18/09/1999  Watford 1 Chelsea 0 

Allan Smart proved on Saturday that the Premiership is not 
all about glamour and glitz and strutting foreigners.

It is also about bread and butter strikers who put industry 
above artistry, steel above style and bravery above 
beauty.

Smart drilled home the second-half goal which consigned 
Chelsea to their first defeat in 14 games and took the shine 
off the showdown with AC Milan which had lit up Stamford 
Bridge in midweek.

Instead we had a heart-warming story of a striker who had 
beaten the odds and the team who threaten to do the same in 
the Premiership this season.

Smart is the man whose goal in the play-off final at 
Wembley last May earned Watford their place in the 
Premiership.

He has hardly played since suffering a bout of tendinitis 
of crippling proportions. But on Saturday, in only his second 
start since that summer of glory, he gave the Premiership's 
unsung heroes heart and hope.

And he also demonstrated that Chelsea are nowhere near as 
complete a footballing side as all the midweek hype had 
suggested.

The goalless draw with the Italian aristocrats on Wednesday 
had even led Watford manager Graham Taylor to claim: "This 
Chelsea side could beat England."

Perhaps, but not the side which Chelsea manager Gianluca 
Vialli put out on Saturday - a side which boasted three 
British players in Graeme Le Saux, Chris Sutton and Jody 
Morris.

With Dennis Wise rested, Gianfranco Zola on the 
substitutes' bench and the likes of Frank Leboeuf injured, 
Chelsea were a pale shadow of the team which has promised to 
turn Stamford Bridge this season into a rhapsody in deep 
blue.

Sutton's partnership with Tore Andre Flo was nothing short 
of a disaster, the two strikers only succeeding in disrupting 
each other's talents.

And with the rest of the Chelsea outfit listless and 
lethargic Vialli's men looked anything but world-beaters.

With the exception of French midfielder Didier Deschamps 
they were too often second to the ball, too often without 
space and inspiration and for the most part lacking creativity 
which has become their hallmark.

It was obvious from as early as the 26th minute that 
Chelsea were in for a battle.

Mica Hyde was the architect, swinging in a wickedly 
swerving cross from the right which is a striker's dream and a 
defender's nightmare.

It landed precisely on Smart's head six yards out but on 
this occasion, the Watford striker failed to live up to his 
name, allowing the ball to slide tamely off his forehead for a 
goal-kick.

Chelsea tried to respond but the only first-half efforts of 
note came from Bjarne Goldbaek who fired two shots into the 
arms of Watford goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain when he should 
have done better.

But all the while Taylor was on the touchline urging his 
men on to greater efforts. The former England boss turned 55 
last Wednesday but no one lives and breathes football with 
more youthful zest and vigour.

"Is the enthusiasm still there?", Taylor pondered in the 
match day programme, an article which turned into an 
affirmation of his footballing credentials.

"Yes. Is the commitment still there? Yes. Is the belief 
still there? Yes.

"I could carry on listing the questions and all the answers 
will be yes, except one. Do you believe you will be 
relegated?"

On this showing there must be every chance that Watford can 
compete with the Premiership's big boys and even earn 
mid-table respectability.

They might not possess the grace and arrogance apparent in 
much of Chelsea's work - but there is no shortage of industry 
and passion.

And thank heavens for that on a day when there was precious 
little on show to acclaim at Vicarage Road.

Taylor's new record signing Nordin Wooter made an immediate 
impact. It was his coolly-worked ball which was rolled into 
the path of Smart in the 56th minute to give Smart the 
opportunity to drill home a 16-yard shot and send the Watford 
faithful into raptures.

It was a goal of stunning simplicity and it rocked Chelsea, 
who looked jaded and out of sorts following their European 
exploits.

Chelsea's Italian debut boy Gabriele Ambrosetti made little 
impact and it was a measure of Vialli's desperation when he 
threw on Zola and Dan Petrescu.

The only surprise was that he took off Flo instead of 
Sutton, who had a nightmare afternoon.

At the end, Watford were worthy winners, accomplishing with 
some ease what AC Milan had failed to do.

Now it is Leeds, Manchester United and Arsenal next up for 
Taylor's men. And no one should be surprised if a few more 
high-level scalps are taken.