| Season: | 2001–02 |
| Mgrtitle: | Manager |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| League Result: | 3rd (lost in play-offs) |
| League Topscorer: | Dean Sturridge (21) |
| Season Topscorer: | Dean Sturridge (21) |
| Highest Attendance: | 28,015 (vs Manchester City, 1 April 2002) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 7,598 (vs Swindon, 22 August 2001) |
| Average Attendance: | 23,796 (league only) |
| Nextseason: | 2002–03 |
The 2001–02 season was the 103rd season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League First Division.
The season proved a notable disappointment for the club after being denied promotion in the play-offs. The team had sat in the automatic promotion spots for the majority of the campaign, but a late slump in form saw local rivals West Bromwich Albion pip them to second place.[1] Defeat to Norwich City in the semi-finals then ended their hopes of returning to the top flight for the first time since 1984.[2]
The club had spent in excess of £11 million before and during the season to try to achieve promotion, in this, manager Dave Jones' first full season in charge.[2]
Wolves' pre season saw them spend a week in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal (13–22 July), training and playing three Portuguese sides. This schedule was a change from their initial plans to compete in the Toronto Soccer Festival against both Canadian sides and other overseas entrants. However this event was cancelled two months beforehand.
See also: 2001–02 Football League. A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League First Division in the 2001–02 season. Each team played every other team twice: once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.
The provisional fixture list was released on 21 June 2001, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.[3]
Final table
| width=30 | Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 46 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 108 | 52 | +56 | 99 | |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 89 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 43 | +33 | 86 | |
| 4 | Millwall | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 69 | 48 | +21 | 77 | |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 70 | 49 | +21 | 76 | |
| 6 | Norwich City | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 60 | 51 | +21 | 75 | |
Results summary
Results by round
See also: 2001–02 FA Cup.
See also: 2001–02 Football League Cup.
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| Award | Winner[4] | |
|---|---|---|
| Fans' Player of the Season | Alex Rae | |
| Young Player of the Season | Joleon Lescott |
| Date | Player | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2001 | Mark Kennedy | Manchester City | £2 million[5] | |
| 7 August 2001 | Shaun Newton | Charlton Athletic | £850,000[6] | |
| 24 August 2001 | Colin Cameron | Hearts | £1.75 million[7] | |
| 13 September 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | £1.5 million[8] | ||
| 19 September 2001 | Sunderland | £1.2 million[9] | ||
| 13 December 2001 | Rangers | £3 million[10] | ||
| 24 December 2001 | Leicester City | £350,000[11] | ||
| 27 March 2002 | Wimbledon | £1 million[12] |
| Date | Player | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2001 | Seamus Crowe | Released | Free | |
| June 2001 | Released | Free[13] | ||
| June 2001 | Aaron Kerr | Released | Free | |
| June 2001 | Released | Free | ||
| June 2001 | Released | Free[14] | ||
| June 2001 | Released | Free | ||
| 11 July 2001 | Norwich City | £500,000[15] | ||
| 10 September 2001 | Wigan Athletic | £750,000[16] | ||
| 18 October 2001 | Dundee | £500,000[17] | ||
| 19 October 2001 | Millwall | Free[18] | ||
| 21 November 2001 | Cambridge United | Free[19] | ||
| 28 March 2002 | Released | Free |
| Start date | Player | From | End date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 July 2001 | 16 August 2001[20] [21] | |||
| 18 August 2001 | 18 September 2001[22] | |||
| 7 September 2001 | Rangers | 6 December 2001[23] | ||
| 23 November 2001 | Leicester City | 23 December 2001[24] | ||
| 21 December 2001 | 28 December 2001[25] | |||
| 27 March 2002 | End of season[26] | |||
| 28 March 2002 | End of season[27] |
| Start date | Player | To | End date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 August 2001 | 26 September 2001[28] | |||
| 7 September 2001 | Wigan Athletic | 10 September 2001 | ||
| 13 September 2001 | Kidderminster Harriers | End of season[29] | ||
| 9 October 2001 | 3 January 2002 | |||
| 24 October 2001 | Cambridge United | 24 November 2001 | ||
| 29 November 2001 | 9 February 2002 | |||
| 17 January 2002 | 17 February 2002[30] | |||
| 19 March 2002 | 16 April 2002[31] [32] | |||
| 21 March 2002 | End of season[33] |
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Dave Jones | |
| Assistant manager | John Ward | |
| Reserve team coach | Terry Connor | |
| Academy director | Chris Evans | |
| Under-19s coach | John Perkins | |
| Under-17s coach | Keith Downing | |
| Chief scout | George Foster | |
| Club doctor | Dr Peter Ackroyd | |
| Club physio | Barry Holmes |
The season retained the home kit from the previous year; a darker "old gold" style shirt with black shorts. A new away kit, however, was launched: an all-silver design with blue trims; their previous light blue away kit became a third choice strip. All were manufactured by WWFC, the club's own label, and sponsored by Goodyear (for a twelfth and final year).