If Nacer Chadli fits the current Belgian trend then we're onto a good thing

White clouds gather and again the pendulum swings in the great Real-Bale back 'n forth.

Bored, I think is the correct word.

The question bugging Taxi For Maicon at the moment... "Is there any limit on the number of Belgian players one side can field?"

Our most recent arrival - Nacer Chadli, a £7million acquisition from Steve McLaren's Dutch former employers FC Twente - joins last year's signings Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele. 

Not to mention - although I'm just about to - that we were linked strongly with Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.

It would seem we are trying to buy up the whole team. But why Belgians? Well, in case you hadn't noticed, as a footballing nation they are pretty good of late.

They are leading World Cup qualification group A on 19 points, 3 ahead of Croatia and yet to lose a game. 

And it hasn't gone unnoticed. Most bookies have them as sixth favourite to win Brazil 2014 - that's better than England and level with 2010 finalists Holland.

So in buying Belgian, it looks like we're onto a good thing - although we're hardly ahead of the curve.

Belgium is rapidly becoming a go-to nation for Premier League scouts. Apart from our three Flemish imports, loads of Belgium's latest international squad play at our top clubs. Here is a rather useful list to paint a picture: 

Marouane Fellaini (Everton), Kevin Mirallas (Everton), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Kevin de Bruyne (Chelsea), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)

Working out whether or not Belgium are embarking on a path to football domination, however, is not why you're here. You want to know why we signed Chadli...

We first came across him during our 2010 Champions League run, when he played against us twice for FC Twente - and scored twice. 

The 23-year-old got Twente's only goal in a 4-1 drubbing at White Hart Lane, then scored an impressive free-kick in the return fixture, a 3-3 draw in Holland.

Not only can he play on either flank but he's a bona fide two-footer. Of his 23 Eredivisie goals in the last two seasons, he has bagged 11 with his right and 8 on his left.

Of course, the fact he has come from the Dutch league is always worth taking into consideration, such is the difference in standard.

His former Twente boss Co Adriaanse dubbed him "the new Bryan Ruiz" - in England, that's not a huge compliment (Ruiz is that Fulham striker who never scores any goals).

But there have been some genuine Eredivisie gems that have taken to the Premier League straightaway - Fellaini, Luis Suarez and Vertonghen, to name three.

Chadli seems to have all the hallmarks to succeed at Spurs. But with Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale and Lewis Holtby in our ranks, there is no reason to think the Belgian will be thrust into the starting eleven before he's good and ready.

And if we have to bow to Real's financial force and sell Bale NEXT YEAR, then with any luck we'll have a settled winger ready to step in and soften the blow.

A final taxi call for Spurs' Champions League fall guy

MANCHESTER CITY defender Maicon has completed a move to Italian club Roma to end his Premier League nightmare.

The attacking right-back has never really been the same since Gareth Bale tied him up in knots during our 3-1 Champions League win over Inter Milan.

Having adopted the unfortunate full-back for the title of this fanzine, it seems only fair that we now bid a fond farewell to a man who played such a key role in one of the greatest nights of Tottenham's recent history.

Just in case you have forgotten, let me refresh your memory...

It was a crisp, tense European Tuesday night in November 2010 at White Hart Lane. The visitors had just pulled a goal back to halve the deficit and the home faithful held its collective breath as a neap tide of attacks battered our weary, and all-too-often wobbly, defence.

From nowhere, a Younes Kaboul interception set Gareth Bale flying down the left wing. Three touches and a pinpoint cross for Roman Pavlyuchenko to tap home sent Paxton Road absolutely bonkers.

Spurs had breathing space - 3-1 up against reigning European champions Inter Milan. But where was Maicon - the so-called best right-back in the world - during all this? Nowhere to be seen, that's where.

He was left gasping for air and scraping dust off his teeth in the wake of Bale's devastating dart down the wing and the Spurs fans duly rubbed his nose in it by singing Taxi For Maicon for the umpteenth time and sealing the song's place as the soundtrack of the season.

**********

It completed a torrid few games for the Brazilian, he was also turned inside out in the second half at the San Siro. We lost 4-3, but the Welsh winger announced his arrival on the European scene and Maicon's fortunes began a steady descent. Did Gareth Bale really ruin his career?

Firstly, you have to ask whether Maicon was ever as good as all the press and pundits claimed.

After winning the Brazilian title with Cruzeiro in 2003, he secured a move to Monaco before arriving at Inter. He won four consecutive Serie A titles, plus the Champions League and a host of minor honours.

At international level he has 66 Brazil caps - no mean feat when you're competing with Barcelona's Dani Alves - and they've brought him two Copa America wins, and two Confederations Cups.

Then there's the personal feats: six appearances in different Team of the Year line-ups, a World Cup Man of the Match award and UEFA Club Defender of the Year award for 2009-10.

So, yes, it could easily be argued that he was at the very top of his profession. Yet, strangely, the trophies, the form, the accolades, all dried up at the same time.

Maicon's appearances for Inter plummeted during the 2010-11 season, making a total of just 38, compared to 51 the previous Champions League-winning year. The following season was even worse, playing just 28 games and notching a meagre four assists - the lowest in his six-year Inter spell.

He was dropped from the Brazil squad in 2011 and has not featured since, there are no individual awards post-2010 and in a disastrous stint in Manchester last year his presence graced the first team on just 13 occasions.

The reasons behind Maicon's mysterious downfall from benchmark to bench-sitter could of course be explained by niggling knee injuries, or even managerial instability - he had four different managers in his last two years with Inter.

But there's a nagging feeling that the trauma he experienced at the hands of Bale on November 2, 2010, may have damaged his confidence beyond repair.

In Rome - the home of once-mighty soldiers and fallen emperors - Maicon will be in good company. And, while we wish him all the best in rediscovering his form, we can't help but raise our collective voice for one last time... TAXI!

Spurs must wait to cash in on Bale, regardless of money

Real Madrid's expected cat-and-mouse pursuit of Gareth Bale has not materialised this summer but it has been mooted that any bid close to the rumoured £85million would be too good to refuse.

But where would that leave Tottenham? Flush with cash? Maybe. Moving forward, not so much.

The possibilities for a club earning a lump sum that size are dictated purely by circumstances and,  in Spurs' case, the timing of any transaction would be crucial.

Having finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League, we are not an attractive proposition for Europe's top players.

Signing the quality striker we need will be difficult anyway, without having to explain to them why we let our best player leave.

A well-publicised kitty of close to £100m would make matters even worse. 

Just look at Liverpool, who were forced to pay Newcastle £35m for Andy Carroll having scooped £50m from Chelsea for Fernando Torres. 

And now Napoli, who will have to pay well over the odds to prise target Gonzalo Higuain from Real now that everyone knows they have £55m from the sale of Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Reds had no choice but to cash in on Torres, so clear had he made his intention to leave.

Bale has expressed no such desire to leave North London - as yet. He wants Spurs back in the Champions League, he gets on with manager Andre Villas-Boas and he even spearheads the promotional campaign for the new kits.

Real regularly claim that spending huge sums on the world's best players pays for itself because of the money generated through sponsorship, shirt sales etc. So while we have one of these rare breeds in our ranks, it would be sensible to take advantage of his ever-rising stock - starting with the playing squad.

We may not be able to offer top European football but the pulling power of Brand Bale can counteract that to some degree. His stature in world football is growing rapidly and his presence has already helped to secure the signature of Brazilian midfielder Paulinho in a £17m deal.

One thing is for sure - if we do not make the top four next season Bale, the clamour for his signature will be unbearable. But, at 23, he is still going to be worth big money next summer and he is on a long-term contract, so the board need not rush into anything.

We can continue to rake it in from replica shirt sales and sponsorship deals, all the time increasing the profits from his £10m move from Southampton in 2007. And in the meantime, using his presence to bring in two more big names now would pay dividends if it propels us into the top four.

Whatever we spend in the next six weeks would easily be covered if and when Real make a bid next year and being able to offer - hopefully - Champions League football would increase the quality of the Welshman's replacements.

Selling Bale now, regardless of the size of the bid, would be counter-productive to the squad and the ambitions of the club, not to mention bad for business in the long run. Keeping him another year at least gives us the chance of cashing in when we are in a stronger position to move forward.

The game of cat and mouse is sure to intensify as the transfer deadline approaches but if we can keep hold of our asset then come next summer you never know, we may be more cat than mouse.

Is Paulinho waxing lyrical about Spurs or holding out for a bigger move?

Twitter has been awash with the news that Spurs have "landed" £17million target Paulinho.

There are pictures and quotes from a Monday press conference but the only aspect of the move that has been confirmed is that the Brazil international will indeed leave his club Corinthians.

Tottenham have refused to comment and the newspapers have steered well clear for now.

The switch may well be announced later this week, but, by making the details public, Paulinho and his agents are doing everything in their power to hold the door open for a bigger club to hijack the deal.

Tottenham will have wanted the move kept quiet as the transfer market is competitive enough when you can offer Champions League football, let alone when you cannot. 

And it is not in Corinthians' interest to publicise the bid - Spurs have already met Paulinho's release clause, so any further offers would also come in at £17m. 

So why did Paulinho reveal the news himself? Surely only to advertise his availability while the world's eyes were on the Confederations Cup.

And if it wasn't strange enough that our own target would risk jeopardising his move by leaking important information, the plot thickened further with the Corinthians announcement.

Whoever heard of a press conference purely to confirm that a player will be moving on while his destination is so far undecided? Paulinho is 24-years-old, his name can't be etched that far into club folklore. It's not as if he is Pele - or even Neymar, who recently joined Barcelona from Santos for £46m.

Paulinho said: "What I have to say to Corinthians is 'see you soon'. Pretty soon I'll be back, owing to everything you have done for me.

"The other interest we got was from Inter Milan - but the only offer came from Tottenham.

It all works as a somewhat desperate "come and get me" plea to anyone who is listening.

But why are we and Inter Milan the only clubs interested in the resilient midfielder?

Well, transfers involving South American players have a track record of problems. Look at the Carlos Tevez ownership complications, not to mention the trouble we had getting hold of Sandro and the problems we're still having with Leandro.

Brazilian and Argentinian stars tend to have third party contracts that involve a lot of red tape and a minefield of financial obstacles. Even Spurs' Paulinho bid is reported to be split 50-50 between Corinthians and an investment firm.

Then you have to look at the player. What if he doesn't settle in Europe? What if he doesn't suit English football.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Man City will all be watching this deal like hawks, happy for us to take the first step.

Then if Paulinho is a success, they will he all launch their bids next summer. So don't be surprised if the negotiations are held up over the player wanting a buy-out clause to facilitate an easy move in 2014.

If we do complete the transfer, then Paulinho will be a huge statement of intent. And placed alongside Sandro and Mousa Dembele in midfield he is one very exciting prospect for Spurs fans.

Who knows, after a season he could even decide his future lies at White Hart Lane.

But until then, with the player and his PR team doing everything possible to covertly advertise his services elsewhere, this is one deal that really does need tying up as quickly as possible.