FA Cup fourth round talking points: Misery for Spurs, Hudson-Odoi makes his point, unhappy Hammers and trouble at Millwall

What a terrible four days for Tottenham.

Having lost in the Carabao Cup semi-final on penalties to bitter rivals Chelsea on Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino’s side made it back-to-back cup exits yesterday at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace stepped up yet again against a Big Six side.

The Eagles can add Spurs to their pile of scalps, which also includes Manchester City away and draws with Arsenal and Manchester United after a 2-0 win.

With Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha on form – and Conor Wickham back and scoring on his first start in 792 days – Roy Hodgson’s side are surely better than their 14th place in the Premier League suggests.

Kieran Trippier’s missed penalty added an extra piece of hurt for Spurs, whose Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund next month now has even more significance, with nine points separating them from league leaders Liverpool.

Now two chances of silverware have gone they’ll have to hope Harry Kane and Dele Alli’s absences don’t derail their hopes of turning a good season into a trophy-winning one.

Hudson-Odoi times his goal well with Bayern move near

It’s fair to say Chelsea don’t have the best record at trusting young players.

While recent history proves the Blues’ academy produces top-quality talent, the highly demanding Roman Abramovich ownership means there is no clear pathway to the first team.

The general ploy has been to make extensive use of the loan system while buying in ready-made superstars at vast expense. It looks as if that tactic could be about to misfire, with Callum Hudson-Odoi having handed in a transfer request to try and force through a £35m move to Bayern Munich.

Despite making just 15 appearances for club since his debut a year ago the 18-year-old winger has proven why Bayern want to pay such a fee.

His well-taken goal in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday yesterday made it two goals and three assists in his last five starts for the club.

Having seen how the careers of those above him have stalled waiting for chances Hudson-Odoi’s choice is entirely understandable. The question now is can the German giants get a move done before Thursday’s transfer deadline?

Unhappy Hammers as AFC Wimbledon cause a shock

It was a bad weekend for West Ham both on and off the pitch.

First, and most significantly, came a 4-2 defeat by AFC Wimbledon in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The team 58 places below the Hammers in the Football League comprehensively outplayed their opponents, with Scott Wagstaff scoring twice either side of half-time before Manuel Pellegrini’s side rallied.

It wasn’t enough and the Chilean admitted he was “ashamed” of his players.

Away from Kingsmeadow the club were busy giving a lesson in how not to do public relations, as they waited just 10 minutes after the shock to announce Marko Arnautovic would not be leaving for the riches of China and had instead signed a new contract of an unspecified length.

The accompanying video, in which the Austrian striker said he was “happy to be back” despite not having gone anywhere, was not received well by the Hammers fans, who saw his disloyalty being rewarded.

Lions roar on the pitch but familiar problems off it

Millwall continued their impressive record against Premier League opposition in the FA Cup on Saturday evening, but their win over Everton was marred by violence outside the ground and alleged racist chanting inside it.

The Lions scored a dramatic 94th minute winner through Murray Wallace to prevail 3-2 and turn up the pressure on Everton boss Marco Silva. It was a victory which made it five in succession at The Den against top flight sides in the competition, with Bournemouth, Watford, Leicester and Aston Villa the others on the receiving end.

But the club’s image was not helped by “disgraceful” clashes between fans before kick-off and a “discriminatory song” sung by Millwall fans, which are now being investigated by the police and the Football Association respectively. The club have threatened life bans for anyone identified.

Goals galore as Manchester City pursue all four trophies

There was no slipping up for Manchester City, as a thrashing of Burnley kept the sky blue juggernaut rumbling on in all four competitions.

Having reached the Carabao Cup final with a 10-0 aggregate win over Burton on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side were in the mood for more goals, scoring five for the second time in succession against Sean Dyche’s side. It means City have now scored 30 goals in seven successive wins over January.

The only goal they have conceded was in a 2-1 win over Premier League leaders Liverpool. Newcastle – their final opponent this month – beware.

“They have elite players and are so clinical,” Dyche said. “Who is going to stop them winning everything if they’re in that mood? They are a top, top team and if you catch them on a day like today they punish every mistake you make.”

Could his prediction come to pass? We should have a good idea by the end of February. City are four points behind Liverpool with 15 games to go in the Premier League, while they face Chelsea in the final of the Carabao Cup and Schalke in the last 16 of the Champions League in the next month.