Arrival of foreign legion may tip the balance for Spurs

There was a time when Michel Platini made you sigh with a smile. That was when Platini was patrolling midfields for Juventus and France in the mid-1980s. What a player.

Now, though, Platini just makes you sigh. This is the man running European football, who yesterday morning decreed that Gareth Bale’s €100 million transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid equated to “robbery”.

Platini sounded as if it had just come to his attention that transfer fees were really getting quite high and that some characters were making a bit out of them in commission. What an administrator.

Something must be done. That was the gist of Platini’s response. The transfer window may be moved, he suggested, without sounding wholly convincing that he could be convincing in persuading acceptance of such a change.

That less is more – less time, more pressure hence more cash – seems not to have struck those who designed the transfer window system. But the Bale fee has hit them now.

Unsurprisingly, Platini, a man who thinks Qatar is a suitable place to stage a World Cup, defended Real Madrid’s right to pay €100 million. That Real are exposing the flimsiness of alleged Financial Fair Play is not the issue.

It’s Tottenham Hotspur. What Platini and others do not like is Tottenham demanding €100 million. This is the larcenous part.

Arsene Wenger phrased it differently. Prior to tomorrow's north London derby, Wenger said of Madrid and Bale: "They (Real) are very generous.

The quality
"I don't think that prices are linked with the quality of the players at all. This summer especially. The prices today are just linked with the financial power and the desire of the buyer."

Wenger, possibly with his tongue probing his cheek, then questioned Tottenham’s ambition.

But then the man who sold Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and so on is well-placed to speak on this topic.

Wenger also felt that Spurs might unbalance their team and squad by selling Bale – scorer of 21 Premier League goals last season, roughly 30 per cent of Spurs’ total – and replacing him with six major signings so far and maybe one to follow.

This, too, verged on irony for many Arsenal fans.

Drawn in a Champions League group against Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille, Wenger has just re-signed Mathieu Flamini and is talking up the merits of the returned Niklas Bendtner. His last league goal for Arsenal was in December – 2010.

Roberto Soldado, meanwhile, scored last week for Tottenham and the week before. Soldado cost £26 million, which is not a snip. Paulinho, £17 million Etienne Capoue, £8.5 million, Vlad Chiriches, £8.5 million and Nacer Chadli, £6 million, have joined the Spanish striker at White Hart Lane.

Erik Lamela, at £30 million, came yesterday and Christian Eriksen, £14 million has passed his medical and is expected to join as well. In all Tottenham will have spent around £110 million this summer. All on foreign players.

Obviously they will get that £86 million of that back for Bale, but Spurs have also taken £8m from Swansea for Steven Caulker, £5 million from Hull for Tom Huddlestone and £2 million from Fulham for Scott Parker. That's £101m. All British players.

Window closes
If on Monday night when this window closes, Spurs have signed seven new players of exciting quality and lost Bale, plus some fringe players – Parker and Huddlestone started 26 league games between them last season – for a net spend of £9 million, then Arsenal fans will be wincing.

They will not care that Spurs appear to be losing Englishness. They embraced foreign players long ago but now feel they are outside the window looking in, often at Spurs chairman Daniel Levy concluding deals.

Yet Wenger has a point. After two Premier League games, Tottenham fans are cooing over Capoue in particular, but while they have won those opening two games of the season, it’s been1-0 each time, a penalty each time, against Crystal Palace and Swansea.

This is not electric form and is a reminder to those of us who have been prematurely stimulated by Spurs in the past few seasons. At times their football under Harry Redknapp had a beguiling dash. Go back just 18 months and Spurs went to Arsenal buoyant and were 2-0 ahead and seemingly set to confirm predictions that there had been a shift in power in north London. Then Arsenal scored five.

Even last season, with Van Persie sold, Arsenal still finished above Spurs. Under Wenger in fact, Arsenal have never finished below their rivals. Gerry Francis was the last Tottenham manager to enjoy that experience.

So there is a reason as to why Arsenal remain favourites tomorrow: modern history.

But on paper Tottenham have won one major battle this summer – in the market – and usually that leads to superiority on the pitch. Platini might not like that, though it does not bother him when Real Madrid behave this way.

So Tottenham cannot be accused of robbery, they have done nothing but operate within the system Uefa & co. designed. Michel, people in glass houses . . . etc etc