West Brom triumphant; Norwich, Crystal Palace and Southampton suffer relegation


In the most dramatic relegation battle in years, the final day of English Premier League soccer season provides agony for three teams and ecstasy for one.

This year the winner of the Barclay Premiership was settled weeks ago. Far more interesting was the battle that shaped up at the bottom of the table, where the worst three teams are sent to what used to be called Division One (or Division Two if you go back further.) Going in to the final day of competition, four teams were within a few points of one another. It was clear for several weeks that only one would remain in the Premiership.
For Americans, the idea of relegation is alien, but imagine if the Red Sox were relegated every time they finished last, or the Mets or Dodgers. After a bad year, their big stadiums would host AAA league teams, attendance would shrink and television money disappear. The same happens in England, with the relegation estimated to cost $15 million or more to a team.
So there they were on Sunday, all the games scheduled to start simultaneously so no team would get an advantage by knowing the results of the other contenders. The story of the day ended up being West Bromwich Albion, who were dead last and most expected to be sent down. They had been in the basement at Christmas, and no team in that position had ever before avoided relegation. But on Sunday, trailing by just a couple of points, their fate was in their own hands. Their own and that of Portsmouth, their opponent and host. For Portsmouth fans through, the contest offered not a lust for victory so much as schadenfreude. For Portsmouth's bitterest rival is Southampton, another southern English port city. A West Bromwich victory would suit some Portsmouth fans perfectly, and many cheered the visitors on or wore shirts proclaiming their wish for a Southampton relegation. Some top Portsmouth players were benched, reportedly as part of contract negotiations, but one wonders the real motive.
The match ended with West Brom winning 2-0 , but relegation still depended on Southampton not winning, and they lost to a half-strength Manchester United team, as you would probably expect. It ends almost 30 years in the Premiership for Southampton fans, a sad development indeed.
Crystal Palace was up in their game against Charlton, but that team equalised in the final minutes to send them down. The manager says he and the team will soldier on.
The less said about the Norwich game against Fulham the better. I watched it with a friend here who is a Norwich fan following a semester there in college, and it wasn't pretty. At the start of the day Norwich looked a good chance to stay up, as they were fourth from last. However, they were shelled by Fulham, who scored goals seemingly at will and put in 6 before it was over. Fulham, despite an almost desperate need to score, could not put one in the net. Their defense looked like they were not in the same league as Fulham, and now they are not.
There's a nice assessment of winners and losers in the Premiership campaign just ended at football365.com. The good part of the relegation system comes to a head later this week, as a promotion playoff concludes that will decide two of the three teams that will be joining the Premiership from the lower ranks.

Posted: Mon - May 16, 2005 at 10:56 PM          

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