The pound has hit a five-year low. Gordon Brown has admitted for the first time that the world is heading towards recession. Almost 20,000 people have lost their homes in the first half of this year. These are bleak times we are living in my friends, but luckily for the Mill there are a few things exempt from the current global financial meltdown; namely strikers who have managed to score a few goals in the first few games of the season, strikers who managed to score some goals last season, the ability of the words "David Beckham" to sell newspapers and designer hockey-mom suits for Vice Presidential candidates.
First up, strikers who have scored some goals this season. In particular, Mill regular Amr Zaki, scorer of 84 goals in his first 7 games for Wigan. It seems, like many people, Steve Bruce has been losing sleep after opting for an ill-advised loan and has only just realised his mistake. After not paying up front for Zaki in summer the worry for the Wigan manager is that he will be outbid for his "Egyptian goal-machine" during the transfer window. However, worry not Latics, Bruce has a plan; he has issued a hands off warning (that'll do the trick) and is attempting to push a permanent deal through as soon as humanly possible.
Another striker has been ripping it up of late is of course Peterborough's Craig Mackail-Smith. The 'it' he has been ripping up is admittedly League One, but that won't stop Tony Mowbray parting with £2m to bring him to West Brom if he gets his way.
Moving onto strikers that were good last season, Paul Ince is so sure that Roque Santa Cruz is staying at Blackburn that he has taken time out to mock Martin O'Neill for being unable to afford the £18m needed to make the striker his. Meanwhile, Vagner Love sees Tottenham or Manchester City as good options for his next club. A strange idea on the face of it, but then he currently lives in Moscow where he and his family have been threatened with kidnap, putting Tottenham's poor start to the season in perspective.
Also seeking a move, though perhaps not quite as desperately, is Ricardo Vaz Te who just wants a game and will happily go on loan anywhere to get one. Ricardo isn't alone, in tough times it seems it is often down to players to push through their own moves, and that is just what Carlos Villanueva is doing as he tries to force Blackburn to finalise his £5m move from Audax Italiano.
Away from all this transfer market shenanigans, it's bad news for the English national team. Yes, that's right, Manuel Almunia is again claiming he feels he has become an Englishman and will consider swapping his Spanish passport for a British one next summer, particularly if England still need a goalie. A scenario that is far more likely to come to pass than Harry Redknapp's attempts to poach David Beckham from under the noses of AC Milan. Stop laughing at the back, he's deadly serious, listen to this quote he gave the press yesterday: "I haven't made an inquiry yet, but it has crossed my mind." Sounds like a done deal to us.
And, finally, The Mill gets all 3am Girls and reports that Roberto Mancini was seen out and about in trendy London last night. Was it to attend Chelsea v Roma? Let's hope not for his sake. Or, more intriguingly, was it to talk about a possible role at Fulham? Suddenly the Chelsea game looks more appealing.
