Unlucky Blues and McLeish relegated
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THE Premier League in England reached an exciting climax on Sunday, but my heart went out to my old club Birmingham City.
Their magnificent 4-1 vic-tory against Blackburn Rovers at St Andrews was not enough to save them from the drop.
I must admit I feared the worst beforehand.
I thought Reading would be the ones to survive, but in the end it was Fulham who made the great escape and they deserve a lot of credit.
The Craven Cottage side looked dead and buried not so long ago but managed to drag themselves out of trouble.
It was tough on Birmingham.
They had a tremendous home record, but it was their away form which has really cost them.
I feel sorry for the club, its supporters and manager Alex McLeish.
They were on a bad run when Alex got the manager’s job and I think he deserves a lot of credit for managing to keep then in the race for survival for so long.
It just was not to be, but now it will be crucial to bounce straight back up.
That will be easier said than done, although the parachute payment of £30million might soften the fall.
Mind you, it did not help Charlton or Sheffield United last season.
At the other end of the table, there were different emotions for Manchester United as they won the title after defeating Wigan 2-0, while Chelsea could only manage a 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers.
I think United deserved it over the course of the season, but once again refereeing decisions played a major part.
Just as in Scotland at the weekend when ourselves and Dundee United suffered because of mistakes from the officials, the Red Devils enjoyed some slices of luck.
I thought Wigan should have had a penalty when Rio Ferdinand handled the ball and there is no doubt Paul Scholes should have been sent off.
Those are the breaks you need along the way.
They say things even themselves out over the season. That may be so, but I am not sure how we will get back our disallowed goals at Celtic Park or against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday.
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