Emerson Royal’s difficult time at Tottenham took another turn for the worse after he was slammed for his error in the club’s shock 1-0 FA Cup exit at Middlesbrough.
Spurs have failed to win a trophy in the last 14 seasons and the FA Cup was the only realistic remaining opportunity to claim silverware under Antonio Conte this term.
But those hopes were extinguished by Chris Wilder’s men on Tuesday night following 19-year-old Josh Coburn’s 107th-minute strike.
Fans have slammed the performance of Emerson Royal (left) in Tottenham’s defeat at Boro
The right-back put in a poor defensive performance, failing to push up at one stage
Brazilian right-back Emerson, who joined Tottenham in the summer in a £25million deal from Barcelona, came on for Matt Doherty in the 81st minute of regulation time.
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But the 23-year-old’s nightmare first season at the north London side continued after he was blamed for Coburn’s winner.
Emerson was completely out of sync with the rest of the Tottenham defenders and failed to push up with his team-mates.
That saw him play Coburn, who received Matt Crooks’ pass before smashing a terrific strike past Hugo Lloris, onside and seal Tottenham’s exit in the fifth round of the competition.
His failure to push up alongside his team-mates played Middlesbrough’s Josh Coburn onside
That allowed the 19-year-old to fire a terrific effort past Hugo Lloris and seal Spurs’ exit
But it was part of a poor all-round display from the right-back after coming on, having also failed to get forward effectively.
And football fans on social media did not mince their words when discussing his performance at the Riverside Stadium.
One Tottenham fan wrote: ‘I hate to agree with the worse segment of Spurs fans but Emerson Royal is just an absolute tragedy.’
Meanwhile, a fellow Spurs supporter posted the freezeframe of Emerson playing Coburn onside before adding: ‘Emerson Royal people… 25.8 million pounds on a Barcelona Right back…’
Fans of other clubs chipped in, with a Leeds fan – who saw their side beaten by Conte’s men at Elland Road on Saturday – posting: ‘Emerson Royal – without doubt the worst footballer I’ve ever seen.’
Meanwhile, a Manchester United fan compared him to Aston Villa and West Ham’s Colombian flop Carlos Sanchez.
‘Btw, Emerson Royal?! Might be one of the worst players I have ever seen. He’s Carlos Sanchez level bad,’ the user wrote.
One fan compared Emerson to former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder Carlos Sanchez
Arsenal were also linked with a move for Emerson in the summer, with technical director Edu keen on the move before boss Mikel Arteta reportedly intervened and called for the club to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu instead.
And a Gunners fan admitted his relief that the Spaniard took that decision, adding: ‘Thank God we never signed Emerson Royal.’
Another, meanwhile, poked fun at him, adding: ‘Emerson Royal is a Premier League player, I can still make it’, while another said: ‘You know that story about Barcelona officials laughing that Spurs paid £25m for Emerson Royal. I believe that.’
Despite his struggles in his first season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Emerson has still made 30 appearances across all competitions for his new club.
He has registered just one assist in that time though, which came by setting up fellow Brazilian Lucas Moura in the 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.
An Arsenal fan was left relieved his club chose to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu instead of Emerson