2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

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

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]

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

	Position	Player
	DF	Danny Jackman
	MF	Gavin Melaugh
	FW	Jon Bewers
Template:Country data		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

	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
Template:Country data	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

	Position	Player
	MF	Kyle Nix[notes 6]
	MF	Sam Williams
	MF	Stephen Foley-Sheridan
	FW	Gabriel Agbonlahor
	FW	Shane Paul
	FW	Amadou Koman
Template:Country data	MF	Rowan Caney
Template:Country data	MF	John Grady
Template:Country data		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]

	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
Template:Country data	GK	Jake Meredith
Template:Country data	MF	John Malpass (to Stourport Swifts)
Template:Country data		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
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	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.	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

References

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.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Aston Villa". soccerbase. Retrieved 22 December 2009.

[2] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2002-2003/faprem/avilla.htm

[3] ttp://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/2002-03.html

[11] ttps://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2003/

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

[7] 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.

[8] 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.

[9] Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.

[10] 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.

2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

Season review

Players

First-team squad

Left club during season

Reserve squad

U-19 squad

U-17 squad

Other players

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Starting 11

Results

Pre-season

FA Premier League

Final standings

FA Cup

League Cup

Transfers

In

Out

See also

References

Notes