As Manchester United celebrated reaching their second domestic cup final of the season, Tottenham Hotspur and Harry Kane were coming to terms with sinking to a new low.
Spurs travelled to St James' Park on Sunday afternoon with the intention of closing the gap on Newcastle United, the Reds and the top four. Instead, they left Tyneside further away from the coveted Champions League spots than ever before - certainly psychologically.
United have been guilty of capitulating on a few occasions this season, including during last Thursday's 3-0 defeat in Seville, but even they have not managed to find themselves 5-0 down after just 21 minutes. Spurs had no answer for the Newcastle onslaught that greeted them on Tyneside, meaning it was not long before their supporters were spending their Sunday afternoon swanning around the city centre instead.
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Despite sitting fifth in the Premier League table - a position that most clubs beneath them in the English football pyramid would only be too happy to occupy - Spurs are a broken club, suffering from bad decision after bad decision. Mismanagement from the very top has resulted in them going backwards at an alarming rate since Daniel Levy, too hastily, sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019.
Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte have all tried to put Spurs back on the right path, and Conte, following his appointment in November 2021, looked as though he would be the right man. Appointing a serial winner with incredibly high standards, from the outside looking in, looked as though it would be a wise move.
Instead, it ended with Conte hanging Levy, the players and the club out to dry in an astonishing post-match press conference following Spurs' 3-3 draw with Southampton last month.
Conte said: "The problem is we have shown we are not a team. We are 11 players. I see selfish players.
"I see players that don't want to help each other, don't play with heart. It is the same every season, no matter who the manager is. They're used to it here."
The Italian's last sentence summed it up. Spurs are a club that are content with targeting a top four finish every season and nothing more. They have not won a trophy since 2008 and whoever is in the dugout struggles to break that trend. It cannot be a coincidence, can it?
Cristian Stellini - Conte's former assistant - was handed the reins by Levy until the end of the season only last month and was sacked yesterday after just 29 days in charge. You have to ask the question: why was he even given the job in the first place when he had worked alongside Conte so closely? Only Levy will know the answer to that one.
Spurs are a sinking ship and it is United transfer target Harry Kane that you have to feel sorry for. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer and he has not got a single medal to show for it. A player of his talent deserves better.
If he doesn't escape Levy's clutches this summer, when yet another rebuild looks like being on the cards, he never will. His contract is up in June 2024 and he, if he has the slightest ambition of winning any silverware, must jump ship this summer.
Confirmation of Stellini's exit at 5:23pm yesterday afternoon proved that Spurs do not know if they are coming or going. They have no clear plan in place and that will surely put Kane off signing a new deal. United want him and he should want to join them.
The Reds, on the flip side, are a club moving in the right direction again, highlighted by Erik ten Hag leading them to a second cup final in less than two months on Sunday. The 7-6 penalty shootout win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley has set up an all-Manchester affair with City on June 3, meaning the club could end the season by winning two trophies and securing Champions League qualification for next term. That was unimaginable 12 months ago.
As things stand, Spurs are unlikely to be participating in Europe's premier club competition next season and are still no closer to ending their trophy drought. Levy's never-ending questionable decisions mean that Kane cannot possibly feel confident that he can achieve his ambitions by staying in north London.
A move to Manchester, on the flip side, and getting to work with Ten Hag, who has highlighted him as his primary target ahead of the summer transfer window, would give him that opportunity. United are a club moving in the right direction again after years of going backwards, whereas Spurs are stuck in reverse and have no idea of how to turn themselves around.
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