The Mill is no stranger to a strop. Many moons ago Guardian Towers and, more specifically, the Mill’s desk, suffered something of an infestation of dirty mugs. Each day The Mill would arrive at the office to discover its workspace festooned with half-drunk coffee and hot-chocolate-stained paper cups. At one point The Mill had to carry 18 – 18! – receptacles to the kitchen. Eventually there was a strop. The Mill sent a very sternly worded email (which, thankfully, has never found its way on to Passive Aggressive Notes).
So we’re familiar with the rising anger that grips you and refuses to let go, inching its way into your extremities, fuddling your mind with rage, competing with your every thought until you just can’t take it any more and you have to send a sternly worded email with MUGS! in the subject line. Samir Nasri, as far as we know, has not sent a sternly worded email to anyone at Manchester City but he has, according to today’s tabloids, thrown something of a wobbly at the Etihad after being left out of the squad to face Leicester City last month.
So he’ll be off in the summer. In a cunning use-a-thief-to-catch-a-thief scheme, City are planning to use the France midfielder to bag themselves another France midfielder. They want Paul Pogba from Juventus and they’ll offer Nasri in part-exchange, along with Edin Dzeko if the Turin giants will take him. (Juve are in the market for a striker in the summer but quite fancy a bit of Robin van Persie.
Liverpool have begun planning for their post-Sterling years. If young Raheem does do one in the summer Brendan Rodgers wants to fill the void with the Barcelona forward Pedro, who is sick and tired of being the fourth wheel in Barça’s attacking triumvirate and fancies a move. He’ll demand £90,000 a week.
It’s tug-of-war time over Leeds’s £7m-rated starlet Alex Mowatt. Liverpool and Everton have grabbed a leg each, West Ham have got his arms and Hull are wandering around nervously looking for somewhere to put their hands. Leeds claim he’s not for sale but can’t seem to go a week without some new crisis enveloping the club so who knows.
In the final chunk of Liverpool-related tittle-tattle, the Reds want the Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patrício to provide competition for Simon Mignolet.
And West Ham have narrowed down their manager search to two names: it’s David Moyes v Rafa Benítez for the Hammers hot seat.
