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.

Fanfare and fixtures

The same old certainties always arrive with the divisional diary: You play every team, you play them twice, club managers will claim they have a "tough start" and the national team boss will complain about not having enough time with the England squad.

For the last three years, Tottenham have been third at the turn of the year only to fall away and miss out narrowly on Champions League football, so it clearly makes no difference what order the games come in.

Significant points include an early north London derby, a Manchester double in November and a simple enough six-game run-in at the end of the season - although Arsenal have it equally simple.

Two of our first five games are newly promoted sides, plus Swansea and Norwich at home, so there is at least the opportunity to make a solid start.

Here is the fixture list in full...

Sat Aug 17 Crystal Palace A
Sat Aug 24 Swansea City H
Sat Aug 31 Arsenal A
Sat Sep 14 Norwich City H
Sat Sep 21 Cardiff City A
Sat Sep 28 Chelsea H
Sat Oct 5 West Ham United H
Sat Oct 19 Aston Villa A
Sat Oct 26 Hull City H
Sat Nov 2 Everton A
Sat Nov 9 Newcastle United H 
Sat Nov 23 Manchester City A
Sat Nov 30 Manchester United H
Wed Dec 4 Fulham A
Sat Dec 7 Sunderland A
Sat Dec 14 Liverpool H
Sat Dec 21 Southampton A
Thu Dec 26 West Bromwich Albion H
Sat Dec 28 Stoke City H
Wed Jan 1 Manchester United A
Sat Jan 11 Crystal Palace H
Sat Jan 18 Swansea City A
Wed Jan 29 Manchester City H
Sat Feb 1 Hull City A
Sat Feb 8 Everton H
Wed Feb 12 Newcastle United A
Sat Feb 22 Norwich City A
Sat Mar 1 Cardiff City H
Sat Mar 8 Chelsea A
Sat Mar 15 Arsenal H
Sat Mar 22 Southampton H
Sat Mar 29 Liverpool A
Sat Apr 5 Sunderland H
Sat Apr 12 West Bromwich Albion A
Sat Apr 19 Fulham H
Sat Apr 26 Stoke City A
Sat May 3 West Ham United A
Sun May 11 Aston Villa H

Does AVB owe it to Spurs to snub Paris Saint-Germain?

Rebuilding a damaged reputation was always part of the motive for Andre Villas-Boas' arrival at Tottenham. We all knew that.

What we did not realise was that Europe's juggernauts would be pounding on our door with a suitcase of cash and a pen calling for his signature after just one season. Especially when that season only just met expectations.

Oil-rich Paris Saint-German are looking for a replacement for their title-winning and seemingly Real-Madrid-bound coach Carlo Ancellotti and our man is top of their list.

Reports claim the Ligue 1 champs want him on a short-term contract until Arsene Wenger becomes available to serve out a footballing dotage in his home country.

But are Spurs within their rights to expect a level of loyalty from AVB? Of course we are, but it works both ways. 

This time last year, the acronym AVB raised a smirk throughout football, so great was the debacle of his eight-month Chelsea reign.

Fresh from winning the title and the Europa League with FC Porto, he arrived on our shores heralded as a footballing Sherlock Holmes - memorising dossier after dossier and scrutinising the game under a magnifying glass.

Within months Villas-Boas went from hot property to hot potato, wonderland to wilderness, Chelski to Hell-ski. Nobody wanted him. His record was tarnished, his card marked. Despite his youth, he was labelled as 'finished' - in this country at least.

So when he was linked with succeeding Harry Redknapp in the Spurs hotseat, it appeared the worst possible tonic for having our Champions League spot nabbed by AVB's resurgent former club.

The Blues had given us the blues and, worse still, their past failure was about to become our future. Nobody gave Villas-Boas a chance but stubborn chairman Daniel Levy saw it through. AVB became the Tottenham boss.

The Portuguese had a slow start but knuckled down. Consistency, then support, followed. As well as a 3-2 win at Old Trafford  - where we had not won since 1989. 

Even losing out on Champions League football, AVB was once again a credible name. 

And it was Levy and Spurs that gave Villas-Boas the platform to clear his name and to turn his career around.

At Spurs, he seems less distracted than with Chelsea, much more comfortable in his surroundings. Most Spurs fans now believe he has us on the right track and, given the right backing, he can help us progress as a football club.

And therein lies the other side of this coin - backing from the board.

It may not even have crossed AVB's mind to move on but it is now mid-June and the club has remained very quiet over both contracts and transfers. 

Why should he show us any loyalty if we are not going to support him in his vision for the club, especially with the possibility of a glamour stint in Paris.

Arsenal have announced their intention to spend, crowing about their increased financial clout now that years of investment and money-saving has come to fruition. 

And whilst talk may be cheap, AVB needs some signs from the chairman that
he will be allowed to do his job.

With PSG waiting in the wings, now is the time to show some direction. That could be deciding Gareth Bale's future, or making some changes to the squad in time for pre-season.

AVB is clearly some way towards restoring his reputation but it's now Spurs who must act to make sure we're not left picking up the pieces of our own. Levy's stubborn side clearly paid off at the start of AVB's reign -  hopefully it won't contribute to an early finish.

Players' desperation for Champions League football wrecks their chances of being remembered

Halls of fame at football clubs are accumulating mites and dustballs, so seldom are inductions in the modern day. Loyalty has been replaced by immediacy. Players, managers and clubs must succeed now and to hell with the big picture as everyone chases the dream.

None of this is news to us, of course, but it is a problem that will affect Tottenham more than any other Premier League club this summer, as the chasm between Champions League and Europa League qualification takes affect.

Top player after top player will brush aside our advances in favour of European Cup football unless the club can convince them that we are going places (and that they have to live on slightly less money).

With just Europa League football to offer prospective playing staff, our summer has started on the back foot.

We have already missed out on top target Joao Moutinho from FC Porto and we are failing to keep Gareth Bale off Real Madrid's radar.

The latest warning shot that our fifth-place finish could draw a big red line through our transfer shortlist comes from a long-term target, Internacional striker Leandro Damiao.

Damiao, 23, told the Sunday Mirror: "I would prefer to play in the Champions League but the most important thing is that they share the same ambition I have."

Not only does he almost compliment the club - by hinting that our drive to succeed might just live up to his own heady horizons - but he also leaves the door open for Europe's elite to beat us to his signature.

If Damiao really must chase the Champions League dream to the letter - and the day - then let's hope he joins Real Sociedad and they go out in the qualifiers.

But it's not just incoming players that display this impatient desperation.

Roberto Mancini was fired by Manchester City for coming second in the Premier League, Wayne Rooney wants out of Manchester United because he is not playing as often as he would like and Roberto Martinez has called time on his Wigan reign after being relegated to the Championship.

There is no doubt that agents play their part in convincing subjects to cash in while their stock is high but there are more and more glowing examples of the grass not always being greener.

Harry Redknapp refused to nail his colours to our mast when the England job came up, playing some part in his downfall as Spurs boss and he has now been relegated with QPR.

Mark Hughes left a burgeoning Blackburn Rovers setup for Manchester City - last week he was appointed Stoke boss having been fired by Fulham and almost been relegated with QPR.

Fernando Torres left Liverpool for Chelsea under a £50million price tag. His form dried up dramatically and, without the goals he provided at the Anfield club, Liverpool are not top-five - let alone top four.

Even Cesc Fabregas, who left Arsenal for Barcelona in August 2011, is already unhappy with his role in the squad.

All of the above left behind the opportunity to go down in their respective clubs' hall of fame. They gave up full stadia of fans singing their name and the chance to be remembered as an idol by forever loyal followers.

If there is anything the 2012-13 Premier League season has shown us, it's that the other side of the coin pays far greater dividends.

Manchester United legend Alex Ferguson retired at the top of the pile, Jamie Carragher had TWO farewell parties at a packed-out Anfield and even Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper was given a hero's send off, despite making only 157 appearances in 20 years at St James' Park.

Fabregas need only look to Frank Lampard, who has been told time after time that his Chelsea days are numbered only to knuckle down, break Bobby Tambling's all-time Blues scoring record and earn the contract talks he had been denied all season.

Eyeing the big prize can out work - Robin van Persie's title-winning move to Manchester United is testament to that. And nobody can deny the glamour of David Beckham's globe-trotting.

But even new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has exchanged a journeyman lifestyle of trophies and galacticos to go "somewhere he is loved", so perhaps those like Leandro should start taking that into account.

Do striker links hold water or are we just being taken for a ride?

FOOTBALL agents must have been busy yesterday as Tottenham fans woke to the news of moves for TWO out-and-out strikers.

That new TV money must have gone to everyone's head.

The links in question report a possible £10million bid for Spain's record goalscorer David Villa and a much-higher figure to bring in Porto's Jackson Martinez.

I'm afraid to say that I can't really get excited about it as it feels like we're being taken for a ride.

It seems like either lazy journalism, or a good news leak to distract from the fact that an announcement on Gareth Bale's contract is not yet forthcoming - or to make up for another early summer transfer disappointment.

Our prime transfer target - the world-class Joao Moutinho - has just signed for Monaco from FC Porto for the £21.5m we refused to match until the August 2012 transfer deadline had passed.

As far as the media goes, we have been linked to Villa a number of times before. 

With us wanting a striker and him struggling for first team football at Barcelona, freelance press desperate for some cash are always going to put two and two together to make a few quid from some easy column inches.

And, as far as Porto's Martinez goes, Andre Villas-Boas' former players are always going to crop up on the list of supposed targets - but if we didn't get Moutinho, we're hardly going to shell out even more this time around.

While we need an out-and-out striker - and an experienced player with a taste for winning would come in handy - Villa is a 31-year-old who has struggled for form since breaking his leg in December 2011.

The last few summers, Spurs have wanted players out the door before spending on new names. 

With Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor and Clint Dempsey already on the books, and a 25-man squad to bear in mind, it's difficult to see Daniel Levy splashing out just yet.

More believable is the line on Villa that says Levy is wrangling over a few million quid. Barca want £12m, we value him at £10m. Amazing considering the new broadcasting deal means that clubs are richer than ever before.

The team that finishes bottom of the Premier League next season stands to win the same amount in prize money as Manchester United did for winning the title this season.

Still, Arsenal will probably bid £11m and pip us to Villa before he comes off the bench to score the winner in the North London derby next term.

So you see why It's difficult to take all this news with anything other than a pinch of salt, and maybe a splash of vinegar - balsamic, if you've got access to some of that new TV money.

Eureka! UEFA save the Europa League but stamp all over Spurs' toes in the process

UEFA must be having a laugh at Tottenham's expense.

With our wounds still fresh from Arsenal nicking fourth spot last Sunday, Europe's footballing governors choose now to announce plans that will give the Europa League winner a Champions League spot.

It's all a bit annoying for Spurs as we embark on a third consecutive season of struggling to motivate our players to take part European football's thankless second tier.

The rule would come into place for the 2015-16 season, meaning that the first team to benefit would be lining up for European Cup football at the start of the 2016-17 season. By which time we will be firmly entrenched in Champions League tradition (*cough*).

On a positive note, the decision will save the stricken Europa League.

The promise of a Champions League spot for the winner - or possibly even for a losing finalist, if the winner has already qualified through the league - will transform the Europa League from a footballing backstreet dentist into a silver travelcard to the metropolis.

But why has this Eureka moment taken so long when it makes so much sense?

UEFA's second-tier competition has for years been sneered at by the big clubs ("Thursday nights, Channel 5" goes the chant). And this easy fix was always available but completely ignored - in favour of tarty new names and ineffective rebranding.

Managers of clubs involved have for years seen scant reward in the contest's gruelling 16-game format. They brave long-haul flights to Baltic states to play in cryogenic temperatures in front of hostile, sometimes racist crowds. 

All that, only to be accused of devaluing the competition when they field a weakened side to protect their league season.

And for what? The opportunity to come back and do it all again next season? No thanks. 

Can you see this year's winners Chelsea fighting tooth and nail to defend their title? No, not least because they will have to get themselves knocked out of the Champions League to get the chance.

But who is to say that dangling the Champions League carrot at the end of the painstakingly long Europa League stick will have such an immediate effect?

For a start, it is an admission of the Europa League's rightful place as a second-tier contest. Teams have for a long time been "relegated" from the top tier, but never promoted to it.

The chance of promotion alone gives the tournament a full identity, a much-needed purpose - to find a champion among underdogs and nearlyclubs and thrust them into the European elite - and, dare I say it, even a bit of romance.

Most importantly, it gives those involved the potential of progress, always top of the agenda for modern football clubs.

No longer will UEFA and supporters need to fight tooth and nail to convince viewers of the tournament's importance.

The hope, glamour, extra sponsorship and added clout injected by the possibility of a European Cup place will sell the advertising space all on its own.

And you can bet your left winger it will not be back on Channel 5.

Away from Europe, a positive knock-on effect should ripple down to domestic cup competitions. An indirect route into Europe's top table could even be what the FA Cup needs to be able to hold it's head up and look its proud history in the eye.

With UEFA also poised to change the law  that saw Chelsea nick our Champions League spot, the whole thing seems set up purely to rile Spurs fans.

All the talk is that the European Cup winner will be allocated a seperate spot, so as not to step on the toes of teams who qualify fairly over a full league season.

Nice one, so not only have we been forever falling foul of soon-to-be defunct laws but, if we ever get our own back on either of our rivals, then their backstreet dentist experience may not be so brutal.

Ever get the feeling you've heard it all before?

SPURS' biggest star is wanted by a host of European football giants.

Following a season of top-notch displays by the individual in question, media attention and crowd adulation, the money men have taken notice.

The manager is touting the importance of keeping our prize asset and the chairman is having his heels reinforced ready to dig them firmly into the tarmac on Tottenham High Road.

It's a familiar story.

We have all been here before.  Luka Modric went to Real Madrid for £30million in the final week of August 2012 and chairman Daniel Levy eked an extra few bob out of Manchester United in the deadline-day 2008 sale of Dimitar Berbatov for £32m - and we all knew it was only a matter of time until it was Gareth Bale under the spotlight.

If the Modric saga is anything to go by, then we might just keep Bale another season on a "wait and see" basis but when we fail to strengthen enough to match the player's ambitions next season, he will be off.

Is there really reason to feel renewed hope that, this time around, we might get it right?

All the sounds coming out of the gossip vents around White Hart Lane seem to indicate "yes".

Bale is "set" to sign a contract extension, manager Andre Villas-Boas has "identified" a big-name midfielder and a marquee striker to strengthen the squad, certain "names" will be sold to make way for improvements and owner Joe Lewis has agreed business must be "done early" in the window in order for the side to ready for the start of the season.

That would all be very encouraging to hear but is it just a smokescreen to keep us all quiet after yet more ultimately self-inflicted heartache? Many Spurs fans have been calling for these things for years, so why has it taken until now for the club themselves to realise?

It's not always that simple - obviously - but in the opening three games of the 2012-13 season we took only two points. We lost at Newcastle and drew at home with West Brom and Norwich. A run of four straight wins followed.

Players rarely arrive just ready to slot in. They need accommodation, language lessons, not to mention overcoming homesickness or just convincing/arguing with their families or other halves over the move -remember the furore over Hugo Lloris not getting first team football immediately after his arrival last summer?

A few more weeks to settle down - without the August departure of most of our midfield (Modric and Rafa van der Vaart) - might have yielded those two vital extra points to put us in fourth place.

Surely we learned the perils of a bad start after losing Berbatov, when an impressive pre-season campaign spiralled into an infamous - and, thanks to former boss Harry Redknapp's penchant for repetition, unforgettable - two points from eight games.

To Villas-Boas' credit, he seems to have the players, the press and the board on his side - all key ingredients for a successful summer.

But until we arrive at next term with a squad ready to give it their all from the word go, then the fear will remain that all these encouraging signs are just to drive up the season ticket renewals until we rush out deadline day with a chequebook flush with the funds of a freshly sold Gareth Bale.