The Carlos Tevez saga remains one of the most controversial episodes in Premier League history, and it’s clear that Sheffield United, particularly former owner Kevin McCabe, still harbours resentment over the affair. While West Ham went on to pay a £20 million settlement to Sheffield United after the scandal, McCabe’s comments in The Sun suggest that financial compensation wasn’t enough to erase the sense of injustice that many associated with the Blades still feel.
At the heart of the controversy was West Ham’s illegal registration of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, both of whom were partly owned by third-party companies in a violation of Premier League rules. Tevez, in particular, played a pivotal role in West Ham’s survival in the “Great Escape”of the 2006-07 season, famously scoring the winning goal at Old Trafford on the final day of the campaign to ensure their safety, at Sheffield United’s expense.
From McCabe’s perspective, the Premier League’s decision not to deduct points from West Ham — the usual punishment for such violations — was the ultimate injustice. Sheffield United were relegated by just a single point, and the failure to punish West Ham more severely stings to this day. In McCabe’s words, the decision not to dock points “sapped the energy” out of the club, leading to the departure of key players, manager Neil Warnock, and what he describes as the dismantling of Sheffield United’s momentum both on and off the pitch.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that Sheffield United’s own poor form played a significant role in their relegation. From January 2007 onwards, the Blades managed just four wins in the league. In the final weeks of the season, they couldn’t string together the results needed to secure survival, regardless of West Ham’s situation. Their fate was in their own hands, and they could not step up.
West Ham, on the other hand, faced their own turmoil. The club was fined £5.5 million, a record at the time, and the subsequent settlement with Sheffield United nearly led to the financial collapse of the Hammers. The £20 million compensation might seem modest in today’s football economy, but for West Ham at the time, it was a significant hit. The club’s fortunes could have spiraled in a much worse direction had things unfolded differently.
For many West Ham fans, Carlos Tevez is a club legend, remembered for that crucial goal at Old Trafford that preserved their Premier League status. But for Sheffield United, the name Tevez is synonymous with the club’s relegation, the unraveling of a team, and the perceived injustice of how the situation was handled.
The bitterness still lingering in McCabe’s comments reflects the lasting impact of the saga on Sheffield United’s history. While West Ham have enjoyed relative success since then, including European success and stability in the Premier League, Sheffield United’s journey has been much more more turbulent.
In football, moments of controversy often define rivalries and legacies, and in the case of Sheffield United and West Ham, the Tevez affair is a wound that still hasn’t fully healed for those on the Blades’ side. Whether or not McCabe and Sheffield United will ever move on from it, is another matter entirely.
Look. We Blades have much more important things to think about than the Tevez nonsense.
McCabe has a book out so he’s raking over old **** to try and make a few sales from what must be a pretty dull book, which could eb alternatively titled “Me and my ego”.
As a chairman he was pretty woeful but it’s not been much better since he was forced to sell his shares to the poor Saudi prince who came next.
Best of luck to you Hammers. At least you’ve progressed in recent years. Look after ‘League One’ Wes Foderingham for us 🙂
Well said all you blades fans the best of luck to ye for the rest of the season
Every blade I personally know , couldn’t care less about it all, after all this time , long in the past
I think you’re getting confused mate we played Liverpool first game of the season at home and drew one one(robbed by a dodgy penalty) and we lost four nil away from home?
Blaming West Ham for Sheffield United not performing over the whole season is ridiculous. I remember Wigan & Sheffield Utd playing out a draw until West Ham scored at Old Trafford and suddenly one of them was going down so they both went all out to win the game.
When West Ham were fined a world record fine for the Tevez technicality, Sheffield United were hoping for an incidental benefit. After pleading guilty and being fined the matter should have rested there. It was not West Ham’s decision they were fined, and had there been a deduction the benefit to another club would have been a fortunate consequence but not an entitlement. I can not fathom why Sheffield United deserved any compensation for an incidental benifit they were not entitled to. Sheffield United went down because they weren’t good enough. McCabe should have thought himself lucky at the time and stop whingeing now
This drove me mad at the time and still does. They had the best run-in that season, were in the most comfortable of league positions, and the easiest final game of the season. How they got £20mil was an absolute joke. They are a disgrace
The Tevez goal was irrelevant anyway, a clean sheet and a point would of kept us up. As Tim said Mascherno hardly played, with Hayden Mullins keeping him on the bench
McCabe seems to forget that Sheffield United had a home game on that last day, against a Wigan side that should have been eminently beatable (we put three past them at their place only two weeks before), and who played the last 15 minutes of the game with ten men.
Bleating Whippet Botherers were simply not good enough,exactly the same as last season
I didn’t hear Sheff Utd complaining when they beat us up there 3-0 towards the end of that season – with Tevez in the side.
Sheffield Utd also overlook the fact that because of fixture congestion early that season Liverpool played a weakened team against them in the league. Sheffield got a very unexpected win which handed them an advantage against all their fellow strugglers thannyear
Do people forget that when these 2 arrived the Hammers were having a great season, and then we started to fail when these two started playing? In fact, didn’t the world class Mascherano not play for most of the season as he didn’t want to be there?
It was puff at the time and it’s still puff all this time later. Sheffield Utd were woeful and relegated themselves was the overwhelming factor.
That they can’t own up to their own inadequacy says all and they deserve to wither away in the lower leagues.
We did get relegated with 38 points that season which nine times out of ten is enough to stay up. We finished that season poorly but we wasn’t that woeful we beat your mob that season quite easily. But it’s history and we’ve moved on this article suggests your team hasn’t?
Bit of a false article. McCabe still holding resentment clearly. But us fans don’t even think about this anymore. Best of luck to West Ham
Spot on Chris, come on you irons.
Our win over Manure on the last day would of meant little if the blunts had won there final home game against Wigan which they could not so to blame us when it was in there own hands still makes me laugh to this day but then again losers have always got to find a reason why they lose
Just to be clear as a blade i think after 20 years its only mccabe who is still bitter now really, we have had chances recently to make a success of the club in the PL but its just our luck that we still have garbage owners who only want to commit partially which is why we are up and down so as for the tevez thing i couldn’t give the furry crack of a rats ass