Tottenham’s Carabao Cup campaign came to an abrupt end as the Lilywhites suffered a 2-0 defeat to last year’s cup holders, Newcastle United, in the fourth round of the competition. The loss at St. James’ Park also marked the North London club’s first away defeat of the season under Thomas Frank. It is fair to say the players looked off the pace and were nowhere near the required level to compete with the Magpies.

Few expected Spurs to go toe-to-toe with Eddie Howe’s side when the draw was announced. Newcastle have maintained an impressive record at home against Tottenham, winning their last four meetings at St. James’ Park across all competitions. As a result, expectations were understandably low that Thomas Frank’s men could pull off a positive result in such a hostile environment.

Tottenham exited the Carabao Cup after a humbling defeat against Newcastle United.

Nevertheless, fans hoped to see some hunger and fight from the Lilywhites despite the difficult conditions. Instead, Spurs failed to show any real desire or intensity to produce an upset. Individual mistakes and a lack of basic application on the pitch proved costly, denying the North Londoners a chance to progress to the next round and ending their...