(^54) DAILY MIRROR THURSDAY 05.03.2020
DM1ST
C A S I N O
18+. UK only.
TOON BACK
MISFIRING
JOELINTON
By DAVE ARMITAGE
VALENTINO LAZARO is backing
goal-shy striker Joelinton to win over
the doubters at Newcastle.
Toon’s record £40million signing
Joelinton (above) has not scored a
Premier League goal in more than six
months, his only one being in August.
Midfielder Lazaro, on loan from
Inter Milan, knows Joelinton from the
Bundesliga and said: “A striker is
judged by his goals, but you can see
how we play he is working so much.
“And he helps us in a lot of ways,
so we really need Joelinton up front.”
MOSS FINED
AFTER VAR
OUTBURST
BOURNEMOUTH goalkeeping coach
Neil Moss has been fined £1,150 by
the FA after admitting using foul
language during last month’s 3-0
Premier League defeat at Burnley.
Moss (above) accepted the FA’s
charge of improper conduct, having
been sent to the stands by referee
Mike Dean in the second half of the
Cherries’ hefty loss at Turf Moor.
Bournemouth saw two goals ruled
out by VAR, the second after Adam
Smith had handled inside his own
area in the build-up, with Burnley
scoring from the spot.
derby v manchester united
the Reign
of Wayne
can go on
& on & on
Carrick backs United
legend Rooney to
keep playing in
midfield role for
years & give his old
club trouble tonight
CRISIS-CLUB OLDhAM
ON BASSINI’S RADAR
Laurence Bassini is keen on buying
League Two Oldham – after failing with a
bid to take control of Bolton last year.
Bassini’s intended
takeover of Wanderers
was announced in april
2019, but collapsed the
following month.
Bolton claimed Bassini
(above), who in 2013 was
banned from any involvement in
football for three years because of
financial misconduct, had failed to provide
proof of funds by the club’s deadline.
Oldham, who face a HMrc winding-up
petition on March 18, could go into
administration tomorrow because of
debts owed to former owner simon Blitz.
By MATThEw Dunn
MICHAEL CARRICK
says Wayne Rooney
could thrive in his own
defensive midfield role
for years to come.
More importantly, he
warns his former club
Manchester United that
the Derby talisman has
the tools to hurt them
tonight, even from there.
Rooney lines up
against the team he used
to captain, looking to
improve on his record of
having lost every game he
has played against the
club he served for 15
years.
“It will be strange for
him, playing once more
against Manchester
United,” said Carrick. “But
I’m sure he’s relishing it at
the same time.
“He’s playing a bit
deeper, though. We
played together in the FA
Cup final in that position,
when we last won it in
2016 (both below).
“He was going down
that route, then he went
back up front again. He
can adapt. He has the
quality to adapt, whether
he plays as a striker or
midfielder.
“I am not surprised he
has gone to that stage
now and is doing well. It
is intelligence and what
comes naturally to him.
He is quality. Pure quality.
“It is nice just to see
him back, playing well.
He had a spell away in
America. In some
ways, you
wouldn’t expect
him to come
back and play
in England
again.
“That was
his retire-
ment plan,
going over there,
but it is nice to see
him back and
playing well.”
Those qualities
also mean
Carrick expects
there is plenty more to
come from what has
already been a long life in
high-level football.
“From the time when
he scored against Arsenal
for Everton – I mean, he
was a name before that
- but that was an
explosion on the scene,”
Carrick recalled.
“We’re talking about
young lads dealing with
pressures and press and
media. He almost didn’t
care about that and every
time something was
asked of him he stepped
up and embraced it and
grew even bigger.
“Just an incredible
talent, almost freakish in
the way he could deal
with things and his
mentality was incredible.
“Now I’d say he is likely
to go into coaching.
“He knows the game so
well, he’s intelligent on
the pitch and he’s gone on
to lead like he did in his
final years at United, as
one of the older ones with
me in the dressing room.
“So he definitely took
that role on.
“Therefore it wouldn’t
surprise me if he stayed in
the game for a long time.”
Rooney is only 34 with
several years on Carrick,
who realised his playing
days were over at 37.
“I can see why some
lads want to play on,
regardless of where it is,
but it just wasn’t for me,”
Carrick said.
“I had had enough of
playing by the end.
“My career was done
and I was happy with it. I
think it comes when you
know that you are not
quite at it and you cannot
quite do physically what
you think you should be
able to do.
“In my last season, I
played against Hudders-
field in the FA Cup and I
hadn’t played for a little
bit and realised I was half
a yard off here and there.
I knew that was me done.”