Fowler's modern English usage struggled to express itself here yesterday in a fast but featureless match which left Leeds United loping along behind Liverpool and Arsenal at the top of the Premiership and Fulham in the lower half of the table.

The £11 million sterling which David O'Leary has just invested in bringing Robbie Fowler from Anfield to Elland Road will surely bear more fruit than was evident in this game.

Apart from a typical snap-shot saved 16 minutes from the end, Fowler's qualities were largely seen through the positions he took up and the runs he made.

The striker's lack of regular first-team football at Liverpool was all too apparent, but he did finish more strongly than he began.

"Robbie needs a good run of 10 or 12 games," O'Leary observed. "He has so many qualities that will make us a better team."

Few would deny that. For all his later problems at Liverpool, Fowler remains, potentially at least, one of the best penalty-area predators in the Premiership.

His introductory appearance against Fulham would have profited from better passing around him. After so long at Liverpool, Fowler must have felt like a senior academic who had wandered into the D stream.

At the back, Leeds looked as well-organised as usual, with Rio Ferdinand again outstanding and Danny Mills reiterating his versatility by switching from right back to centre back in place of the injured Dominic Matteo. Elsewhere, their football was ragged.

"We're a passing team but today we kept giving the ball away," O'Leary complained. "Fulham had a lot of possession but that was because we were giving it to them."

This was partly true although Jean Tigana's side were often at their most effective when Sylvain Legwinski and Steed Malbranque were mounting attacks from their own penalty area and consistently opening up the wings for Luis Boa Morte or Rufus Brevett.

For the home team a draw is often regarded as two points dropped but Fulham were entitled to take greater satisfaction from a result which extended their present unbeaten league run to six matches.

That they were unable to find sufficient inspiration near goal was due as much to the efficiency of the Premiership's most parsimonious defence as any shortcomings on the part of Tigana's strikers.

Had Gary Kelly not got back to clear a shot from Boa Morte, which had beaten Nigel Martyn, off the line on the quarter-hour, the match might have opened up sufficiently for Louis Saha and Barry Hayles to put added pressure on Ferdinand and Mills.

As it was, a couple of delightful turns by Saha had first Mills and later Ferdinand staring at thin air. Neither, however, actually led to a shot at goal.

After half-time, Fulham started to get more men forward.

After 69 minutes, Boa Morte's long free-kick from the right found Alain Goma leaping beyond the far post to head hard towards the top, near corner of the net and only Martyn's agility in palming the ball clear denied the match the goal for which it pined.

Such are football's awkward little ways that the probability of a scoreless match was evident from the moment someone revealed that Fulham and Leeds had never previously drawn 0-0 at Craven Cottage.

FULHAM: Van der Sar, Finnan, Brevett, Melville, Goma, Collins, Malbranque, Legwinski (Davis 78), Boa Morte, Saha, Hayles. Subs Not Used: Taylor, Clark, Ouaddou, Stolcers. Booked: Legwinski.

LEEDS UNITED: Martyn, Kelly, Harte, Ferdinand, Mills, Kewell (Dacourt 69), Johnson, Batty, Viduka, Smith, Fowler. Subs Not Used: Keane, Robinson, Wilcox, Duberry. Booked: Smith, Johnson.

Referee: G Poll (Tring)