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Alan 1:19 Sun Feb 14
Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Yorkshire Live

Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

It's perhaps one of football's most surprising rivalries but Monday's fixture between the two sides has become something of a grudge match in recent years

By Nathan Hemmingham Sheffield United reporter

When Sheffield United arrive at the London Stadium on Monday, the clash against West Ham will inevitably evoke memories of the Carlos Tevez affair in 2007 and the bitter fall out that followed.

Not many rivalries exist like this one, with so much motorway between them.

Normally based on geography, the distance between these two sides means it's somewhat of a surprise.

It may not carry the weight or intensity of the one that exists between United and Wednesday, or West Ham and Millwall, for that matter, but it's one that has certainly provided plenty of headlines over the years.

There will be many people who may think the controversy surrounding United's relegation in 2007 is where it all began.

But it actually kicked off, quite literally, 20 years earlier at an FA Cup match at Upton Park.

Some 200 members of United's Blades Business Crew took over Green Street and left the Hammers shell-shocked.

Fierce clashes between both sets of supporters then followed in the ensuing years as West Ham sought payback.

What began as running battles on the streets in the Eighties, eventually spilled over on to the pitch two decades later and has never really gone away.

"I was only on the phone to Cass Pennant (leader of West Ham's Inner City Firm) believe it or not the other day," said Steve Cowens, author of Blades Business Crew.

"I am really good friends with him and we were having a catch up. He was saying you are getting your payback now, it's karma for Tevez. We had a bit of banter over it, I'm calling them cheats and saying we got £25m, which is what we deserved.

"It started on February 9, 1987. I took four coaches down to West Ham for an evening game.

"It was really well organised. We got off two stops before and all met up away from the ground before going in on the tube to avoid police. There were 200 of us and the lot went. They were coming from everywhere, but there was just too many of us.

"Cass has always said we are the best northern firm that has ever tipped up on Green Street. He said no one has ever done to West Ham what we did to them that night.

"We had numbers. We've hit the road 200 strong and they are pouring out of pubs but by this time we are just going through them. By the time they had got everyone together and had regrouped, we had done the job and the police had arrived.

"It continued all the way to the ground, they were trying to fight us through the police. It was mad.

"Because of that, the season after they came up to Bramall Lane and there was a lot of fighting.

"At that time, they were the premier firm in the country, but we were taking on all-comers wanting to make a name for ourselves and we were doing that quite successfully.

"For a good three or four years there was a right lot of trouble in Sheffield, but we lost touch because we went in different divisions.

"It picked back up again in 2007 in the Premier League when they came to Bramall Lane. They got battered that day, to be fair they only had 40 or 50, but 20 years later it was still there."

On that particular occasion in April, when United won 3-0 to open up a five-point gap on Alan Curbishley's side, the Tevez affair had not really kicked in.

It was only with three games to go, when West Ham were fined £5.5m for breaching third-party ownership rules over the striker and his Argentinian team-mate Javier Mascherano, did the enormity of what was about to happen start to sink in.

West Ham continued to play Tevez, despite not owning him outright and contrary to what was stipulated as part of their punishment, and they escaped a points deduction much to everyone's amazement.

When it became clear what had happened, with Tevez scoring the winning goal at Old Trafford to send United down, an injustice was felt in S2 that still rankles with a lot of their fans to this day.

"The whole thing stunk," wrote Paddy Kenny in his autobiography The Gloves Are Off.

"Tevez scored seven goals in his last 10 games of that season and West Ham won seven of their last nine to stay up.

"There was some bull**** from the panel that a points deduction would have hurt West Ham's supporters.

"What about the fans of the other teams all scrapping to stay up and playing by the rules?
"At the end of the Wigan game on the last day of the season, news filtered through that West Ham had won and Tevez had scored.

"I remember sitting on the pitch for what seemed like an eternity. How the **** has that happened?"

West Ham may have had the last laugh on the pitch, but United had their day in court. Former owner Kevin McCabe took the Hammers to the cleaners to the tune of £25m.

"I was not a fan of McCabe," Cowens added.

"But fair play to him, he did not let that go. It was a disgrace and if it was the other way round we would have been relegated, without a doubt.

"It was a bitter pill to swallow and an injustice, no doubt about it.

"To be fair, there were other contributing factors to us going down that year.

"McCabe did not invest in the squad; Rob Hulse was playing out of his skin and got injured and I do blame Warnock because of the way he set up away from home.

"I was fuming at Aston Villa. Played one up front, we lost 3-0 and we went down by one goal. I thought he bottled it that night."

That relegation was the start of a fall from grace that would eventually take them down to League One for six years and lead them to their current manager, Chris Wilder, who began the ascent back up to the top in 2016.

"It has become a bit of a grudge match," Wilder says as he prepares his team for Monday's clash.

"I always loved going to Upton Park to play. I have been on the receiving end of many a doing at Upton Park. Dave Basset keeps reminding me of the day I got Stuart Slater into the England squad for his performance against me in a 5-0 win in 1990 - they battered us.

"One small period and it escalates from there, new rivalries and bitterness. From our club's point of view if you do get relegated I believe you have to look at yourself without having to stick it on someone else's toes.

"If that happens to us this year we have to look at ourselves and not what happens from an administration point of view. It's a new rivalry, but there's a lot of similarities too with working class roots."

Seven years would pass before the two sides would meet again, this time in the League Cup, again at Upton Park, under then manager Nigel Clough.

After a 1-1 draw, United won on penalties in front of a jubilant away end and United would exact some form of revenge.

Michael Doyle was the highlight of that shoot-out, not for scoring the winner but for the way he mocked the home side by celebrating in front of the travelling support with a Cockney walk.

"Bit embarrassing to be fair," Doyle told SUTV after Sean Bean had sent a video of himself doing Doyle's walk at the 125th anniversary dinner.

"That walk seems to be following me everywhere I go. It was probably a little bit of a mistake."

Cowens was one of those fans celebrating Doyle's winner that night.

"When we won there in the cup and Michael Doyle did his Cockney walk, we went in a pub round the corner from the ground," he said.

"They all had Tevez masks on, like ******* idiots, and were putting all these threats out that if any Blades fans come down they are going to get hammered and we wouldn't get out the ground alive.

"But I have since met up with a few of their lads from my day and I am always welcome by Cass to have a pint in their pub with him.

"Last thing we want to do now at our age is start rolling about. We've done all that when it was worth doing.

"There's not so much of that now, because the police are on top of it. It's died down the rivalry in that sense because it's just a mug's game now, but it still exists and me and Cass always talk about it."

Monday's match may be in a very different environment to what they have been in recent years.

Steve will not be meeting up with Cass for a pint and there won't be one Tevez mask in sight.

And although the rivalry will not be apparent in the empty stands, both sets of players will be going toe-to-toe on the pitch just like that day in 1987 in Green Street, desperate for a win, but for very different reasons.

----------------------------------------------

Have at it, chaps.

Mad Dog 2:07 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Nice to See all the media mis-information, myths and downright lies about the whole tevez thing still going strong.

Remember clearly everyone (in the media) saying out £5.5m fine was harshest penalty as we were clearly down and it would hurt us more.
The whole 2rd party thing never benefited us in the first place
Nobody complained that he was playing when they beat us 3-0
And it's all Sheffield utd's fault for trying to stitch us v Wigan.

I don't think we were obliged to listen to the several appeals, but still did.

And they should have all been more angry with liverpool for fielding reserves and youths v Fulham who couldn't buy a point at that stage. And giving Fulham the 3 points that kept them up and Sent sheff utd down.

El Scorchio 2:10 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

What a cringey article.

gank 2:15 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

"Tevez scoring the winning goal at Old Trafford to send United down"

That's a difficult read! Three teams all called United in one sentence.

southbankbornnbred 2:34 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

We don’t have a “rivalry” with Sheffield United.

To have a “rivalry”, you have to have two sets and sets of fans impassioned by events and history.

Personally, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about Sheffield United, outside of the 180 mins per season (200 if Mike Dean is ref) in which we’re trying to get six points off them.

We don’t have a “rivalry”. They gave a “gripe”. That is all.

It’s not like they’re Millwall, Tottenham or Chelsea. It’s entirely fabricated - almost exclusively on their part.

BeauLarkyBuff 2:37 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

"Inner city firm"

BWAWAWAWAWA

On The Ball 2:49 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

What an irritating load of shit.

There was no precedent for a points deduction - our relagation rivals were just calling for it to help their own causes - nothing more. The clause is question affected NO-ONE but us - it was to our detriment!

What a shock - Paddy Kenny is a bitter twat (and wrong). Hurt our fans? He's made that up.

And Sheffield United did the same with Steve Kabba that season - they always "forget" that.

South Woodhammer 2:58 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

I don’t remember any Green Street ‘hidings’ from Sheffield Utd supporters...I do remember the embarrassing protest march that they organised around Westminster. With the wife beater Sean Bean and their local MP Clive Betts ... tabled something in the House of Commons trying to get West Ham to take their relegation place. And then got found out to have done something slightly ‘wrong ‘ himself when he employed his Brazilian male prostitute boyfriend as his ‘assistant ‘ on taxpayers money. Summed them up.

El Scorchio 3:00 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

I love that in their minds this imaginary ‘rivalry’ didn’t start and end with Tevez.

Eerie Descent 3:14 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

It was such a pointless 'rule' that was in place anyway, which they scrapped the very next season to allow Man Utd to sign him under the very same circumstances.

smartypants 3:27 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

What an absolute load of shit.. Cass pennant is barely welcome never mind this idiot.

wd40 3:50 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Hopefully not another boring book on it reguarding the inner city firm doesn't spring from it .

marty feldman 3:56 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

What a bunch of bitter numptys .they'd give the Scousers a run for their money in the grief stakes.

, 4:03 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

SheffU were architects of their own relegation.

WHU did not need to win at OT a draw was sufficient.

The biggest crime that season was committed by Liverpool who put their virtual reserve team out against Fulham. And the ensuing three points the cottages gained kept them up in SheffU’s place.

Mad Dog 4:38 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Comma. Spot on. Bin dippers being cunts again

WHU(Exeter) 4:39 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

comma, absolutely right.

Warncok & McCabe had fallen out big time and the fallout from it transferred to his hold of the dressing room.

Their performance against Wigan Athletic in the last game of the season was there for all to see.

Sheff Utd season ticket holder I know told me they were all over the place, and although I rarely go on opposition websites I did with them as like 'car crash viewing' wanted to see what they were saying about Tevez etc

Just as many threads/posts pointing the finger at both Mccabe and Warnock

They only had themselves to blame, but always easier to lay that blame elsewhere.

Hallerinthemorning 4:54 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Anyone who mentions Cass as our main man is usually a fellow fucking writer. The only person who thinks that Cass was as important to West Ham as a whole is Cass. Always been a phenomenal self publicist.
Any other firm which refers so much to Cass as a foe has read too many books and knows nothing.
Yeah they tore down Green Steeet did they? Well they obviously were not looking for the REAL West Ham.that day.and those that did that very day got what they were looking for.
This article should have stayed up in Yorkshire.

Sven Roeder 4:55 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Phil Jagielka deliberately handled to give Wigan the pen and the win.
All a fix to keep both up and relegate us when we inevitably lost at Man U
Probably both bet on a Wigan win too
Both clubs should have been thrown out of the league

Lertie Button 5:01 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

No rivalry they are just another shit second rate northern team

North Bank 5:09 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Scorch my thoughts exactly as I was reading this, quite a few teams have tried to get a rivalry with us over the years for reasons only known to themselves, Charlton and their insignificant CEO Peter Varney in the mid 00s, Reading started with Pardew, Southampton during the 2012 promotion season, Crystal Palace fuck knows why

Sven Roeder 5:15 Sun Feb 14
Re: Tevez, Cockney walk and a Green Street hiding: How Sheffield United and West Ham rivalry emerged

Oldham imagined a rivalry at one point

What are they doing these days?

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