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Tottenham Hotspur fell to another demoralising defeat on Sunday, as they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Crystal Palace.
The result came hot on the heels of a terribly disappointing penalty shoot-out defeat to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final, leaving Spurs facing another trophy-less season, unless they can somehow win either the Champions League or the Premier League.
On the chalkboard
Spurs rotated their XI against the Eagles on Sunday, but they had one constant at right-back.
Kieran Trippier was regarded as one of the best right-backs in the league after the 2018 World Cup when he played a key role in England reaching the semi-finals.
However, he has endured a difficult fall back to reality since returning to club duty and turned in his worst performance of the season on Sunday.
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Trippier had a major chance to kick-start a comeback, as Spurs were given a penalty on the stroke of half-time. The right-back, with Harry Kane injured, stepped up and fired an effort well wide of the post.
Per WhoScored, Trippier had the joint-lowest rating of the Spurs players, along with Jan Vertonghen.
For a player so highly-regarded in relation to his crosses, Trippier took seven corners, with a success rate of 29 per cent. He also had a minimal pass completion rate of 78 per cent, while he was wasteful in the final third, having three shots, with two off target and one blocked.
Simply not good enough
Trippier is simply not up to the required standard for Tottenham anymore.
Around two seasons ago, Spurs were regarded as having the best full-backs in England, particularly when Kyle Walker was still with the club and Danny Rose was capable of playing 90 minutes week in week out.
Trippier, though, has actively regressed since the World Cup; his crossing ability is not as good as it is often heralded as, and he struggles with the fundamentals of defending.
Serge Aurier, though, is not an effective back-up and herein lies the challenge for manager Mauricio Pochettino.
His two full-backs no longer inspire fear in Tottenham’s opponents and are instead regarded as weaknesses, with good reason.
Kyle Walker-Peters, the 21-year-old reserve, conceded a penalty against Palace with a blatant handball, but he is surely worth a shot for the Argentine – he can hardly do much worse than Trippier.