2002-03 in English football

Encyclopedia : 2 : 20 : 200 : 2002-03 in English football

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The 2002-2003 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.

Overview

Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.

Sheffield Wednesday went down to Division Two, just 10 years after reaching the finals of both domestic cup competitions and 11 years after coming two places short of the league title.

Events

• Manchester United overhauled Arsenal in the Premiership title race during the final three months of the season and were crowned champions for the eighth time in eleven seasons.
• Arsenal compensated for their failure to retain the Premiership title by retaining the F.A Cup after a 1-0 win over Southampton at the Millennium Stadium.
• Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Sheffield United 3-0 in the Division One playoff final to return to the top flight for the first time since the 1983-84 season.
• Sunderland were relegated from the Premiership with a record low of 4 wins, 19 points and 21 goals.
• Cameroon international midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, 28, whose clubs included Premiership sides West Ham United and Manchester City, collapsed and died from an undetected heart condition in a Confederations Cup tie.
• Shrewsbury Town beat Everton 2-1 in a shock F.A Cup Third Round victory, but were relegated to the Conference at the end of the season, ending 53 years of Football League membership.
• Manchester United broke the English transfer record for the third time in just over a year after they paid Leeds United £29million for central defender Rio Ferdinand.
• Legendary goalkeeper David Seaman, approaching 40, left Arsenal after 13 years and nine major trophies to join Manchester City on a free transfer.
• Peter Schmeichel called time on his footballing career six months before his 40th birthday after helping Manchester City finish ninth in the Premiership.
• Leeds United, £80million in debt come March, sacked Terry Venables as manager and replaced him with former Manchester City and Sunderland manager Peter Reid - on a temporary basis. After ensuring their Premiership survival, Reid was given a one-year rolling contract.

Successful managers

Sir Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United to their eighth Premiership title in 11 seasons.

Arsene Wenger helped Arsenal retain the F.A Cup.

Gerard Houllier guided Liverpool to success in the League Cup.

Graeme Souness steered Blackburn to sixth place in the Premiership and UEFA Cup qualification.

Harry Redknapp rejuvenated a Portsmouth side whose greatly improved squad lifted the Division One championship trophy.

Micky Adams took Leicester back into the Premiership at the first attempt despite his employers beginning the season bankrupt and banned from buying players.

Dave Jones took Wolves into the Premiership after a 19-year absence from the top flight of English football.

Paul Jewell took Wigan into the upper half of the English league for the first time in their history after they were crowned champions of Division Two.

Brian Talbot continued the revolution at Rushden & Diamonds by guiding them to the Division Three title.

Gary Johnson won the Conference title at Yeovil Town, who were promoted to the Football League after decades of trying.

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	England scorers
September 7, 2002	Villa Park, Birmingham	Portugal	1-1	F	Alan Smith
October 12, 2002	Tehelné pole, Bratislava	Slovakia	2-1	ECQ	David Beckham, Michael Owen
October 16, 2002	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton	Macedonia	2-2	ECQ	David Beckham, Steven Gerrard
February 12, 2003	Upton Park, London	Australia	1-3	F	Francis Jeffers
March 29, 2003	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz	Liechtenstein	2-0	ECQ	Michael Owen, David Beckham
April 2, 2003	Stadium of Light, Sunderland	Turkey	2-0	ECQ	Darius Vassell, David Beckham
May 22, 2003	Durban		2-1	F	Gareth Southgate, Emile Heskey
June 3, 2003	Walkers Stadium, Leicester	Serbia	2-1	F	Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole
June 11, 2003	Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough	Slovakia	2-1	ECQ	Michael Owen (2)

Key: ECQ = 2004 European Championship qualifiers, F = Friendly; scores are written England first

European club competitions

• Manchester United - Quarter finals
• Arsenal - Second group phase
• Newcastle United - Second group phase
• Liverpool - First group phase (dropped into UEFA Cup)

• Liverpool - Quarter finals
• Fulham - Third round
• Leeds United - Third round
• Blackburn Rovers - First round
• Chelsea - First round
• Ipswich Town - First round

• Fulham - Winners (qualified for UEFA Cup)
• Aston Villa - Semi finals

Honours

Competition	Winners
FA Premier League	Manchester United
FA Cup	Arsenal
Worthington Cup	Liverpool
Football League Division One	Portsmouth
Football League Division Two	Wigan Athletic
Football League Division Three	Rushden & Diamonds
Football League Trophy	Bristol City
FA Trophy	Burscough
FA Vase	Brigg Town
FA Youth Cup	Manchester United

League competitions

P   W  D  L   F   A   W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
1 Manchester United         38  16  2  1  42  12   9  6  4  32  22  +40   83  Champions League
2 Arsenal                   38  15  2  2  47  20   8  7  4  38  22  +43   78  Champions League
3 Newcastle United          38  15  2  2  36  17   6  4  9  27  31  +15   69  Champions League (qualifying)
4 Chelsea                   38  12  5  2  41  15   7  5  7  27  23  +30   67  Champions League (qualifying)
5 Liverpool                 38   9  8  2  30  16   9  2  8  31  25  +20   64  UEFA Cup (League Cup winners)
6 Blackburn Rovers          38   9  7  3  24  15   7  5  7  28  28   +9   60  UEFA Cup
7 Everton                   38  11  5  3  28  19   6  3 10  20  30   -1   59
8 Southampton               38   9  8  2  25  16   4  5 10  18  30   -3   52  UEFA Cup (FA Cup runners up)
9 Manchester City           38   9  2  8  28  26   6  4  9  19  28   -7   51  UEFA Cup (Fair Play winners)
10 Tottenham Hotspur         38   9  4  6  30  29   5  4 10  21  33  -11   50
11 Middlesbrough             38  10  7  2  36  21   3  3 13  12  23   +4   49
12 Charlton Athletic         38   8  3  8  26  30   6  4  9  19  26  -11   49
13 Birmingham City           38   8  5  6  25  23   5  4 10  16  26   -8   48
14 Fulham                    38  11  3  5  26  18   2  6 11  15  32   -9   48
15 Leeds United              38   7  3  9  25  26   7  2 10  33  31   +1   47
16 Aston Villa               38  11  2  6  25  14   1  7 11  17  33   -5   45
17 Bolton Wanderers          38   7  8  4  27  24   3  6 10  14  27  -10   44
18 West Ham United           38   5  7  7  21  24   5  5  9  21  35  -17   42  Relegated
19 West Bromwich Albion      38   3  5 11  17  34   3  3 13  12  31  -36   26  Relegated
20 Sunderland                38   3  2 14  11  31   1  5 13  10  34  -44   19  Relegated

Leading goalscorer: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), 25

• Champions:
• *Portsmouth
• Also promoted to Premier League:
• *Leicester City
• *Wolverhampton Wanderers (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Second Division:
• *Sheffield Wednesday
• *Grimsby Town
• *Brighton & Hove Albion

P    W   D   L   F   A   GD   PTS
1. Portsmouth	      46   29  11   6  97  45  +52   98
2. Leicester City	      46   26  14   6  73  40  +33   92
3. Sheffield Utd	  46   23  11  12  72  52  +20   80
4. Reading		46   25   4  17  61  46  +15   79
5. Wolves		46   20  16  10  81  44  +37   76
6. Nottm Forest	    46   20  14  12  82  50  +32   74
7. Ipswich Town	  46   19  13  14  80  64  +16   70
8. Norwich City	  46   19  12  15  60  49  +11   69
9. Millwall	          46   19   9  18  59  69  -10   66
10. Wimbledon	    46   18  11  17  76  73   +3   65
11. Gillingham	      46   16  14  16  56  65   -9   62
12. Preston NE	    46   16  13  17  68  70   -2   61
13. Watford		46   17   9  20  54  70  -16   60
14. Crystal Palace	      46   14  17  15  59  52   +7   59
15. Rotherham Utd	  46   15  14  17  62  62    0   59
16. Burnley		46   15  10  21  65  89  -24   55
17. Walsall		46   15   9  22  57  69  -12   54
18. Derby County	  46   15   7  24  55  74  -19   52
19. Bradford City	46   14  10  22  51  73  -22   52
20. Coventry City	    46   12  14  20  46  62  -16   50
21. Stoke City	      46   12  14  20  45  69  -24   50
22. Sheffield Wednesday	46   10  16  20  56  73  -17   46
23. Brighton	            46   11  12  23  49  67  -18   45
24. Grimsby Town	  46    9  12  25  48  85  -37   39

• Champions:
• *Wigan Athletic
• Also promoted to First Division:
• *Crewe Alexandra
• *Cardiff City (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Third Division:
• *Cheltenham Town
• *Huddersfield Town
• *Mansfield Town
• *Northampton Town

P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A    GD  PTS
1. Wigan Athletic	      46   14  7  2  37  16   15  6  2  31   9   +43  100
2. Crewe Alexandra	46   11  5  7  29  19   14  6  3  47  21   +36   86
3. Bristol City	  46   15  5  3  43  15    9  6  8  36  33   +31   83
4. Queens Park Rangers	46   14  4  5  38  19   10  7  6  31  26   +24   83
5. Oldham Athletic	    46   11  6  6  39  18   11 10  2  29  20   +30   82
6. Cardiff City	  46   12  6  5  33  20   11  6  6  35  23   +25   81
7. Tranmere Rovers	46   14  5  4  38  23    9  6  8  28  34    +9   80
8. Plymouth Argyle	46   11  6  6  39  24    6  8  9  24  28   +11   65
9. Luton Town	      46    8  8  7  32  28    9  6  8  35  34    +5   65
10. Swindon Town	  46   10  5  8  34  27    6  7 10  25  36    -4   60
11. Peterborough United	46    8  7  8  25  20    6  9  8  26  34    -3   58
12. Colchester United	    46    8  7  8  24  24    6  9  8  28  32    -4   58
13. Blackpool	            46   10  8  5  35  25    5  5 13  21  39    -8   58
14. Stockport County	  46    8  8  7  39  38    7  2 14  26  32    -5   55
15. Notts County	  46   10  7  6  37  32    3  9 11  25  38    -8   55
16. Brentford	            46    8  8  7  28  21    6  4 13  19  35    -9   54
17. Port Vale	            46    9  5  9  34  31    5  6 12  20  39   -16   53
18. Wycombe Wanderers	    46    8  7  8  39  38    5  6 12  20  28    -7   52
19. Barnsley	          46    7  8  8  27  31    6  5 12  24  33   -13   52
20. Chesterfield	  46   11  4  8  29  28    3  4 16  14  45   -30   50
21. Cheltenham Town	46    6  9  8  26  31    4  9 10  27  37   -15   48
22. Huddersfield Town	46    7  9  7  27  24    4  3 16  12  37   -22   45
23. Mansfield Town	      46    9  2 12  38  45    3  6 14  28  52   -31   44
24. Northampton Town	  46    7  4 12  23  31    3  5 15  17  48   -39   39

• Champions:
• *Rushden & Diamonds
• Also promoted to Second Division:
• *Hartlepool United
• *Wrexham
• *A.F.C. Bournemouth (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Football Conference:
• *Exeter City
• *Shrewsbury Town

P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A    GD   PTS
1. Rushden & Diamonds	  46   16  5  2  48  19    8 10  5  25  28   +26    87
2. Hartlepool United	      46   16  5  2  49  21    8  8  7  22  30   +20    85
3. Wrexham		      46   12  7  4  48  26   11  8  4  36  24   +34    84
4. Bournemouth	      46   14  7  2  38  18    6  7 10  22  30   +12    74
5. Scunthorpe United	      46   11  8  4  40  20    8  7  8  28  29   +19    72
6. Lincoln City	    46   10  9  4  29  18    8  7  8  17  19    +9    70
7. Bury		    46    8  8  7  25  26   10  8  5  32  30    +1    70
8. Oxford United	      46    9  7  7  26  20   10  5  8  31  27   +10    69
9. Torquay United	        46    9 11  3  41  31    7  7  9  30  40     0    66
10. York City	              46   11  9  3  34  24    6  6 11  18  29    -1    66
11. Kidderminster Harriers	46    8  8  7  30  33    8  7  8  32  30    -1    63
12. Cambridge United	    46   10  7  6  38  25    6  6 11  29  45    -3    61
13. Hull City	          46    9 10  4  34  19    5  7 11  24  34    +5    59
14. Darlington	        46    8 10  5  36  27    4  8 11  22  32    -1    54
15. Boston United	      46   11  6  6  34  22    4  7 12  21  34    -1    54
16. Macclesfield Town	      46    8  6  9  29  28    6  6 11  28  35    -6    54
17. Southend United	  46   12  1 10  29  23    5  2 16  18  36   -12    54
18. Leyton Orient	      46    9  6  8  28  24    5  5 13  23  37   -10    53
19. Rochdale	        46    7  6 10  30  30    5 10  8  33  40    -7    52
20. Bristol Rovers	        46    7  7  9  25  27    5  8 10  25  30    -7    51
21. Swansea City	        46    9  6  8  28  25    3  7 13  20  40   -17    49
22. Carlisle United	  46    5  5 13  26  40    8  5 10  26  38   -26    49
23. Exeter City	          46    7  7  9  24  31    4  8 11  26  33   -14    48
24. Shrewsbury Town	  46    5  6 12  34  39    4  8 11  28  53   -30    41

• Champions:
• *Yeovil Town
• Also promoted to Third Division:
• *Doncaster Rovers (playoff winners)

• Relegated:
• *Nuneaton Borough (to Southern League)
• *Southport (to Northern Premier League)
• *Kettering Town (to Isthmian League)

	League	Champions
Step 2 Leagues	Northern Premier League	Accrington Stanley
	Southern League	Tamworth
	Isthmian League	Aldershot Town
Step 3 Leagues	Northern Premier League Division One	Alfreton Town
	Southern League Midland/West Division	Merthyr Tydfil
	Southern League South/East Division	Dorchester Town
	Isthmian League Division One North	Northwood
	Isthmian League Division One South	Carshalton Athletic
Step 4 Leagues	Northern League	Brandon United
	Northern Counties East League	Bridlington Town
	North West Counties League	Prescot Cables
	Midland Alliance	Stourbridge
	United Counties League	Holbeach United
	Eastern Counties League	A.F.C. Sudbury
	Hellenic League	North Leigh
	Western League	Team Bath
	Isthmian League Division Two	Cheshunt
	Essex Senior League	Enfield Town
	Spartan South Midlands League	Dunstable Town
	Combined Counties League	Withdean 2000
	Wessex League	Eastleigh
	Sussex County League	Burgess Hill Town
	Kent League	Cray Wanderers

Transfer deals

Summer transfer window

The summer transfer window runs from the end of the previous season until 31 August.

2 May 2002

• Franck Queudrue from Lens to Middlesbrough, £2.5m

14 August 2002

Juninho from Atletico Madrid to Middlesbrough, £6m

30 August 2002

Tore André Flo from Rangers to Sunderland, £8m

31 August 2002

Robbie Keane from Leeds United to Tottenham Hotspur, £7m

January transfer window

The mid-season transfer window runs from 1 to 31 January 2006.

31 January 2003

• Jonathan Woodgate from Leeds United to Newcastle United, £9m

For subsequent transfer deals see 2003-04 in English football.

Deaths

• Alan Ashman, 74, former football manager who took Carlisle United into the old First Division in 1974 and West Bromwich Albion to F.A Cup glory in 1968.
• Sir Bert Millichip, 88, chairman of the Football Association from 1981 until 1996 and a former director of West Bromwich Albion.
• Arthur Rowley, 76, a former centre forward of Leicester City player and Football League record scorer who scored an English league career record of 434 goals.
• Marc-Vivien Foé, 28, Cameroon midfielder who spent the 2002-03 season on loan to Manchester City from French side Lyon, collapsed and died during a FIFA Confederations Cup game. A post mortem revealed that Foe, who had played for West Ham United earlier in his career, had suffered from an undetected heart condition.

 

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