West Ham United suffered relegation from the Premier League to the EFL Championship despite a final-day victory against Leeds United at the London Stadium.

The Hammers needed Tottenham to lose against Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, their London rivals secured a 1-0 win thanks to a Joao Palhinha strike in the first half.

So despite Taty Castellanos, Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson, the east Londoners will need to prepare for life in the second-tier of English football for the first time since the 2011-12 season. You’d have to go back even further for the piece of history their demotion has created.

In a heartbreaking moment for supporters and everyone else attached to the club, they won’t find time to be concerned about the history their relegation has prompted.

Before the final day games kicked off, a post on X grabbed a lot of people’s attention. It revealed that if West Ham were relegated, it would actually be the first time in 138 years since the top-flight in England didn’t have a single club starting with the letter ‘W’.

West Ham and Wolves have both dropped out of the Premier League, meaning next season will kick off without any club attached to that letter. It’s a quirky piece of history, but one that dates back to the first-ever football season in England.

Wolves and West Brom were founding members of the English game, and they both remained in the top-flight until their relegations in 1906. However, Arsenal stepped up to carry the torch for W clubs.

That’s right, the Gunners were originally founded as ‘Woolwich Arsenal’. They joined the First Division in 1904, two years before Wolves and West Brom dropped out of the league. The latter came back up in 1911 after a five-year absence.

Jarrod Bowen Gives Hint About West Ham Future

One of the biggest talking points at the London Stadium will inevitably be the future of England international, Jarrod Bowen. The winger has been exceptional ever since arriving at the club from Hull City in 2020, and is likely to interest several Premier League clubs this summer.

While his father-in-law Danny Dyer has named the only two clubs he’d ‘suffer’ seeing the 29-year-old depart the club for, it appears he has no plans to jump ship. Speaking after the Leeds game, he gave a slight hint at what his future holds.

Ask any modern Premier League manager, and they will point to Sir Alex Ferguson as an aspirational figure. After all, the Manchester United legend has won the competition more times than any other coach.

Beyond those 13 league titles, he left a huge imprint on British football with his fiery personality, which always helped drive him to more success. His ruthless nature allowed him to freshen both playing and coaching staff as he built and rebuilt numerous trophy-winning sides during his 26 years at Old Trafford.

Ferguson certainly knew how to replace top talent. For instance, he was able to sign Michael Carrick in 2006, as Roy Keane departed. The Englishman was a hit, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League, and is now set to be appointed the club’s next permanent manager.

But Ferguson also had his eye on another Premier League coach during his time at Man Utd, but he couldn’t get a deal for the player across the line.

Ferguson Wanted to Bring Liverpool Icon to Old Trafford

Way back in 2003, the Manchester United boss let slip that he had his eye on a young Spanish midfielder. That player just so happened to be Xabi Alonso. Confirming his interest in the Real Sociedad star to the press, Ferguson said:

Alonso would end up in England, but signed for rivals Liverpool in 2004 instead. Ferguson once again publicly disclosed his interest in the player, noting: “We had a look at Alonso for a while, but our priorities changed a little bit.”

The Spaniard went on to prove himself as a top player at Anfield, winning both the Champions League and the FA Cup during his five years with the Reds. He then left in 2009, with Real Madrid eventually getting their long-term target.

Back in Spain, Alonso would lift La Liga, another Champions League, and two Copa del Rey trophies, before ending his career with three Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich. He also won the European Championship in both 2008 and 2012, while his crowning career moment came as he lifted the 2010 World Cup.

Alonso’s Coaching Quality Leads Him to Chelsea

Having had such a fine club career at Liverpool, many expected he’d return to Anfield as a coach. But instead, Chelsea have moved in and landed Alonso. Upon joining the Blues, he said: “Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.

“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.

“There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”

While things didn’t go smoothly for Alonso during his seven-month spell at Real Madrid, he does come with a big reputation. That was mostly built off his time with Bayer Leverkusen, where he won a domestic double in 2024, most notably going the entire league season without losing a single game, as he delivered the club’s first Bundesliga title.

It will be interesting to see how he gets on now at Chelsea, as he gets a first taste of Premier League management.

It was a final day defined by tension at both ends of the Premier League table, with West Ham and Tottenham entering the afternoon knowing one of them would be relegated.

The equation was straightforward. West Ham had to beat Leeds United at the London Stadium and hope Tottenham lost at home to Everton. Spurs, meanwhile, controlled their own destiny, with anything other than defeat guaranteeing survival.

West Ham did their part in convincing fashion. A 3-0 win over Leeds gave the Hammers hope and briefly sparked belief inside the London Stadium that a miracle could be on the cards. However, Tottenham held their nerve, seeing out their match 1-0 to ensure their Premier League status remained intact.

That result confirmed West Ham’s relegation to the Championship after 15 years in the top-flight, ending a turbulent season in which they were ultimately punished for their lack of consistency across the campaign.

Jarrod Bowen Reacts as West Ham’s Relegation is Confirmed

In the immediate aftermath, West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen delivered an honest assessment of the club’s collapse, admitting the pain of relegation and accepting responsibility for a season that fell far below the required standard.

Despite West Ham doing their job on the final day, Bowen admitted the damage had already been done long before kick-off, with too many dropped points across the season proving decisive. “We done enough today but throughout the season we just haven’t done enough to pick up the points. You can pinpoint many things but ultimately it’s about players putting in consistent performances.”

The 29-year-old also referenced last season’s escape from danger, when West Ham managed to find form late in the campaign, but acknowledged there’d be no repeat this time around: “Last season we were in a similar position but managed to wriggle out of it. This year we haven’t been able to wriggle out of it.”

Bowen’s frustration was clear as he reflected on a campaign defined by fine margins and wasted opportunities, with the forward pointing to West Ham’s inability to protect leads as a key factor in their downfall.

“We’ve been leading games and we’ve dropped points. I think the fight’s been there but we haven’t been there consistently enough to get points.”

Jarrod Bowen Drops Future Hint After Brutal Week On And Off The Pitch

While relegation alone would have made for a painful end to the season, Bowen’s week has been compounded by disappointment at international level. Just days before West Ham’s fate was confirmed, the England international was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, adding another layer of frustration to an already difficult period.

Bowen has been vocal in the past about how he wanted to consistently play for England, and West Ham’s form in the last couple of years has ignited a host of transfer rumours as a result.

With relegation looming for almost the entrie season, many would have thought Bowen would be the first to go once their fate had been sealed.

However, Bowen insisted his immediate focus remains on helping West Ham return to the Premier League, even as speculation inevitably grows around his future following relegation:

However, his wording leaves the door slightly open, with Bowen stopping short of fully committing his long-term future to the club in the Championship: “You never know what the future holds, but I want to see this club back in the Premier League.” Watch Bowen’s interview below:

For West Ham, the rebuild begins immediately. For Bowen, the coming weeks may determine whether he leads that rebuild, or whether his future lies back in the Premier League more immediately than West Ham’s.