Weekend Eye: Too Little, Too Late

It is amazing how many teams manage to rouse themselves to put in good performances when the relegation trapdoor is in sight. The difference between those who survived this season and those who didn't is how early this turnaround happened, with Fulham and Bolton Wanderers picking up important victories over the last four or five weeks, while Reading and Birmingham City could only find that kind of form when it was already that little bit too late.

Steve Coppell's Reading are the perfect example of a team who waited until their rowboat was flooded and sinking fast before starting to try and bail themselves out. They may have only been playing Derby County on the last day of the season, but still managed to stick four goals past them after a run of six games without a single goal. How different could things have been if just one of their strikes against the Rams could have come in one of the goalless draws against Blackburn Rovers or Wigan Athletic in that run?

Astonishingly, Reading actually scored four goals in three separate league games this season, and the only one of those that they didn't lose was the match that saw them get relegated. That says a lot about a team who just weren't good enough at either end to save themselves from relegation, no matter what further misery that inflicted on Derby County (who never looked even close to saving themselves from relegation and only managed one measly win in the league all season).

Even more surprisingly, Reading fans weren't the only ones left in tears after seeing their team win and score four goals. Indeed, Birmingham fans didn't just cry after their team's victory over Blackburn Rovers, they went on the rampage and made David Sullivan's children cry.