WATFORD, enjoying their second season in the top flight, continued to struggle because of injuries, writes Oliver Phillips.

November 1983

Watford 0 West Ham 0

WATFORD: Sherwood, Palmer, Sims, Franklin, Sinnott, Jobson, Bolton, Rostron, Callaghan, Richardson, Barnes. Substitute: Paris did not play.

WEST HAM: Parkes, Stewart, Walford, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Cottee, Swindlehurst, Brookings, Orr.

Substitute: Dickens did not play.

Referee: B Hill (Kettering): Attendance 14,559.

COMPETENT but could do better. That has to be the verdict on Watford's switch to 4-3-3 at Vicarage Road on Friday night as they kept a clean sheet for only the third time this season.

Graham Taylor was the first to admit that the change had been forced upon him by the total wipe-out of his established midfield players but added: "I do not see that formation as a long-term answer."

Watford certainly looked the livelier of the two sides in the first half when woefully cautious West Ham stood back, as if accepting that they were going to be under siege from a high-ball barrage. They certainly fielded a line-up to contest such an approach.

And it took them almost the entire half, or so it seemed, to realise that which they would have learned from the casual perusal of the sports columns Watford are much under strength.

Their manager would take issue on the accusation of over estimating Watford: "No matter what formation they use . . . all credit to them but they do put you under enormous pressure," he said.

West Ham came back in the second half and looked a better proposition. But in comparing the two sides, it was hard to believe that one was cobbled together from remnants while the other was at full strength and hopeful of taking temporary leadership of the First Division.

Watford certainly looked a lot more solid and tight in defence and, in the first half, demonstrated their ability to springboard into attack. Such was not the case after the break. Watford failed to rreally put pressure on the visiting defence with Barnes often isolated on the left and Richardson too frequently the sole contender of high crosses which were easy meat for Bonds and Martin.

"We were too static up front in the second half. We didn't get the number of people into the box as I would have liked but I thought it a good performance overall," said Taylor.

It was indeed a brave decision to switch 4-3-3 even though some may counter that he had little alternative. After the frequent changes in personnel, to switch the formation could have caused fresh disquiet among the ranks, particularly over something as sensitive as changing from the torch bearing 4-2-4 to 4-3-3. Has he panicked? Has he admitted the policy has been rumbled? Those questions could have been asked but instead the enforced flirtation with 4-3-3 had the opposite effect.

"Instead of working towards the match, thinking they must win, the players had something else to occupy their minds," Taylor reported.

Bolton, Rostron and Jobson played a vital role in midfield. Jobson occasionally put the Hornets in trouble with some under-hit passes to supporting players and Bolton had one fighting aberration when Sherwood failed to come to his assistance, but overall they worked well together.

In the second half, Bolton appeared to drop deeper, causing Jobson to move infield a mite, leaving Palmer in turn, with little help in his battle with Devonshire.

"Charlie had a fair game, but a bad ten to 15 minutes", said Taylor.

One of the ideas behind the switch was an attempt to have Nigel Callaghan more involved and this worked to a degree. Barnes on the other hand, after giving his best 45 minutes since hobbling off against Denmark, saw too little of the ball after the break.

It was certainly the most disappointing of the matches between the two sides from the standpoint of entertainment. But West Ham, were extremely hesitant.

"You hang on in there and the longer the home side goes without scoring. . . well you just hope for more space and I think that worked in the second half when we could have won the game, said the genial Lyall.

Certainly West Ham looked the better bet and Watford's attack took on an undeniably lightweight appearance, but few could deny Watford's claim to a point, even if their winless run was extended to seven games.

"Our best chance of winning the game as in that first 20 minutes or so while West Ham were readjusting," said Taylor.

Rostron put in the first real goal-attempt of the evening when Barnes worked the ball to him and Rostron unleashed a fierce 25-yard shot, which had Parkes struggling in pursuit as it went wide. Sims had a header deflected off-target and Barnes, turning well, had a close-range effort blocked after the ball was threaded to him following a Sinnott-inspired break.

Watford's first real chance came in the 26th minute when a Walford back-pass found Richardson sprinting in. Parkes came out and partially deflected the ball but as it went across goal, where Barnes hit it back into the centre only for it to be pushed out wide by a covering defender.

Barnes had a raking shot deflected wide and Callaghan was inches from getting on the end of another cross-shot but, in the 31st minute, Parkes had to go full length again, this time to save from Richardson's header following Callaghan's pin-point cross.

In the 33rd minute, as West Ham were raising a semblance of an attack, Bolton went in to tackle Devonshire, who accelerated at precisely the same time. Devonshire was dumped and Bolton booked.

Then West Ham again presented Watford with a fine chance. Allen sent a back-pass straight to Richardson who sped into the box. Perhaps he may have made more of the opportunity had he worked the ball on to his more effective right foot, moving across the goal. With a defender in pursuit, a penalty looked a possibility but Richardson opted for a left-foot shot towards the near post and Parkes covered it effectively.

Sherwood had been a mere spectator but when Bolton dispossessed Devonshire on the right of the Watford goal, he shocked all and sundry when he poked the ball across the area. Cottee pounced but his effort was blocked as was Allen's attempt from the rebound and Sherwood finished the half without having to make a save.

The goalkeeper was well positioned to take a hard shot from Swindlehurst, who had cut in from the left, and the West Ham striker also sent a Devonshire cross over the target under pressure from Sims.

Sherwood, at the moment going through a sticky patch with the less faithful of the supporters, had an awkward moment when he only just gathered a lobbed back-pass from Sinnott at the second attempt, with visiting forwards closing in.

West Ham demonstrated what John Lyall meant by poor final crosses when Brooking hit the ball immaculately through for Devonshire with a first-time chip, only for the visitor to hit a low cross straight at defenders and it was easily cleared.

But Devonshire, making increasing use of the space on the left, cut inside and fired in a low shot to which Sherwood reacted well and reached back to save low on his right. Again Devonshire combined with Brooking in one-two but sent his shot straight at Sherwood.

That signalled pretty well the end of West Ham's supremacy and the game stretched towards a goalless draw. Rostron had a header comfortably saved by Parkes and Stewart was booked for a foul on Sinnott but the final minutes were tame stuff.