2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 2002–03 season was Aston Villa's 11th season in the Premier League, and their 15th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]

Aston Villa

2002–03 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	Graham Taylor
Premier League	16th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Intertoto Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Dion Dublin (10) All: Dion Dublin (14)
Home colours Away colours

Season review

Fans had hoped that the return of successful former manager Graham Taylor would spark a serious challenge for honours once more, but the actual result was Villa's worst Premier League campaign to date, with the club in serious danger of relegation throughout the season. Survival was only achieved in the penultimate game of the season with a victory over already-doomed Sunderland; Taylor was soon on his way out of the club for good.

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[2][3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FIN Peter Enckelman 2 DF  WAL Mark Delaney 3 DF  ENG Alan Wright 4 DF  SWE Olof Mellberg 5 DF  TUR Alpay Özalan 6 DF  ENG Gareth Barry 7 MF  ENG Ian Taylor 8 FW  COL Juan Pablo Ángel 9 FW  ENG Dion Dublin 10 FW  ENG Darius Vassell 11 DF  IRL Steve Staunton 12 MF  GER Thomas Hitzlsperger 13 GK  NED Stefan Postma 14 FW  SWE Marcus Allbäck 15 DF  ECU Ulises de la Cruz

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 FW  ENG Peter Crouch 17 MF  ENG Lee Hendrie 19 FW  CRO Boško Balaban 20 MF  MAR Mustapha Hadji 21 DF  ENG Jlloyd Samuel[notes 1] 22 MF  MAR Hassan Kachloul 24 DF  ENG Liam Ridgewell 25 FW  ENG Stefan Moore 26 MF  IRL Mark Kinsella 27 DF  NOR Ronny Johnsen 28 MF  NOR Øyvind Leonhardsen 29 MF  ENG Peter Whittingham 30 DF  WAL Rob Edwards[notes 2] 31 DF  ENG Stephen Cooke 33 DF  ISL Joey Guðjónsson (on loan from Real Betis)

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 MF  NED George Boateng[notes 3] (to Middlesbrough) 10 FW  ENG Paul Merson (to Portsmouth) 18 MF  ENG Steve Stone (to Portsmouth)

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  ENG Michael Boulding (to Grimsby Town) 77 MF  ENG Michael Soraghan (to Middlesbrough)

Reserve squad

The following players made most of their appearances for the reserves this season, but may have also appeared for the reserves or the U-17s, or may have appeared for the first team in a friendly.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 GK  ENG Boaz Myhill[notes 4] 38 MF  IRL John McGrath 40 MF  IRL Keith Fahey — DF  ENG Leon Hylton

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Danny Jackman — MF  NIR Gavin Melaugh — FW  ENG Jon Bewers —   Seyi Morgan

U-19 squad

The following players made most of their appearances for the U-19s this season, but may have also appeared for the reserves or the U-17s.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 GK  IRL Wayne Henderson 42 FW  IRL Peter Hynes — GK  ENG Antoni Pecora — GK  IRL Stephen Gahan — DF  ENG Scott Cormell — DF  ENG James O'Connor — DF  ENG Cameron Stuart — DF  ENG Oliver Williams — DF  IRL Pierre Ennis — MF  ENG Ryan Amoo

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Adam Baptist (on trial to Stoke City) — MF  SCO Colin Marshall — MF  NIR Steven Davis — MF  NIR Jamie Ward[notes 5] — FW  ENG Mark Atkinson — FW  ENG Michael Husbands — FW  SCO Alan Brazil — FW  FIN Mika Aaritalo — MF   David Nolan

U-17 squad

The following players made most of their appearances for the U-17s this season, but may have also appeared for the reserves or the U-19s.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 FW  ENG Luke Moore — GK  ENG Andrew Yarnold — DF  ENG Stuart Bridges — DF  ENG Gary Cahill — DF  ENG Ashley Edkins — DF  ENG Lee Grant — DF  ENG Nick Green — DF  ENG Paul Green — DF  IRL Kevin Mulcahy — MF  ENG Craig Gardner

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Kyle Nix[notes 6] — MF  ENG Sam Williams — MF  IRL Stephen Foley-Sheridan — FW  ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor — FW  ENG Shane Paul — FW  CIV Amadou Koman — MF   Rowan Caney — MF   John Grady —   Daniel Bridges

Other players

The following players did not play for any Aston Villa team this season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FIN Jon Masalin — GK  TRI Kelvin Jack (on trial from San Juan Jabloteh) — DF  ENG Danny Haynes — DF  FIN Lasse Lagerblom (on trial from Lahti) — MF  ENG Michael Noakes — MF  ENG Isaiah Osbourne — MF  ENG Jay Smith (to Southend United) — MF  BEL Christian Tshimanga Kabeya[notes 7]

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  NOR Espen Sögård (on trial from Lillestrøm SK) — FW  ENG Matt Lewis (on trial from Kidderminster Harriers) — FW  ENG Lee McGuire (to Bristol City) — MF  NIR David Scullion — GK   Jake Meredith — MF   John Malpass (to Stourport Swifts) —   Steve Jones (on trial to Stoke City)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of end of season[4]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Intertoto Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Peter Enckelman	39	0	33	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
13	GK		Stefan Postma	9	0	5+1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
Defenders
2	DF		Mark Delaney	17	0	12	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
3	DF		Alan Wright	12	0	9+1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF		Olof Mellberg	44	1	38	1	1	0	2	0	3	0
5	DF		Alpay Özalan	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	DF		Steve Staunton	32	1	22+4	0	0	0	3	0	3	1
15	DF		Ulises de la Cruz	24	2	12+8	1	1	0	2+1	1	0	0
21	DF		Jlloyd Samuel	45	0	33+5	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
24	DF		Liam Ridgewell	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF		Ronny Johnsen	30	0	25+1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
30	DF		Rob Edwards	9	0	7+1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
6	MF		Gareth Barry	44	4	35	3	1	0	4	1	4	0
7	MF		Ian Taylor	19	2	9+4	0	0+1	0	2	1	3	1
12	MF		Thomas Hitzlsperger	33	4	24+2	2	0	0	2+1	2	4	0
17	MF		Lee Hendrie	34	4	22+5	4	1	0	3	0	1+2	0
20	MF		Mustapha Hadji	14	0	7+4	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0
22	MF		Hassan Kachloul	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
26	MF		Mark Kinsella	24	0	15+4	0	1	0	2+2	0	0	0
28	MF		Øyvind Leonhardsen	23	3	13+6	3	0	0	3+1	0	0	0
29	MF		Peter Whittingham	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF		Stephen Cooke	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF		Joey Guðjónsson	11	2	9+2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
8	FW		Juan Pablo Ángel	19	3	8+7	1	1	1	0+3	1	0	0
9	FW		Dion Dublin	35	14	23+5	10	1	0	4	4	2	0
10	FW		Darius Vassell	39	11	28+5	8	0+1	0	3	3	1+1	0
14	FW		Marcus Allbäck	25	6	9+11	5	0	0	0+2	0	3	1
16	FW		Peter Crouch	18	0	7+7	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
25	FW		Stefan Moore	17	1	7+6	1	0	0	1+1	0	0+2	0
Players transferred out during the season
6	MF		George Boateng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF		Paul Merson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
18	MF		Steve Stone	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0
23	FW		Michael Boulding	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1

Last updated: 30 May 2003
Source: Competitions

Starting 11

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	MS	Notes
1	GK		Peter Enckelman	39
2	RB		Mark Delaney	17
27	CB		Ronny Johnsen	29
4	CB		Olof Mellberg	44
21	LB		Jlloyd Samuel	40
26	RM		Mark Kinsella	18	Steve Staunton has 28 starts
17	CM		Lee Hendrie	27
6	CM		Gareth Barry	44
12	LM		Thomas Hitzlsperger	30
9	CF		Dion Dublin	30
10	CF		Darius Vassell	32

Results

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
20 July 2002	FC Zurich	A	0 – 2		Intertoto Cup
27 July 2002	FC Zurich	H	3 – 0	Boulding (33), Allback (52), Staunton (77)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	A	1 – 1	Taylor (83)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	H	0 – 2		Intertoto Cup

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
18 August 2002	Liverpool	H	0–1	41,183
24 August 2002	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1	35,384
28 August 2002	Manchester City	H	1–0	33,494	Vassell 64'
1 September 2002	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–1	22,113
11 September 2002	Charlton Athletic	H	2–0	26,483	de la Cruz 70', S Moore 83'
16 September 2002	Birmingham City	A	0–3	29,505
22 September 2002	Everton	H	3–2	30,023	Hendrie 7', 48', Dublin 85'
28 September 2002	Sunderland	A	0–1	40,492
6 October 2002	Leeds United	H	0–0	33,505
21 October 2002	Southampton	H	0–1	25,817
26 October 2002	Manchester United	A	1–1	67,619	Mellberg 35'
03 November 2002	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–0	23,004
09 November 2002	Fulham	H	3–1	29,563	Ángel 20', Allback 66', Leonhardsen 83'
16 November 2002	West Bromwich Albion	A	0–0	27,091
23 November 2002	West Ham United	H	4–1	33,279	Hendrie 29', Leonhardsen 59', Dublin 72', Vassell 80'
30 November 2002	Arsenal	A	1–3	38,090	Hitzlsperger 64'
7 December 2002	Newcastle United	H	0–1	33,446
14 December 2002	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–1	40,391	Vassell 16', Hitzlsperger 90'
21 December 2002	Chelsea	A	0–2	38,284
26 December 2002	Manchester City	A	1–3	33,991	Dublin 41'
28 December 2002	Middlesbrough	H	1–0	33,637	Dublin 11'
1 January 2003	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–0	31,838	Dublin 8', Vassell 80'
11 January 2003	Liverpool	A	1–1	43,210	Dublin (pen) 49'
18 January 2003	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–1	38,576
28 January 2003	Middlesbrough	A	5–2	27,546	Vassell 24', 81', Guðjónsson 31', Barry 47', Dublin 90'
2 February 2003	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–0	29,171	Dublin 2', 40', Barry 81'
8 February 2003	Fulham	A	1–2	17,092	Barry 3'
22 February 2003	Charlton Athletic	A	0–3	26,257
3 March 2003	Birmingham City	H	0–2	42,602
15 March 2003	Manchester United	H	0-1	42,602
22 March 2003	Southampton	A	2–2	31,888	Hendrie 30', Vassell 36'
5 April 2003	Arsenal	H	1–1	42,602	K Touré (own goal) 71'
12 April 2003	West Ham United	A	2–2	35,029	Vassell (pen) 36', Leonhardsen 52'
19 April 2003	Chelsea	H	2–1	39,358	Allback 11', 78'
21 April 2003	Newcastle United	A	1–1	52,015	Dublin 69'
26 April 2003	Everton	A	1–2	40,167	Allback 49'
3 May 2003	Sunderland	H	1–0	36,963	Allback 80'
11 May 2003	Leeds United	A	1–3	40,205	Guðjónsson 40

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
14	Fulham	38	13	9	16	41	50	−9	48
15	Leeds United	38	14	5	19	58	57	+1	47
16	Aston Villa	38	12	9	17	42	47	−5	45
17	Bolton Wanderers	38	10	14	14	41	51	−10	44
18	West Ham United (R)	38	10	12	16	42	59	−17	42	Relegation to Football League First Division

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
4 January 2003	Round 3	Blackburn Rovers	H	1 – 4	Angel 41'	23,884

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
2 October 2002	Round 2	Luton Town	H	3 – 0	De La Cruz 9', Dublin (2) 35', 48'	20,833
6 November 2002	Round 3	Oxford United	A	3 – 0	Taylor 74', Barry 77', Dublin 86'	12,177
4 December 2002	Round 4	Preston North End	H	5 – 0	Vassell 44', 55', Dublin 80', Ángel 84', Hitzlsperger 87'	23,042
18 December 2002	Round 5	Liverpool	H	3 – 4	Vassell 23' (pen), Hitzlsperger 72', Henchoz 88 (o.g.)	38,530

Transfers

In

#	Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
33	MF	Joey Guðjónsson	Real Betis	Loan	January 2003
14	FW	Marcus Allbäck	SC Heerenveen	£2,000,000	July 2002
27	DF	Ronny Johnsen	Manchester United F.C.	Free	July 2002
15	DF	Ulises de la Cruz	Hibernian F.C.	£1,000,000	July 2002
26	MF	Mark Kinsella	Charlton Athletic F.C.	£1,000,000	July 2002
28	MF	Øyvind Leonhardsen	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.	Free	July 2002
13	GK	Stefan Postma	De Graafschap	£1,500,000	July 2002
23	FW	Michael Boulding	Grimsby Town F.C.	Free	July 2002

Out

#	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
10	MF	Paul Merson	Portsmouth	Free	June 2002
6	MF	George Boateng	Middlesbrough	£5,000,000	June 2002
1	GK	Peter Schmeichel	Manchester City	Free	June 2002
19	FW	Boško Balaban	Dinamo Zagreb	Loan	June 2002
43	DF	Liam Ridgewell	Bournemouth	Loan	August 2002
24	MF	John McGrath	Dagenham & Redbridge	Loan	November 2002
N/A	MF	Jay Smith	Southend United	Free	November 2002
18	MF	Steve Stone	Portsmouth	Free	December 2002
23	FW	Michael Boulding	Grimsby Town	Free	January 2003
7	MF	Ian Taylor	Derby County	Released	August 2003

See also

• Aston Villa F.C. seasons

References

1. "Aston Villa". soccerbase. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
2. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2002-2003/faprem/avilla.htm
3. http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/2002-03.html
4. https://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2003/

Notes

1. Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-21 level and be called up to the senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.
2. Edwards was born in Madeley, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
3. Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Netherlands in November 2001.
4. Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
5. Ward was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his grandfather and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in August 2011.
6. Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.
7. Kabeya was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but also qualifies to represent Belgium internationally and has represented them at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level.