| Club: | Sunderland |
| Season: | 2001–02 |
| Manager: | Peter Reid |
| Chairman: | Bob Murray |
| Stadium: | Stadium of Light |
| League: | FA Premier League |
| League Result: | 17th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Second round |
| League Topscorer: | Kevin Phillips (11) |
| Season Topscorer: | Kevin Phillips (13) |
| Average Attendance: | 44,108 |
| Prevseason: | 2000–01 |
| Nextseason: | 2002–03 |
During the 2001–02 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.
In the 2001–02 season, despite standing 9th on Boxing Day 2001, Sunderland narrowly avoided relegation. They were the lowest scoring team in the Premier League,[1] with 29 goals, ending the season in 17th place and being knocked out of both English Cup competitions in their first rounds.[1]
Sunderland's score comes first[2]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
See main article: 2001–02 FA Premier League.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 August 2001 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–0 | 47,370 | Phillips (pen) | |
| 22 August 2001 | Fulham | A | 0–2 | 20,197 | ||
| 26 August 2001 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 52,021 | Phillips | |
| 8 September 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | 45,103 | Quinn | |
| 16 September 2001 | Aston Villa | A | 0–0 | 31,668 | ||
| 19 September 2001 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–2 | 47,310 | Phillips | |
| 22 September 2001 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | 46,825 | Quinn (2) | |
| 29 September 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 24,520 | Phillips, Craddock | |
| 13 October 2001 | Manchester United | H | 1–3 | 48,305 | Phillips | |
| 22 October 2001 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | 28,432 | ||
| 27 October 2001 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 48,029 | Schwarz | |
| 3 November 2001 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | 20,573 | ||
| 18 November 2001 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | 48,005 | Arca, Phillips | |
| 25 November 2001 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 43,537 | ||
| 1 December 2001 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 47,437 | Phillips | |
| 9 December 2001 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 48,017 | ||
| 15 December 2001 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | 29,459 | ||
| 22 December 2001 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 48,013 | Reyna | |
| 26 December 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 3–0 | 29,869 | Quinn (2), Kilbane | |
| 29 December 2001 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–5 | 24,517 | ||
| 1 January 2002 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | 45,324 | Thome | |
| 12 January 2002 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 30,736 | ||
| 19 January 2002 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 45,124 | Phillips | |
| 29 January 2002 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | 44,579 | ||
| 2 February 2002 | Manchester United | A | 1–4 | 67,587 | Phillips | |
| 9 February 2002 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 31,771 | Quinn | |
| 24 February 2002 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 48,290 | ||
| 2 March 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | 36,062 | M'Boma | |
| 5 March 2002 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 43,011 | McAteer | |
| 16 March 2002 | Chelsea | A | 0–4 | 40,218 | ||
| 23 March 2002 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | 46,120 | McAteer | |
| 30 March 2002 | Arsenal | A | 0–3 | 38,047 | ||
| 1 April 2002 | Leicester City | H | 2–1 | 44,950 | Reyna (2) | |
| 7 April 2002 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 39,195 | ||
| 13 April 2002 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | 48,355 | ||
| 20 April 2002 | West Ham United | A | 0–3 | 33,319 | ||
| 27 April 2002 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–2 | 26,614 | Kilbane, Phillips | |
| 11 May 2002 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 47,989 | Phillips |
See main article: 2001–02 FA Cup.
| R3 | 5 January 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–2 | 29,133 | Phillips |
See main article: 2001–02 Football League Cup.
| R2 | 12 September 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–4 | 12,074 | Phillips, Laslandes |
Squad at end of season[3]
The following players did not appear for the first team this season.
| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May 2001 | MF |  Nicolas Medina | Argentinos Juniors | £3,500,000[4] | |
| 13 June 2001 | DF | Baki Mercimek | Haarlem | Free[5] | |
| 28 June 2001 | FW |  Lilian Laslandes | Bordeaux | £3,600,000[6] | |
| 3 July 2001 | FW | David Bellion | Cannes | Free[7] | |
| 3 August 2001 | DF | Bernt Haas | Grasshopper | £750,000[8] | |
| 19 October 2001 | MF |  Jason McAteer | Blackburn Rovers | £1 million | |
| 7 December 2001 | MF |  Claudio Reyna | Rangers | £4 million | |
| 28 January 2002 | DF |  Joachim Björklund |  Venezia | £1.5 million |
| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2001 | MF | Carsten Fredgaard | FC Copenhagen | £500,000[9] | |
| 18 August 2001 | MF | Neil Wainwright | Darlington | £50,000 | |
| 30 August 2001 | MF | Don Hutchison | West Ham United | £5 million[10] | |
| 19 September 2001 | MF | Alex Rae | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1.2 million | |
| 30 November 2001 | FW | Danny Dichio | West Bromwich Albion | £1.25 million | |
| 11 December 2001 | MF | Chris Lumsdon | Barnsley | £350,000 |
| Date | Pos | Name | Club | Return | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2001 | FW | 21 April 2002 | ||||
| 22 August 2001 | FW | 22 September 2001 | [12] | |||
| 7 September 2001 | MF | 21 April 2002 | ||||
| 21 September 2001 | FW | 21 October 2001 | [13] | |||
| 27 September 2001 | DF | 21 April 2002 | [14] [15] | |||
| 5 October 2001 | MF | 11 December 2001 | ||||
| 19 October 2001 | MF | 19 November 2001 | ||||
| 7 January 2002 | FW | 9 March 2002 | ||||
| 25 March 2002 | DF | 25 April 2002 | ||||
| 28 March 2002 | FW | 22 April 2002 |
As of end of season[16] |-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers|-|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders|-|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders:|-|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards:|-|-|colspan="14"|Players no longer with club:|-|-|}