2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season explained

See main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present).

Season:	2002–03
League Topscorer:	Dion Dublin (10)
Season Topscorer:	Dion Dublin (14)
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Pattern B2:	_collar
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Nextseason:	2003–04

League Result:	46--34--26
Nextseason:	2003–04

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]

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 in eight years, 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.

There were debuts for Ulises de la Cruz (89), Ronny Johnsen (49), Marcus Allbäck (35), Mark Kinsella (21), Øyvind Leonhardsen (19), Stefan Postma (13), Joey Guðjónsson (11), and Rob Edwards (8).

A season low was the 3–0 defeat by local rivals Birmingham City at St Andrews. A first-half goal from Clinton Morrison saw Birmingham in control at half time, before a comedy of errors saw a throw-in by Olof Mellberg roll under the foot of Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and into the net to gift Blues a 2–0 lead. Geoff Horsfield added a third later in the game thanks to bad defending from Alpay Özalan. This game was followed by the visit to Villa Park. The game kicked into life when Villa striker Dion Dublin was sent off in the 51st minute for headbutting Robbie Savage. In the 74th minute, Australian Stan Lazaridis scored his first goal of the season, and three minutes later, a poor header back by Jlloyd Samuel allowed Horsfield to run onto the ball, beat Enckelman and score from close range. The game ended with another sending off, as Villa's Joey Guðjónsson lunged at Upson with a two-footed tackle.

Transfers

Transferred in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
14 May 2002				£1,500,000
18 May 2002				£2,000,000
8 July 2002				Free transfer
26 July 2002				£1,000,000
23 August 2002				£1,000,000
29 August 2002				Free transfer
30 August 2002				Free transfer
				£5,500,000

Transferred out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee
1 July 2002				Free transfer
5 August 2002				£5,000,000
6 August 2002				Free transfer
20 December 2002				Free transfer
10 January 2003				Free transfer
				£5,000,000

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Loan End
26 July 2002				31 May 2003
9 August 2002				5 November 2002
27 September 2002				1 November 2002
21 November 2002				1 January 2003
29 November 2002				31 May 2003
10 January 2003				12 February 2003

Overall transfer activity

Expenditure

£5,500,000

Income

£5,000,000

Balance

£500,000

Squad

First Team

	Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	Apps	Gls
Goalkeepers
1					2002 7, df=yes		1 February 1999	£200,000	28	0
13					2002 7, df=yes		14 May 2002	£1,500,000	-	-
37					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2001		0	0
39					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2001		0	0
Defenders
2					2002 7, df=yes		9 March 1999	£250,000	98	1
3					2002 7, df=yes		10 March 1995	£1,000,000	318	5
4					2002 7, df=yes		19 July 2001	£5,000,000	36	0
5					2001 7, df=yes		28 July 2000	£5,600,000	60	0
11					2002 7, df=yes		6 December 2000	Free transfer	319	17
15					2002 7, df=yes		26 July 2002	£1,000,000	-	-
21					2002 7, df=yes		1 January 1999		43	0
24					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2002		-	-
27					2002 7, df=yes		29 August 2002	Free transfer	-	-
30					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2002		-	-
Midfielders
6					2002 7, df=yes		20 July 1999	£4,500,000	134	5
6*					2002 7, df=yes		1 January 1998		149	4
7					2002 7, df=yes		21 December 1994	£1,000,000	273	40
10	Paul Merson (c)				2002 7, df=yes		8 September 1998	£6,750,000	144	19
12					2002 7, df=yes		5 August 2000	Free transfer	13	1
17					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 1995		185	20
18					2002 7, df=yes		11 March 1999	£5,500,000	120	7
20					2002 7, df=yes		7 July 2001	£4,500,000	32	3
22					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2001		31	2
26					2002 7, df=yes		23 August 2002	£1,000,000	-	-
28					2002 7, df=yes		30 August 2002	Free transfer	-	-
29					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2002		-	-
31					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2000		1	0
33					2002 7, df=yes		20 January 2003	Loan	-	-
38					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 1999		3	0
40					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2002		-	-
Forwards
8					2002 7, df=yes		13 January 2001	£9,500,000	45	17
9					2002 7, df=yes		5 November 1998	£5,750,000	127	41
10*					2002 7, df=yes		1 January 1998		102	21
14					2002 7, df=yes		18 May 2002	£2,000,000	-	-
16					2001 7, df=yes		27 March 2002	£5,000,000	7	2
19					2002 7, df=yes		24 October 2001	£5,800,000	11	0
23					2002 7, df=yes		8 July 2002	Free transfer	-	-
25					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2001		0	0
32					2002 7, df=yes		1 January 2003		-	-
42					2002 7, df=yes		1 July 2001		0	0

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^{[2] [3]}

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.

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.

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.

Other players

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

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of end of season^[4] |-! 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 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season

Starting 11

Results

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
20 July 2002		A	0 – 2		Intertoto Cup
27 July 2002		H	3 – 0	Boulding (33), Allbäck (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'
3 November 2002	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–0	23,004
9 November 2002	Fulham	H	3–1	29,563	Ángel 20', Allbäck 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	Allbäck 11', 78'
21 April 2003	Newcastle United	A	1–1	52,015	Dublin 69'
26 April 2003	Everton	A	1–2	40,167	Allbäck 49'
3 May 2003	Sunderland	H	1–0	36,963	Allbäck 80'
11 May 2003	Leeds United	A	1–3	40,205	Guðjónsson 40

Final standings

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – 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			Loan	January 2003
14	FW			£2,000,000	July 2002
27	DF			Free	July 2002
15	DF			£1,000,000	July 2002
26	MF			£1,000,000	July 2002
28	MF			Free	July 2002
13	GK			£1,500,000	July 2002
23	FW			Free	July 2002

Out

	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
10	MF			Free	June 2002
6	MF			£5,000,000	June 2002
1	GK			Free	June 2002
19	FW			Loan	June 2002
43	DF			Loan	August 2002
24	MF			Loan	November 2002
N/A	MF			Free	November 2002
18	MF			Free	December 2002
23	FW			Free	January 2003
7	MF			Released	August 2003

See also

• Aston Villa F.C. seasons

External links

• Aston Villa official website
• avfchistory.co.uk 2002–03 season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Aston Villa . 22 December 2009 . . 13 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090413142150/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams2.sd?teamid=154 . live .
2. Web site: FootballSquads – Aston Villa – 2002/03.
3. Web site: Aston Villa Player Database.
4. Web site: All Aston Villa players: 2003.