2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

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. Position Player 1 GK Peter Enckelman 2 DF Mark Delaney 3 DF Alan Wright 4 DF Olof Mellberg 5 DF Alpay Özalan 6 DF Gareth Barry 7 MF Ian Taylor 8 FW Juan Pablo Ángel 9 FW Dion Dublin 10 FW Darius Vassell 11 DF Steve Staunton 12 MF Thomas Hitzlsperger 13 GK Stefan Postma 14 FW Marcus Allbäck 15 DF Ulises de la Cruz

No. Position Player 16 FW Peter Crouch 17 MF Lee Hendrie 19 FW Boško Balaban 20 MF Mustapha Hadji 21 DF Jlloyd Samuel[notes 1] 22 MF Hassan Kachloul 24 DF Liam Ridgewell 25 FW Stefan Moore 26 MF Mark Kinsella 27 DF Ronny Johnsen 28 MF Øyvind Leonhardsen 29 MF Peter Whittingham 30 DF Rob Edwards[notes 2] 31 DF Stephen Cooke 33 DF 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. Position Player 6 MF George Boateng[notes 3] (to Middlesbrough) 10 FW Paul Merson (to Portsmouth) 18 MF Steve Stone (to Portsmouth)

No. Position Player 23 MF Michael Boulding (to Grimsby Town) MF Gavin Melaugh (on loan to Rochdale)

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. Position Player 37 GK Boaz Myhill[notes 4] 38 MF John McGrath 40 MF Keith Fahey DF Leon Hylton

No. Position Player DF Danny Jackman MF Gavin Melaugh FW 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. Position Player 39 GK Wayne Henderson 42 FW Peter Hynes GK Antoni Pecora GK Stephen Gahan DF Scott Cormell DF James O'Connor DF Cameron Stuart DF Oliver Williams DF Pierre Ennis MF Ryan Amoo

No. Position Player MF Adam Baptist (on trial to Stoke City) MF Colin Marshall MF Steven Davis MF Jamie Ward[notes 5] FW Mark Atkinson FW Michael Husbands FW Alan Brazil FW 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. Position Player 32 FW Luke Moore GK Andrew Yarnold DF Stuart Bridges DF Gary Cahill DF Ashley Edkins DF Lee Grant DF Nick Green DF Paul Green DF Kevin Mulcahy MF Craig Gardner

No. Position Player MF Kyle Nix[notes 6] MF Sam Williams MF Stephen Foley-Sheridan FW Gabriel Agbonlahor FW Shane Paul FW 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. Position Player GK Jon Masalin GK Kelvin Jack (on trial from San Juan Jabloteh) DF Danny Haynes DF Lasse Lagerblom (on trial from Lahti) MF Michael Noakes MF Isaiah Osbourne MF Jay Smith (to Southend United) MF Christian Tshimanga Kabeya[notes 7]

No. Position Player MF Espen Sögård (on trial from Lillestrøm SK) FW Matt Lewis (on trial from Kidderminster Harriers) FW Lee McGuire (to Bristol City) MF David Scullion GK Jake Meredith MF John Malpass (to Stourport Swifts) Steve Jones (on trial to Stoke City)

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

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 Premier League Arsenal v Aston Villa 30 November 2002 16 Arsenal 3–1 Aston Villa London 15:00 GMT Pirès  17' Henry  49', 82' (pen.) [ Report] Hitzlsperger  64' Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,090 Referee: Graham Barber Birmingham City v Aston Villa 16 September 2002 Birmingham City 3–0 Aston Villa St Andrew's, Birmingham 20:00 BST (UTC+01) Morrison  31' Enckelman  77' (o.g.) Horsfield  83' [ Report] Attendance: 29,505 Referee: David Elleray Aston Villa v Fulham 9 November 2002 (2002-11-09) 13 Aston Villa 3–1 Fulham Birmingham, West Midlands Angel  20' Allback  66' Leonhardsen  83' [ Report] Boa Morte  51' Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 29,563 Referee: Andy D'Urso Aston Villa v Birmingham City 3 March 2003 Aston Villa 0–2 Birmingham City Villa Park, Birmingham 20:00 GMT (UTC) Dublin  51' Guðjónsson  81' [ Report] Lazaridis  74' Horsfield  77' Attendance: 42,602 Referee: Mark Halsey Aston Villa v Arsenal 5 April 2003 32 Aston Villa 1–1 Arsenal Birmingham 15:00 BST Touré  71' (o.g.) Report Ljungberg  56' Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,602 Referee: Uriah Rennie 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 2003–04 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 2003 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 ↑ "Aston Villa". soccerbase. Retrieved 22 December 2009. ↑ http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2002-2003/faprem/avilla.htm ↑ http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/2002-03.html ↑ https://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2003/ Notes ↑ 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. ↑ 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. ↑ 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. ↑ 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. ↑ 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. ↑ Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level. ↑ 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.