UR TV CAST

Colin Lee’s hopes of upstaging his former employers, Wolves, were dashed last night as one of the First Division title favourites overcome his latest team, neighbouring Walsall, to put behind them the misery of seeing West Bromwich Albion seize the Premiership place that seemed theirs for the taking. The Brazilian substitute, Herivelto, gave Walsall a glimpse of their first point before Shaun Newton put the outcome beyond doubt.Lee, sacked by Wolves 20 months ago, magnanimously backed them afterwards to achieve their goal next May, citing the depth of Jones’ squad as the main factor in their favour “I think they’ll do it this time,” he said “I can’t see anyone with a bigger, better squad. Their reserves would probably do well in this division.”With a mixture of admiration and envy, Lee added: “They think they’ve got a weakness up front so they send on Dean Sturridge. They’ve got Mark Kennedy to come, who’s one of my favourite players in this league, and someone called Paul Ince sat in the stand.”Jones, who again left out Ince because of his lack of match-fitness, said: “Two games, four points ­ we’ve got to be pleased. But we went sloppy after going 2-0 up and gave them hope.”Wolves’ enterprise was rewarded with an 11th-minute breakthrough. Walsall, who lost Matt Carbon to a shoulder injury in the opening minutes had just sent on Danny Hay when Denis Irwin’s throw-in found Shaun Newton unmarked by the six-yard area. Cameron, with his right foot, scuffed the winger’s cut-back past Jimmy Walker from eight yards.Alex Rae, perhaps mindful of the threat to his midfield place from Ince, was Wolves’ driving force, Walker tipping over his 25-yard drive with difficulty in the 15th minute, while Jones’ other former Manchester United newcomer, Irwin, set up a free header which Ivar Ingimarsson wasted.Wolves’ fans craved a second goal which duly arrived in the 54th minute after Newton’s pass was headed on by Kenny Miller.

As the ball landed on the edge of the 18-yard area, Walker came all the way in an attempt to avert the danger. Cameron got there first, nicking the ball past him before guiding it left-footed into an unguarded net.The tension seemed to have been eased, but Walsall’s neat, if largely punchless, football produced a riposte in the 68th minute. Slipshod defending let Gary Birch down the right and his pass across goal was turned in by Herivelto. Wolves lived uneasily until Newton, arriving at the far post after Sturridge jumped over Adam Proudlock’s cross, wrapped up the points.Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-4-2): Oakes; Irwin, Butler, Lescott, Naylor; Newton, Rae, Ingimarsson, Cameron; Miller (Sturridge, 76), Blake (Proudlock, 84) Substitutes not used: Pollet, Cooper, Murray (gk).

Walsall (4-4-2): Walker; Bazeley, Roper, Carbon (Hay, 10), Aranalde; Wright, Wrack, Corica, Matias (Martinez, 70); Birch, Leitao (Herivelto, 65). Substitutes not used: Gadsby, Ward (gk).Referee: M Jones (Chester).. Tales from the analyst’s couch and psychobabble have become common currency on Portuguese sports pages, thanks to Sporting Lisbon’s Brazilian striker Mario Jardel. Some contend Jardel’s condition is genuine, that he is suffering from the break-up of his marriage to the model Karen Ribeiro; cynics believe the scenario is an elaborate charade to pave the way for a transfer.These are not auspicious times for Sporting.

With their main source of goals in absentia, their brilliant young schemer Hugo Viana, now with Newcastle United and the veteran attacker Jo?Pinto serving a four-month ban for assaulting a World Cup referee, the odds of Sporting successfully defending their crown have lengthened and rivals Porto and Benfica will be aiming to take advantage.Eight long years have passed since Benfica last came top of the heap However, this could be their season. The coach, Jesualdo Ferreira, has a surfeit of young midfield talent in Tiago, Ednilson and Miguel. The Portuguese international defensive midfielder, Petit, has been signed from Boavista and the striker Nuno Gomes is back for a second spell following an unhappy time at the bankrupt Italian club Fiorentina.As in most European countries, the financial squeeze has ensured that the Turkish transfer market has proved as inactive as a Big Brother morning. The good old days when the leading Istanbul clubs, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas used to splash out on several big-name recruits each year have gone and, instead, monetary restraint has set up home in the boardroom, with the £2.6m Fenerbahce paid River Plate for the Argentinian midfielder Ariel Ortega easily being the largest outlay this summer.The Turkish title has not strayed out of Istanbul since Trabzonspor triumphed in 1984 and another provincial renaissance is not expected The smart money is on Galatasaray retaining their title. They have six of the Turkish squad which performed so well at the World Cup and the influential former coach Fatih Terim has returned to the helm after spells with Fiorentina and Milan.Even so, Galatasaray will not spend the forthcoming months in the comfort zone. A Besiktas side featuring the striker Ilhan Mansiz and new signings such as the Brazilian centre-back Zago (from Roma) and the Colombian goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba (from Boca Juniors) cannot be discounted, while Fenerbahce have been boosted by the arrival of Ortega and the announcement that the excellent goalkeeper Rustu Recber is staying on.Another three-horse race is likely in Belgium, where Anderlecht, Club Bruges and last season’s surprise champions, Genk, are a class apart. The emphasis at Genk will again be on attack where they can rely on the instincts of the Belgian international Wesley Sonck and his partner from Burkina Faso, Moumouni Dagano.