30 November 2010 - The Hammers Pound United

On 30 November 2010, league-leaders Manchester United were dumped out of the League Cup by last-place West Ham, 4-0.

The Red Devils were the cup holders, having won the competition in 2009 and 2010. In fact, they had not lost a League Cup match since September 2007. In 2010, they beat Scunthorpe and Wolverhampton to set up a fifth-round meeting with West Ham, whom they had already beaten in the league back in August en route to their climb to the top of the table.

West Ham, meanwhile, had advanced in the tournament over fellow Premier League teams Sunderland and Stoke City while sinking to the bottom of the league table--they had been in last place since the start of October.

But when they met at Upton Park on 30 November, West Ham were the dominant side, taking a 2-0 lead into the break after a pair of goals from Jonathan Spector (22', 37'). They continued to shine in the second half as Carlton Cole got a brace of his own (56', 66') to stretch the final margin to 4-0.

The win put the Hammers into the semifinals, where they fell to eventual winners Birmingham City. In the league, both Manchester United and West Ham finished in the same respective spots, with the former winning the league and the latter sitting on the bottom.

25 August 2009 - It's Like The Seventies All Over Again

On 25 August 2009, violence marred a match between West Ham and Millwall in their first meeting for over four years.

Separated by only five miles and the River Thames, the two London teams have a longstanding rivalry that dates back to their first meeting in 1897 (when West Ham were still known as Thames Ironworks). Their respective supporter groups have a history of clashes, including an outbreak of fighting at the 1972 testimonial for Harry Cripps, who had played for both teams, and a 1976 clash at New Cross Station that resulted in the death of Millwall supporter Ian Pratt, who fell under a train.

Before the 2009 meeting, the two teams had last played each other in April 2004, the sixth match in an unbeaten run for Millwall that stretched back to November 1992. Then the League Cup paired them for a second-round meeting at West Ham's Upton Park.

Neil Harris gave the visitors a 26th-minute lead, which they held for most of the match. But West Ham's Junior Stanislas equalized in the 87th minute, sending the home supporters into a frenzy and sparking a pitch invasion. In extra time, Stanislas scored again, this time from the penalty spot in the 98th minute, resulting in another invasion. Zavon Hines added a third for West Ham in the 100th minute to set the final margin at 3-1.

Fighting broke out both inside and outside the stadium, with at least twenty people getting injured and a 44-year old Millwall fan going to the hospital with a stab wound. Supporters clashed with each other and the police clashed for several hours, resulting in several arrests.

Afterward, the Football Association found West Ham guilty of failing to restrain their supporters and fined the club £115,000.