Barring a miracle and an unexpected slip by Tottenham, which can never be discounted, West Ham will be joining Wolves and Burnley in the Championship next season.
Some can argue they have been unlucky. They are likely to go down with the most number of points of any relegated team for a decade, and some of their fans will still be smarting over the decision to disallow their equaliser over Arsenal in their last home game.
But the table does not lie at the end of the day, and they gave just not been good enough this season. Only Burnley and Wolves have scored fewer goals.
And whilst West Ham fans may rightly blame the club’s owners for many of their current issues, some of them may want to look in the mirror and ask if they got it wrong.
It was David Moyes who led them to their biggest success in recent years when they won the Europa Conference League in 2023, but too many of them were glad to see the Scot go, hoping that his brand of pragmatic football would be replaced by someone with a more attacking style.
But it has been a case of being careful what you wished for, as West Ham have now become too easy to beat. Moyes may have his detractors, but had he remained at the helm, it can be argued they would have avoided their current fate.
Now they can look forward to playing the likes of Lincoln City and Preston North End in front of a half empty stadium, or travelling to the likes of Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers next season.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police will already be nervously anticipating two West Ham – Millwall derbies in the capital.
