Sheffield United: Boss Chris Wilder says Carlos Tevez Affair might add extra spice to West Ham clash this weekend - 12 years on

A rivalry between the Blades and Hammers was cemented a dozen years ago when the London club were fined for fielding two players, Tevez and Javier Mascherano, who were later discovered to be owned by a third party.

That directly contravened Premier League regulations but the division’s panel decided to only fine the Hammers for the indescretion, rather than dock points. Crucially, Tevez was also allowed to continue playing for West Ham until the end of that season, and scored on the last day of the campaign at Manchester United to seal his side’s survival – and help condemn United to the Championship.

United subsequently sued West Ham and eventually won a payout of around £20m, but did not regain their place in the Premier League until over a decade later.

And ahead of Saturday’s trip to the London Stadium, Wilder said: “It might add a bit of extra spice, but a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. It was a long time ago and I actually have a big admiration for West Ham, the way they’ve gone about things.

“They’re a similar working-class club to us, the supporters want to see good football and the team work hard.

“What happened at the time was nothing to do with fans or supporters; it was an administration situation which got decided by the Premier League at the time.

“There’s been banter and bits and pieces on social media since but this is a new group of players and a lot has happened at West Ham since then.

“We’re going to enjoy going to the London Stadium and we’ll see if we can keep our great record away from home intact. West Ham have a fantastic home record and it’s a tough place to go. They turned Man United over and it’s a tough place to go… maybe even tougher because I’m sure there’ll be a reaction from a disappointing result at Everton.”