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. This was because, like the Royals, their late salvo came too late to save a team that flattered to deceive for much of the season with plucky performances against the Big Four. When it mattered most, when they were playing the teams around them, they came up short.

In the last eight games, their slide into the bottom three was accelerated by defeats to Reading, Wigan and - most costly of all - Fulham, while their decent home record was rather marred by their inability to beat Reading, Fulham or Derby. In their final 14 games of the season, they only lost five of them, but only won three, so it is easy to see why they weren't good enough to finish above the Cottagers. That doesn't explain the angry scenes at St Andrews, but perhaps the fans were just irritated to see the team doing to Blackburn what they should have been capable of doing to other clubs.

As for the Cottagers, they were fortunate to escape last season, with only a victory over an under-strength Liverpool side enough to spare them from relegation after the ill-advised and hasty dismissal of Chris Coleman. Lawrie Sanchez's miserable reign saw them plummet into the drop zone before he was sacked, and there seemed little hope of Roy Hodgson turning things around until they beat Reading with just four more games left in the season. Further away victories at Man City and Portsmouth showed that the Cottagers had the spirit for the fight and that is why they have saved themselves.

Of course, if you want to win the league, you can't just rely on winning four of your last five games to achieve your aim, you need to do well across the whole season, and that is what Manchester United have done. Their performance at Wigan on the final day was hardly a classic, but they were good enough and fortunate enough with some key refereeing decisions to come out on top. After their underwhelming start to the season, some questioned if they had any chance of winning the title, which just goes to show that you cannot judge a team based on just a few games.

That is why Fulham will know that they need to improve a lot if they want to stay up again next year and why there is still a lot of work for the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal to do if they want to compete at the top across a whole season. And after their 8-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough, why Manchester City fans might accept their owner's decision to get a new manager with a little less indignity. Replacing the entire team might not go down too badly at the moment, but at least they can console themselves one last time with the knowledge that at least they're not as bad as Derby...

Performance of the Weekend - Afonso Alves vs Manchester City - With five of his six Middlesbrough goals so far coming against teams from Manchester, the Brazilian must wish he could play United and (especially) City every week...

Goal of the Weekend - James Harper vs Derby - A lovely curler into the top corner that counted for absolutely nothing - as did the rest of Reading's goals.

Moment of the Weekend - Ryan Giggs makes an impressive cameo - As well as scoring the goal that confirmed United as champions and earning himself a tenth title medal, he also went level with Sir Bobby Charlton in the record books. Not a bad substitute appearance...

Quote of the Weekend - "How would I be without all this, please tell me - and my wife wouldn't let me retire. She kicks me out of the door at 7am every morning. She's quite a formidable person." - Sir Alex Ferguson reveals the real reason why he hasn't retired yet.

Debate of the Weekend - Should teams be allowed to wear 2008/09 kits in 2007/08 just to sell some shirts earlier than usual? - Chelsea and Liverpool have done it in the last few weeks, but shouldn't they finish the season wearing the shirt that they started it with?