Their faint survival hopes were finally extinguished at the Madejski stadium, Reading returning to the second tier after one season back among the elite and QPR needing to regroup after their big-spending gamble, before and during the season, failed to build a team worthy of the top flight.
In the battle for a top four finish, Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Manchester United, allowing Chelsea to leapfrog them into third place after they beat Swansea City 2-0.
'EXPECTED BOOING'
"It takes bottle to take a penalty when the crowd are booing," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who said referee Phil Dowd apologised to United defender Rio Ferdinand for allowing Walcott's goal when he appeared to have strayed offside, told Sky Sports.
"We have a great spirit of applauding players when they come back to our club. I expected the booing to be honest with you."
United can no longer set a Premier League points record with the most they can get being 94. Chelsea's record is 95 from 2004/05.
"I have told the players to bottle up the feeling as it is never nice to get relegated, and make sure they never feel that way again," Reading manager Nigel Adkins, who replaced the sacked Brian McDermott last month, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The financial impact of relegation this season from the world's most popular domestic league is estimated to be between 40 million and 50 million pounds, with both missing out on a
