The fans, managers and players of the Chelsea and Liverpool football teams gave a minutes applause preceding the match kick-off for the Carling Cup in honour of the late Gary Speed.

Speed, 42, discovered by his wife, hung himself in their home in Huntington, England on 27 November 2011.  He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and remains the most capped outfield player for Wales. He was appointed manager of Wales in 2010 after leaving the position of Sheffield United manager that same year.

Speed, who leaves behind a wife and two children, had appeared on BBC One’s Football Focus show on Saturday afternoon, just hours before his death.

View the video below:

West Ham United smashed League Cup holders Manchester United 4 – 0 at Upton Park last night with Old Trafford reject Jonathan Spector scoring twice in snowy conditions.

With the crowd scarcely believing their eyes, striker Carlton Cole added two second half goals as the Premier League’s bottom team blew away United’s 29-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Arsenal overcame Wigan Athletic 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the other all-Premier League quarterfinal clash on a freezing night in the capital.

Birmingham City host top flight rivals Aston Villa, last season’s losing finalists, in a Midlands derby on Wednesday when Roy Keane’s struggling Championship (second division) side Ipswich Town are at home to West Bromwich Albion.

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Javier Hernandez is Manchester United‘s new hero as he scored the winning goal to see United through to the quarter finals of the Carling Cup be beating Wolves 3 – 2 at Old Trafford.

Hernandez came off the bench to secure victory at Old Trafford in the last minute of normal time in Tuesday night’s fourth-round tie and keep alive United’s quest to become the first side to win the trophy three times in a row.

Bebe, the relatively-unknown striker signed in the summer for £7.4million from Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes, crowned a promising first start with a fortunate opening goal before George Elokobi equalised.

Park Ji-Sung made it 2-1 to the home side but Kevin Foley hauled Wolves level again before Hernandez’s excellent finish took United into Saturday’s quarter-final draw.

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Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City were sent crashing out of the League Cup on Wednesday on a night of upsets.

The shock of the third round came at Anfield, where a virtual reserve Liverpool team were beaten 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out by Northampton, languishing near the bottom of the fourth tier of English football.

Serbian striker Milan Jovanovic looked to have set Premier League Liverpool on their way after nine minutes, rifling in a low left foot shot.

But Roy Hodgson’s side were stunned when Billy McKay hooked in an equaliser for the League Two outfit, forcing the match into extra time.

Eight minutes later, the unthinkable occurred as Michael Jacobs put Northampton ahead. It looked like being enough until David Ngog struck on 116 minutes to send the game into a the shoot-out with the score at 2-2.

The fairytale looked over when Steve Guinan skied the first spot-kick of the shoot-out for the Cobblers.

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Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 4 – 1 in the Carling Cup 4th Round after Harry Redknapp taunted Arsene Wenger by saying that fans want to see trophies, not young players in action.

The Gunners required extra time to clinch victory at White Hart Lane, and they were grateful for two unnecessary tugs of the shirt as Samir Nasri converted twice from the penalty spot in the 92nd and 96th minute.

Wenger opted for a far stronger side than Arsenal fans have become accustomed to in recent Carling Cup campaigns, naming Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Laurent Koscielny and Denilson all in the starting XI. However, it was 19-year-old Henri Lansbury who broke the deadlock, poking home his first Arsenal goal after a fine cross from Jack Wilshere.

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Manchester United took home the Carling Cup last by beating Aston Vila 2-1 in the 50th League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Rooney, who came on as a substitute for United’s other scorer Michael Owen, struck with a superbly executed header after 74 minutes, for his 20th goal in his last 20 matches, as United became the first team since Nottingham Forest (in 1989 and 1990) to win the cup in successive seasons.

Rooney, who started on the bench as he had a sore knee, told reporters: “It’s great to have this cup again, it means a lot to win a Wembley final and I am delighted to score the winner, but it’s another great day for the club and the fans.”

Aston Villa, the first winners of the trophy in 1961, and victors over Manchester United in 1994, took the lead after five minutes when James Milner scored from the penalty spot, but were often second best against a dominant United, who also hit the post twice.

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Arsenal beat Liverpool 2 – 1 in their League Cup match at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to take the Gunners to the quarter finals.

Manchester City thumped Championship (second division) Scunthorpe United 5-1 to take their place in the last eight and Chelsea saw off Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

That trio joined holders Manchester United, last year’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth and Aston Villa in an all-Premier League draw for the quarter-finals which takes place on Saturday.

Manager Arsene Wenger, in charge of Arsenal for the 750th time and seeking his club’s first silverware since 2005, put his faith in younger players as he usually does in this competition and they rose to the occasion with a well-deserved win.

Fran Merida, their 19-year-old Spanish midfielder, put them ahead with a superbly struck curling left-foot shot after 19 minutes, before Liverpool equalised with an equally stunning shot from Argentine Emiliano Insua, his first for Liverpool, six minutes later.

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