Won't someone think of the fans
Spare a thought or 5,000 for the Tottenham fans who travelled three-quarters of the length of country to be 'rewarded' for their time and money with a display like that from their team.
Beauty and the Beast spoke of a tale as old as time and for Spurs their FA Cup story in recent years has brought plenty of beast and very little beauty for the long-suffering fans to latch on to.
Young supporters would think you were recounting a fairy-tale if you told them that in 1991 Spurs not only won the grand old competition but became the first club to do so eight times. That's because that's where the fairy-tale came to an abrupt end.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Sheffield United: Richarlison, Sanchez and Lucas struggle in FA Cup
For like the Beast's castle, Tottenham's FA Cup hopes are covered in 32 years' worth of moss, dust and cobwebs. In the three decades since Gary Mabbutt lifted that trophy at Wembley, the north London side have not reached the final once.
The recent era has brought a predictable monotony to Spurs' embarrassments in the competition, mostly coming in the fifth round.
They have exited in that round in the past four years and the fourth round the year before that and always come up short against teams they would be expected, on paper, to overcome.
There have now been successive defeats to Championship sides in Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, conceding five goals at Everton, and before that a penalty shoot-out loss to Norwich, who were relegated that season, with a comprehensive 2-0 defeat coming at Crystal Palace the year before.
2017 and 2018 brought back to back semi-final defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea at a time when Mauricio Pochettino made it clear that he did not believe an FA Cup win would change the club as much as progress in the Premier League or the Champions League would.
That's not an opinion shared by the fans who are starved of silverware and had a recent FA Cup history marked mostly by Tottenham exits before the quarter-finals.
Even that record of having won the competition eight times has long since been surpassed, with their north London rivals Arsenal having claimed it 14 times now.
After a cup exit, there's always an autopsy to be had and blame to be thrown everywhere, but it's difficult to see past the players on this occasion.
It's understandable that the supporters would expect a full-strength line-up, especially in a competition the club had a far better chance of winning than any other due to the number of clubs that had fallen by the wayside.
This match at Bramall Lane could rightly be seen as the biggest game of the season so far, if you value silverware over the finances of the Champions League as many supporters of clubs do.
To then see Sheffield United draw another Championship side in Blackburn at home in the quarter-finals only confirmed that the footballing gods were laughing at this latest pitiful Spurs exit.
It's worth noting that Tottenham lost at Middlesbrough last season with a full-strength side. It's a mentality thing rather than the players chosen and that was shown by the inability of the key players to make any impact on Wednesday even when they did come off the bench.
Non-league Wrexham gave Sheffield United far more problems across two matches than Spurs - four divisions above them - managed all night.
On top of that, Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom had to make eight changes after a sickness bug swept through his side. Then in the hours before the game, he received confirmation of a touchline ban for his sending-off against Middlesbrough last month, meaning he had to watch this cup game from the stands.
Even without all of the Blades' problems, Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini would have thought that Brazil's main striker at the World Cup, last year's Premier League Golden Boot winner and a man who scored a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-final might have enough about them to at least threaten the Championship side's goal.
They would have also expected a Champions League, Serie A and Bundesliga winner on one flank and a £40m January signing on the other to provide some service to those attackers against their lower league opponents.
Yet what they and the noisy travelling support were served up by a team of experienced internationals was nothing short of embarrassing and the coach trip all the way back to Hotspur Way would surely have been a silent one as the reality of what the players had produced truly sunk in.
The stats will show that Spurs had 17 shots at goal with four on target but the Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was not really called upon to make a single save of any note.
football.london asked Stellini, who lost his 100% record at the helm, whether he was disappointed in his players after claiming before the game that he and Conte would pick the team that was the right one to do the job.
"I think the team we chose to play the game was fine. We used a good team to play this game against this type of opponent. The problem was the energy," he said. "When the energy is not at the same level as your opponent sometimes you an lose. We had the opportunity to score but we never found the target.
"Every time we shot out of the target. If we want to score we have to find the target. This was the problem for the me. The problem was the energy we have to use in this type of game."
When football.london pressed further on why there would be a lack of energy in team with six pairs of fresh legs, Stellini added: "I'm disappointed for that because our players are fitting in well. We used different player but our players have to show on the pitch the reality.
"The reality has to be different if we want to win. We cannot use the same team every game. We need to give responsibility to everyone. Today I'm disappointed not for the effort, not for the players we choose but for the energy. We need to stay at the same level to be consistent."
Yet once again it was another example of Tottenham changing their team and the incoming players making it seem as if they are not good enough to come into the side. It's not about quality, it's about mentality and a hunger to win and that's where Spurs consistently fall short.
Richarlison and the non-existent attack
Nowhere was the inability to perform more glaring than in Tottenham's limp attack at Bramall Lane.
When asked if he was quietly pleased that Harry Kane did not start, Blades boss Heckingbottom responded: "Yeah, until you realise how many goals Richarlison scored in the World Cup and for Brazil! I thought Kane would start, but if Harry would have started, if we put in the same performance, he would have been feeding off scraps."
The hosts' defence were well-organised and compact, but for three players of such quality up front to struggle in the final third and two wing-backs to fail to offer much service to them was all too clear. Ivan Perisic slung in 11 crosses on the night and only one found a Spurs player. Pedro Porro put in three and not one found a Tottenham head.
It was also about movement in and around the box as Richarlison's woes continue in a Tottenham shirt.
The £60m man should be providing far more quality for his current employers than he currently is. You cannot question his battling tendencies but you don't pay £60m for someone to aggressively run around a bit.
The ability is there and it was on full display in an eye-catching World Cup for Brazil, while Everton fans would have him back in a heartbeat, but there's no getting away from the fact that with just under three months left of the season, one of the most expensive signings in Tottenham's history has nowhere near justified his price tag yet.
That seems to be a disturbing theme with Spurs' biggest transfers, as evidenced by Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso. All transfers should be researched thoroughly but when so much money is concerned it's a must.
It's still early days for Richarlison though and his years spent in the Premier League already mean his adaptation to Tottenham should be quicker than those of his equally expensive team-mates who are currently out on loan at Napoli and Villarreal respectively.
What was strange was that with his third start in a row the Brazilian should have been looking sharper with every passing game. In reality, he looked at times like he hadn't hit a shot at goal in months.
In the first half Davinson Sanchez played Richarlison through with only Foderingham to beat and he lifted his effort over the bar. The effort that summed up his night though came after one run inside as he sliced his strike closer to the corner flag than the goal.
Richarlison had three shots and not a single one flew on target. He was dispossessed three times and had one unsuccessful touch. Only Perisic (57.6%) had a lower pass success rate than the Brazilian's 61.9% and the striker won just one aerial duel.
The whole point of signing Richarlison was to really strengthen Tottenham's attacking options and give Conte the ability to change things up. On this display - allied to the fact that he has still only scored in one game all season - he's a long way from proving that hypothesis.
Those around him were little better. Son Heung-min's difficult season continued with another performance in which he was all too easy to contain for the Championship side's defence.
The South Korean managed to get only one of his five efforts on target and he was wasteful in possession, with four unsuccessful touches - more than anyone else in a Spurs shirt and he lost the ball three times - the joint most with Richarlison on the pitch.
Son did try to make things happen, with three dribbles, but it was another game in which there was little end product to his game, a contrast from the last round when his quality was the difference at Preston.
When speaking about end product it's natural to turn to Lucas Moura. Other than those handful of big nights for the club, the 30-year-old Brazilian has often been a chief culprit in flattering to deceive on the pitch and his numbers and lack of assists over the years show that.
This was another such performance. There was plenty of hustle and bustle on his first start since November and Lucas attempted to drop deep and fill many of the pockets of space that Kane would take up. However, without possessing the passing ability of the England captain, Lucas turned to what he knows best.
That's dribbling head down at pace and it mostly produces the same result every time, taking him past one or two challenges in a thrilling manner before he runs into a third opponent. The closest he came to making something happen was what appeared to be a sliced cross that struck the crossbar.
Lucas went on four dribbles, had three unsuccessful touches and sent both of his two shots off target. He did however contribute three key passes, bettered by only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's four.
"We need Lucas like all the players. We thought this was the right moment to use Lucas from the start. His effort was good," said Stellini. "The effort from our team every time is good and we can't be disappointed about this. It's about the energy and the mentality and how we are focused on the win during the game."
It's difficult to know what was more confusing. Stellini claiming that the effort of the players was good but not they energy they showed, or signing Arnaut Danjuma in January with an option to buy only to then select a player over who him who hasn't started since November and appears to be playing out his final months at the club.
Danjuma scored six goals in the Champions League last season but was not seen as the right man to add to his debut goal at Preston in the previous round.
It may have been a balance thing with Lucas more adept to playing on the right, but Son and Richarlison are more than capable of playing on that side if required. Also, if anyone knows about scoring against Championship sides it's Danjuma, who netted 17 of them in one season for Bournemouth before his move to Spain.
Then there is Harry Kane. Stellini explained afterwards that a recent throat problem has left the coaches managing his workload to leave him able to play in the Premier League and he felt that with the quality available in Spurs' attacking options it was the right night to continue to manage that workload.
"It is not a regret. We need to look in the medium period, we have many games," said the Spurs assistant boss. "Harry Kane played in the last six games, one time with fever, one time with a [throat] problem.
"We have to take care of our best player. It’s not about Harry because we played with Richarlison, Lucas Moura and Sonny. I think it is good enough to play in this competition and against this sort of team."
He added on Kane: "He was ill one week ago [with the throat problem] and he didn’t train on some days because he was very ill. After he played a game with a fever he was very ill, so he didn’t [train]. For that reason we decided to keep him on the bench and maybe play a part of the match. A player like this also needs to work not only to play."
Ironically Kane did miss a big chance in the final seconds, heading wide from a ball into the box, but it's difficult to argue against the fact that had he played Spurs could well be looking ahead to a home tie against Blackburn.
The most pressing concern for Stellini and Conte will be with that without Kane, Spurs lack creativity and with the players available they should be squeezing far more out of them than they currently are.
The curious case of Davinson Sanchez and his calamities
Davinson Sanchez is a strange defender. For much of a match he can appear more than capable, able to repel what the opposition throw at him in the air and on the deck.
However, at least once a game, sometimes more, the 26-year-old will produce a moment so calamitous that it looks like ot came out of a slapstick comedy.
Early in the game he had one such moment, scrambling all over the place like he was running on ice and in the second half he fell over like his shoes were tied together, without any pressure on him, which presented the hosts with the ball for a break.
It is this inability to hold his focus for the full 90-plus minutes that prevents the Colombian from getting anywhere near realising the potential that had Mauricio Pochettino once stating that he could become one of the best defenders in the world if he continued his development.
Instead Sanchez's first season at the club following his then club record move from Ajax remains his best, as he starred in the Champions League and adapted well to the Premier League.
There have been glimpses since of his quality when he gets a little run of games but he is another who has suffered through Conte's unease at rotating and the subsequent rustiness of players coming in. The calamitous mistakes on nights like this hardly help the centre-back's cause.
For United's goal as Iliman Ndiaye danced past a string of half-hearted challenges from Spurs players, Sanchez offered up a limp leg that the Blades substitute easily jinked around.
Sanchez's deal at Spurs comes to an end in 15 months time and it's hard to see him remaining beyond this summer.
He has started just six Premier League matches this season and it's difficult to see where he fits into a Conte back three, with neither the attacking thrust to play on either side nor the passing range to perform in the centre, although his ball to Richarlison in the first half was a perfect one.
Sanchez has been open to leaving Tottenham in previous transfer windows and with the club targeting two new centre-backs this summer it seems like the right time to part ways after six years together with the Colombian needing regular football and the club needing changes.
Spurs were not unduly troubled on Wednesday night on the whole but in the end just that one moment mattered as Ndiaye danced through with 11 minutes left and the encounter seemingly heading towards extra-time.
It was a defensive horror show of a moment from various players as Porro was weakly brushed off the ball, Hojbjerg watched with his hands in the air trying not to bring Ndiaye down, Sanchez barely offered a tackle and then Eric Dier rushed over to cover, only to turn his back on the shot which wrong-footed Fraser Forster, who could only get a toe to it as it rolled in.
Dier will miss the Champions League tie against AC Milan next week through suspension and Clement Lenglet would seem poised to take his place after Sanchez's uneven showing in Sheffield.
This defeat hinged more on the inability of the attack to create much of note but the fact that the defence crumbled on the one occasion it was truly tested only goes to show that it needs to be - and is expected to be - an area of change this summer.
Making amends
It is the Tottenham Hotspur way. Good, bad, good, bad - a club so inconsistent that it never has any real idea of what direction it's travelling in.
Spurs have won four of their past five Premier League matches and the past month has brought a manager of the month nomination for the mostly remote working Antonio Conte and his staff, a player of the month nomination for Emerson Royal and a goal of the month nomination for Oliver Skipp.
Yet Tottenham were as dreadful at Leicester City as they were toothless as they slumped out of the FA Cup in South Yorkshire on Wednesday night.
"I think we missed a big opportunity and we have to apologise to the fans," said Stellini. "Today there were 5,000 of them here to watch our performance and we apologise because we missed a big opportunity."
The answer the assistant Spurs boss gave about whether his team can refocus for Saturday's trip to Wolves said everything about that.
"When you have a different performance. The last two or three performances were really high intensity but when you have this type of performance I hope it will be easy to explain to the players what we need to do," he said.
"Normally our team react after a game like this. It's not the first time it happened and we have to react immediately. Saturday we have an important game and Wednesday another one and we continue."
The key words there were "it's not the first time it happened" and that's certainly the case for Spurs. How many times in recent years have a changed up team been unable to raise themselves again after a big win? Too many.
That's what made back to back derby wins against West Ham and Chelsea so surprising, although the clear week in between the two games was perhaps the key factor. Give Tottenham only a couple of days to prepare and that's where problems seem to lie.
Stellini did not believe it was an issue with motivation against their Championship hosts.
"It's not about motivation. I don't think it's about motivation. It's about maybe if you don't play consistently, maybe sometimes you try to manage the energy to arrive at the end of the game or you drop the energy from the start because you think the game is easy," said the Italian. "Our games are never easy. We need to be more consistent, this is about mentality."
Spurs now have a trip to Southampton in just over a week's time in a game that neither side would have expected.
The odds would have been on at least one of them getting past Sheffield United and Grimsby but neither were able to and now that Premier League clash remains as scheduled rather than postponed with either taking their place in the FA Cup fifth round matches that weekend.
Conte's return for the match at Wolves is yet to be confirmed and when he does arrive back in the UK, his return now comes without the awkwardness of Stellini's winning run in charge, after that loss in Sheffield brought that to a close, although everyone would rather Conte was returning to a team still in the FA Cup.
Stellini is set to take Friday's press conference ahead of the match at Molineux and he has previously stated that he thinks his compatriot will be back for the game against Julen Lopetegui's side.
Emerson is expected to be fit for the game, having picked up a knock in his knee and been absent from Stellini's now infamous injury updates that will often fail to mention someone.
In the Brazilian's absence on Wednesday, Porro showed he is still adapting to the Tottenham way and the English game. His defending for the winning goal was weak but going forward he showed promising moments, including a sublime cross-field ball to Son and a great run that Hojbjerg spotted, resulting in a curling effort on the turn over the bar.
Oliver Skipp will likely return to the starting line-up alongside Hojbjerg. Pape Matar Sarr was bright at times on Wednesday night but was unable to recycle the ball quickly enough to get the attack moving and that's something Skipp did bring when he entered the fray.
Sarr is still learning his trade in the English game and has given a couple of enlightening interviews in the past week that show his adaptation should continue to be swift if his maturity is anything to go by.
The 20-year-old put in the work before he'd even arrived at Spurs from Metz, repeatedly studying training footage of the team sent to him by the coaches at the north London club while he was on loan back in France, all of which was a mature call he made to prepare himself for what to expect.
It is part of the attitude that impressed Conte, including his early return from World Cup action to work closely with the Italian and his coaches.
"Now I’m here and wearing the shirt right now, it’s a real source of motivation for me, and it allows me to work hard in training every day. It’s a great team we have and being totally honest with you, it’s a real pleasure for me to be here," he said.
"As soon as I’d signed for the club I then stayed on at Metz, but I made sure I followed Tottenham’s progress very closely. I even observed the training sessions, I had a look at the city a bit also, the supporters after the matches, the players and how they did things, so I was already preparing myself for what was ahead of me here.
"I really like the city and the fans – they’re great with me. The set-up, facilities and all the staff here are really welcoming and I’m so happy to be here."
He added: "I believe that I’ve made good progress in every aspect, because training is really good here and the coaching staff have also worked particularly closely with me. They put together a training programme for me and supported me as I did quite a bit of work in the gym, something I hadn’t done too much of when I was in France.
"I’ve come on a lot also in the tactical side of my game and so, yes, all this has been of great benefit to me. Spending my first six months here without playing was honestly very tough for me, but with the help of my family and friends and the backroom staff and my team-mates as well, I managed to get through that period.
"I never let up for a minute and I always believed in myself. I kept telling myself all the time that I was working well in training, even if I wasn’t getting a game, and that one day it would all pay dividends for me. And yes, I’ve started to play and I’m making the most of my opportunity. I'm happy and I’ll continue to work and train hard."
Skipp's experience and form has him back ahead of Sarr in the pecking order but with the tactical intelligence of both players, the centre of midfield is - injury allowing - not an area of concern at the moment for the returning Conte despite the long-term absences there.
The problems lie more in chance creation and lifting that burden off Kane. Conte should return refreshed and ready for the run-in and working with the likes of Kulusevski, Son and Richarlison in particular to get them firing again is going to be key to what happens next as well as involving Danjuma somehow and Lucas.
Spurs sit fourth with a four-point gap over Newcastle, who have two games in hand but travel to Manchester City this weekend. Then there is the looming threat of Liverpool, who now lie six points behind Tottenham with a game in hand after their midweek win against Wolves.
Jurgen Klopp's men welcome Manchester United in a crunch game this weekend within the top six which has plenty of permutations for Tottenham. If Liverpool lose then Spurs maintain their gap over them and could increase it with a win at Wolves.
If United lose then suddenly a Spurs win would bring them to within a point of Erik ten Hag's much-lauded side which says everything about how strange this season has been for the north London outfit. A draw would help Tottenham in both respects but as always it all means very little if Conte's men cannot raise themselves for the challenge at Molineux.
Games at Wolves are often complicated affairs for Spurs. They have lost only three of their past 14 meetings with the West Midlands side but they will face plenty of time without the ball, particularly in the midfield.
Tottenham's counter-attack will have to be back on form and the lack of time between games may be a blessing as they seek to swiftly make amends for their woeful FA Cup exit.
There is still plenty to play for even if the odds now suggest that another trophy-less season lies ahead for Tottenham Hotspur, Antonio Conte, Harry Kane and the owners.
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