Cheers and tears as curtain falls

West Ham United were relegated to the First Division on Sunday after they drew 2-2 at Birmingham City and their rivals for the drop, Bolton ...

West Ham United were relegated to the First Division on Sunday after they drew 2-2 at Birmingham City and their rivals for the drop, Bolton Wanderers, beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at home on the final day of the season.

West Ham, third from bottom on goal difference, had needed a better result than Bolton to avoid joining West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland in the First Division next season.

Chelsea held on to fourth place and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers by coming from behind for a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge over fifth-placed Liverpool, who had England midfielder Steven Gerrard red-carded at the very end.

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Sixth place, and a slot in the UEFA Cup, was snatched at the death by Blackburn Rovers after they thrashed 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 at White Hart Lane to leapfrog Everton, who lost 2-1 at home to newly-crowned champions Manchester United.

United’s Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy won the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer after converting a match-winning penalty in the second half, his 25th goal in the championship and 44th in all competitions.

Bolton reached safety with superb first-half goals from midfielders Per Frandsen and Jay Jay Okocha, though they struggled after their former striker Michael Ricketts pulled one back for Boro in the 61st minute. The visitors had French defender Franck Queudrue sent off in the 78th minute.

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said, “After a jittery start to the second half, it’s been just a magnificent day for Bolton Wanderers.”

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West Ham go down despite winning two and now drawing one of their three games under caretaker manager Trevor Brooking, who took over after Glenn Roeder suffered a brain lesion.

Their late-season rally brought the East London club 22 points from 11 games, but a combination of a poor first half of the season and a 1-0 defeat by Bolton last month sealed the club’s fate.

Relegation is likely to herald an exodus of talent — ranging from England quartet David James, Trevor Sinclair, Michael Carrick and Joe Cole to Italian Paolo Di Canio and French strike partner Frederic Kanoute.

At the top of the table, United had sealed their eighth league title in 11 seasons last weekend — overtaking defending champions Arsenal — but received the Premier League trophy at Goodison Park on Sunday. (Reuters)

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