The 2003 Carling Cup final was between Liverpool and Manchester united. Liverpool won the tie 2-0; however the star player of the match was Jerzy Dudek as he pulled of a number of brilliant saves to deny Manchester United having any hold of the game. Middlesbrough found themselves in the final of 2004 against Bolton; they won 2-1 in what was their first League cup trophy in their career. Zenden and Job scored both the goals for Boro.
The 2005 final was a thriller between Chelsea and Liverpool. The match was 1-1 going into extra time and Kezman was on hand to score in extra time for Chelsea as they were the winners of the Carling Cup, 3-2.
Wigan was in their dream debut season in the premiership and they reached the final of the 2006 league cup final. However Manchester united was too strong for them as United ran out 4-0 winners as Wayne Rooney scored two goals.