikes the right balance.

And when he does, United will be a formidable force.

Any club which provides comfy padded seats in the home section of the dug-out and cold plastic ones in the away is clearly not in the business of giving visitors a warm welcome.

But United coped admirably with Watford during the opening skirmishes - nulifying the physical threat posed by Marlon King and Darius Henderson and establishing a platform upon which to build - before seeing a sluggish start to the second half undo all their hard work.

Leigh Bromby, who impressed at full-back, headed straight at Poom after finding space at a Gillespie corner before a Stead cross flashed agonisingly beyond Webber and Gillespie following a Jordan Stewart’s lapse of concentration.

Strong second halves have become one of United’s most recognisable traits under Robson, but on this occasion they were strangely subdued and Jobi McAnuff seized the chance to sweep the ball wide to Henderson who in turn fed Williams.

The ball appeared to take a deflection on its way past Paddy Kenny but it was still a perfectly-crafted effort from the former Rotherham United man.

Kenny was forced to make a fine reaction save to deny Henderson before Tonge finally sparked United into life - first with a long-range effort which Poom was forced to palm over before Smith intervened when his rasping drive from just outside the box squirmed from the Estonian’s grasp.

By Adrian Boothroyd’s own admission, the win was not a decisive one.

“Of course, I’m pleased but there’s a long way to go and a lot of work to do,” said the Watford manager.

“We’ve started well but then I just worry about complacency so, really, you never get any rest.”Manager's view

The lads are very disappointed in the dressing room.

They know they should have done better, but there's work to do and we will get better, I'm sure of that.

Watford have had a good start, but I still think we'll both be up there challenging at the end of the season. I'm still convinced of that.

I was quite happy with our first-half performance and at half-time I thought it was a match we could go on to win. But we started slowly after the break and that gave Watford the change to get into things more.