2002–03 Hibernian F.C. season

Season 2002–03 was a disappointment for Hibernian, as the team finished in the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League in Bobby Williamson's first full season in charge. The team were also knocked out of the two domestic cup competitions at an early stage. In a preview for the next season, BBC Sport commented that the biggest problem "was a fragile defence that developed a nasty habit of conceding late goals".[2]

Hibernian
2002–03 season
ManagerBobby Williamson
SPL7th
Scottish CupR4
CIS CupR3
Top goalscorerLeague: McManus, 11
All: McManus, 11
Highest home attendance13686[1]
Lowest home attendance7518[1]
Average home league attendance9937[1] (down 1666)

League season

Hibs got off to a very poor start to the league season, collecting only three points from a possible 18.[3] This included heavy defeats by Hearts and Dunfermline.[3] Former Hibs player Ulrik Laursen commented in the match programme for his new club, Celtic, that he believed former Hibs manager Alex McLeish (now at Rangers) was to blame for this decline in fortunes, due to his decision to release popular players such as Mixu Paatelainen and Stuart Lovell.[4] Hibs lost the game 1–0 at Celtic Park and remained bottom of the early league table,[4] but fortunes immediately improved, as Hibs won their next five league games in succession.

This revival meant that they were in a good league position going into the third Edinburgh derby of the season, on 2 January, where victory would mean that Hibs would leapfrog Hearts into third place.[5] Hibs twice took a two-goal lead, but conceded two goals (both scored by Graham Weir) late in stoppage time to gift Hearts a 4–4 draw.[5] Hibs then lost their next five league games and drifted down the league, eventually finishing in 7th place.

Results
3 August 2002 SPLHibernian1 – 2AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Luna  31' Mackie  64'
Clark  90'		 Attendance: 13,340
Referee: Toner
11 August 2002 SPLHeart of Midlothian5 – 1HibernianTynecastle, Edinburgh
Kirk  18'
de Vries  40', 66', 90', 90'		 Murray  51' Attendance: 15,245
Referee: McCurry
18 August 2002 SPLHibernian2 – 4RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Townsley  35'
O'Connor  89'		 de Boer  6'
Ferguson  45' (pen.)
Løvenkrands  65', 87'		 Attendance: 11,633
Referee: Dallas
24 August 2002 SPLDundee2 – 1HibernianDens Park, Dundee
Caballero  79'
Lovell  90'		 O'Connor  10' Attendance: 6,411
Referee: Young
31 August 2002 SPLMotherwell0 – 2HibernianFir Park, Motherwell
Townsley  15', 72' Attendance: 5,888
Referee: Clark
11 September 2002 SPLHibernian1 – 4Dunfermline AthleticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen  42' Walker  11'
Brewster  24', 57'
Crawford  32'		 Attendance: 9,837
Referee: Dougal
14 September 2002 SPLCeltic1 – 0HibernianCeltic Park, Glasgow
Hartson  31' Attendance: 56,703
Referee: McDonald
21 September 2002 SPLHibernian2 – 0KilmarnockEaster Road, Edinburgh
Murray  8'
McManus  11'		 Attendance: 8,680
Referee: Rowbotham
28 September 2002 SPLHibernian1 – 0LivingstonEaster Road, Edinburgh
Murray  45' Attendance: 9,541
Referee: Freeland
5 October 2002 SPLHibernian2 – 1Dundee UnitedEaster Road, Edinburgh
O'Connor  29'
Murray  51'		 Thompson  76' Attendance: 9,175
Referee: Underhill
19 October 2002 SPLPartick Thistle0 – 3HibernianFirhill Stadium, Glasgow
O'Connor  44', 88'
Paatelainen  81'		 Attendance: 5,946
Referee: Rowbotham
27 October 2002 SPLAberdeen0 – 1HibernianPittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Brebner  70' Attendance: 12,321
Referee: Clark
3 November 2002 SPLHibernian1 – 2Heart of MidlothianEaster Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen  36' McKenna  86'
Stamp  90'		 Attendance: 15,560
Referee: Young
10 November 2002 SPLRangers2 – 1HibernianIbrox Stadium, Glasgow
Mols  11'
Arveladze  35'		 McManus  45' Attendance: 48,798
Referee: McCurry
16 November 2002 SPLHibernian2 – 1DundeeEaster Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen  12', 49' (pen.) Novo  90' Attendance: 8,870
Referee: Dallas
23 November 2002 SPLHibernian3 – 1MotherwellEaster Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen  59'
McManus  64'
O'Neil  90' (pen.)		 Ferguson  47' Attendance: 8,859
Referee: McDonald
30 November 2002 SPLDunfermline Athletic1 – 1HibernianEast End Park, Dunfermline
Crawford  66' McManus  57' Attendance: 7,515
Referee: Fyfe
4 December 2002 SPLHibernian0 – 1CelticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Petrov  76' Attendance: 12,042
Referee: McCurry
7 December 2002 SPLDundee United1 – 1HibernianTannadice Park, Dundee
Wilson  3' Murray  7' Attendance: 5,673
Referee: McDonald
14 December 2002 SPLLivingston1 – 2HibernianAlmondvale, Livingston
Brinquin  90' Murray  55'
James  66'		 Attendance: 6,501
Referee: Brines
21 December 2002 SPLKilmarnock2 – 1HibernianRugby Park, Kilmarnock
McSwegan  63'
Fulton  88'		 Luna  83' Attendance: 5,814
Referee: Dallas
26 December 2002 SPLHibernian1 – 1Partick ThistleEaster Road, Edinburgh
O'Neil  89' (pen.) Burns  78' Attendance: 10,317
Referee: Thomson
29 December 2002 SPLHibernian2 – 0AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen  70'
McManus  85'		 Attendance: 11,604
Referee: Rowbotham
2 January 2003 SPLHeart of Midlothian4 – 4HibernianTynecastle, Edinburgh
Pressley  30' (pen.)
de Vries  62'
Weir  90', 90'		 Townsley  11'
McManus  17'
James  89'
Brebner  90'		 Attendance: 17,732
Referee: Dougal
29 January 2003 SPLHibernian0 – 2RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Ferguson  58'
Caniggia  85'		 Attendance: 13,686
Referee: Clark
8 February 2003 SPLMotherwell2 – 1HibernianFir Park, Motherwell
Clarkson  31'
Fagan  41'		 O'Connor  71' Attendance: 4,999
Referee: Richmond
15 February 2003 SPLHibernian1 – 3Dunfermline AthleticEaster Road, Edinburgh
O'Connor  67' Mason  20'
Crawford  39', 55'		 Attendance: 9,175
Referee: McCurry
25 February 2003 SPLDundee3 – 0HibernianDens Park, Dundee
Rae  9'
Milne  86'
Murray  90' (o.g.)		 Attendance: 8,414
Referee: Freeland
2 March 2003 SPLCeltic3 – 2HibernianCeltic Park, Glasgow
Hartson  1', 23'
Mjallby  90'		 McManus  37', 60' Attendance: 57,512
Referee: Young
9 March 2003 SPLHibernian1 – 1Dundee UnitedEaster Road, Edinburgh
McManus  3' McIntyre  69' Attendance: 7,518
Referee: Somers
15 March 2003 SPLPartick Thistle0 – 1HibernianFirhill Stadium, Glasgow
McManus  15' Attendance: 4,551
Referee: Mitchell
5 April 2003 SPLKilmarnock6 – 2HibernianRugby Park, Kilmarnock
McDonald  11'
McSwegan  24', 42', 47', 62'
Boyd  90' (pen.)		 Murray  18'
Jack  83'		 Attendance: 5,814
Referee: Dallas
12 April 2003 SPLHibernian2 – 2LivingstonEaster Road, Edinburgh
Orman  44'
Riordan  53'		 Wilson  87'
O'Brien  89'		 Attendance: 8,150
Referee: Rowbotham
26 April 2003 SPLDundee United1 – 2HibernianTannadice Park, Dundee
McCracken  32' McManus  58' (pen.)
Murray  90'		 Attendance: 6,758
Referee: McCurry
3 May 2003 SPLHibernian3 – 1AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jack  42'
Riordan  61', 72'		 Tiernan  88' Attendance: 7,904
Referee: Richmond
10 May 2003 SPLHibernian1 – 0MotherwellEaster Road, Edinburgh
Brebner  66' (pen.) Attendance: 7,809
Referee: Young
17 May 2003 SPLLivingston1 – 2HibernianAlmondvale, Livingston
Pasquinelli  87' Brown  38', 69' Attendance: 5,423
Referee: Fyfe
24 May 2003 SPLHibernian2 – 3Partick ThistleEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jack  8'
Brown  34'		 Britton  29'
Rowson  52'
Burns  86'		 Attendance: 9,286
Referee: Underhill

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
5 Dunfermline Athletic 38 13 7 18 54 71 −17 46
6 Dundee 38 10 14 14 50 60 −10 44 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
7 Hibernian 38 15 6 17 56 64 −8 51
8 Aberdeen 38 13 10 15 41 54 −13 49
9 Livingston 38 9 8 21 48 62 −14 35
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. As Rangers, the 2002–03 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dundee, the cup runners-up

Scottish League Cup

As one of the SPL clubs who had not automatically qualified for European competition, Hibs entered at the last 32 stage (second round) of the competition, in which they defeated Alloa Athletic 2–0. Hibs were then drawn against Rangers, managed by former Hibs boss Alex McLeish, at home in the last 16.[6] The match proved to be a "miserable night" for Hibs, as the tie was lost 3–2 despite taking an early lead.[6] The lead was quickly turned into a deficit by an own goal and a defensive error by Derek Townsley.[6] Despite Garry O'Connor's goal levelling the score midway through the second half, Rangers scored what proved to be the winning goal soon afterwards.[6] Gary Smith was sent off late on, reducing Hibs to ten men.[6] To top things off, midfielder Alen Orman suffered what appeared to be an epileptic fit during the first half and had to be substituted.[6]

Results
24 September 2002 Scottish League CupAlloa Athletic0 – 2HibernianRecreation Park, Alloa
Brebner  59'
O'Connor  72'		 Attendance: 1,842
Referee: McCurry
24 October 2002 Scottish League CupHibernian2 – 3RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Murray  6'
O'Connor  72'		 Townsley  22' (o.g.)
Caniggia  25'
Løvenkrands  78'		 Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Dallas

Scottish Cup

Results
25 January 2003 Scottish CupDundee United2 – 3HibernianTannadice Park, Dundee
O'Donnell  70'
Hamilton  79' (pen.)		 Brebner  10', 28', 87' Attendance: 8,986
Referee: Brown
22 February 2003 Scottish CupDunfermline Athletic1 – 1HibernianEast End Park, Dunfermline
Nicholson  58' Murray  42' Attendance: 6,619
Referee: Dougal
6 March 2003 Scottish CupHibernian0 – 2Dunfermline AthleticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Crawford  57'
Wilson  79'		 Attendance: 5,851
Referee: Dallas

Transfers

During this period, Hibs were experiencing severe financial problems, due to a "collapse in television revenues".[7] Hibs chairman Ken Lewandowski stated that the club's debt burden at the financial year end would be approximately £17M, and that the club could only continue to operate due to the support offered by majority shareholder Tom Farmer.[7] At the end of the season, the club explored the possibility of selling Easter Road and sharing a new ground with Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts.[8] During the summer of 2002, Hibs somewhat addressed these financial deficits by selling Ulises de la Cruz and Ulrik Laursen. De la Cruz was sold just one season after Hibs had bought him for a club record fee.[9]

Player stats

During the 2002–03 season, Hibs used 30 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[10]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSPLScottish CupLeague Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Daniel Andersson 30300000
GK Tony Caig 60600000
GK Nick Colgan 3503003020
DF Allan Dempsie 20200000
DF Mark Dempsie 30300000
DF Mathias Kouo-Doumbé 1501302000
DF Paul Fenwick 3603103020
DF Craig James 2522222010
DF Janos Matyus 1501400010
DF Gary Smith 3703203020
DF Steven Whittaker 60600000
DF Yannick Zambernardi 3102801020
MF Frederic Arpinon 90801000
MF Grant Brebner 3773233321
MF Mathias Jack 2131932000
MF Ian Murray 40103683111
MF Kevin Nicol 10100000
MF John O'Neil 2422123000
MF Alen Orman 2812511020
MF Alan Reid 70700000
MF Darran Thomson 20200000
MF Derek Townsley 3042543020
MF Jarkko Wiss 2702401020
FW Scott Brown 43430000
FW Frederic Daquin 20200000
FW Paco Luna 2021820020
FW Tam McManus 391135113010
FW Garry O'Connor 2892373022
FW Mixu Paatelainen 2972473020
FW Derek Riordan 1131030010

See also

References
  1. "Average Home League Game Attendances". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. "Room for improvement at Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 August 2003.
  3. Brewster destroys Hibs, Daily Telegraph, 12 September 2002.
  4. Laursen blames McLeish over Hibs, Daily Telegraph, 16 September 2002.
  5. High drama in Edinburgh derby, BBC Sport, 2 January 2003.
  6. Hibernian 2 Rangers 3, Sporting Life.
  7. Kwik-Fit keeps Hibs afloat, BBC Sport, 25 June 2003.
  8. Capital groundshare plan, BBC Sport, 16 June 2003.
  9. De la Cruz for Villa, The Guardian, 26 July 2002.
  10. "Hibernian 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
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