| Season: | 2002–03 |
| League Result: | 21st (50 Points) |
| Cup1 Result: | Fifth Round |
| Cup2 Result: | First Round |
| League Topscorer: | Andy Cooke (6) |
| Season Topscorer: | Chris Iwelumo (7) |
| Highest Attendance: | 21,023 vs Brighton & Hove Albion (5 March 2003) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 10,406 vs Walsall (26 February 2003) |
| Average Attendance: | 14,532 |
| Nextseason: | 2003–04 |
| Pattern La1: | _red_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _red_stripes |
| Pattern Ra1: | _red_stripes |
| Pattern So1: | _band_white |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | FF0000 |
The 2002–03 season was Stoke City's 96th season in the Football League and the 36th in the second tier.
Stoke now back in the First Division appointed young manager Steve Cotterill prior to the start of the season. Cotterill had got an impressive reputation following his success with Cheltenham Town but after just 13 matches in charge he shocked the club by quitting in favour of becoming assistant manager at Sunderland. Dave Kevan took over as caretaker until Tony Pulis was appointed in November. His task was to ensure Stoke survived which looked a tough ask as Stoke went 16 matches without a win and when Stoke did manage to get a positive result they lost 6–0 at Nottingham Forest. Following that defeat Pulis improved his defence and results were slowly being ground out and it went to the final day of the season against Reading, with Stoke knowing that if they win they will stay up and thanks to Ade Akinbiyi they won 1–0 and finished four points above the relegation zone.[1]
With Gudjon Thordarson failing to gain a new contract the Stoke board moved to appoint Steve Cotterill from Cheltenham Town.[1] Cotterill was seen as one of the best young managers in the country and it was hoped that he would be a long term appointment.[2] He brought in Chris Greenacre a striker from Mansfield Town where he had been a prolific goalscorer. The season started with a 0–0 draw away at Sheffield Wednesday and their first win came at home to Bradford City. This was followed by a 4–3 defeat at Preston North End and defeats by Derby and Burnley.[1] Stoke then went five matches unbeaten to lift them away from danger but the club was shocked on 10 October 2002 as Cotterill quit the club in favour of becoming assistant manager at Sunderland.[1] [3]
Dave Kevan assumed a caretaker manager role and in his four matches in charge Stoke lost them all to start a worrying run of results.[1] The board had expected to appoint George Burley as manager but somewhat surprisingly Tony Pulis was the man given the job.[1] Pulis had previously turned down the chance to manage the club in 1999 and his appointment was not a popular one with the supporters.[1] In his first match in charge away at Walsall he received a less than warm welcome and Stoke crashed to a 4–2 defeat.[1] It took Pulis' team nine more matches to register a victory and after it looked as though Stoke could start pulling away from relegation they suffered humiliation by losing 6–0 at Nottingham Forest and the survival bid looked grim.[1]
But Pulis signed a number of players on loan which included Ade Akinbiyi, Paul Warhurst, Lee Mills, and goalkeepers Steve Banks and Mark Crossley.[1] Pulis made Stoke a difficult team to beat and after three hard-fought goalless draws against teams trying to gain promotion Stoke gained vital victories against Watford, Rotherham United, Wimbledon and Coventry City.[1] This took the relegation fight to the last day of the season with Stoke needing a victory against Reading to ensure their stay in First Division would be extended.[1] A 55th-minute strike from Ade Akinbiyi sealed the win they needed and Stoke could start building for the future.[1] [4]
Two 3–0 wins against Wigan Athletic and Bournemouth set up a tie against Premier League Chelsea and two second half goals gave the Londoners a 2–0 victory.[1]
Stoke lost in the first round to Bury 1–0 at Gigg Lane.[1]
Stoke's score comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 July 2002 | Newcastle Town | A | 7–1 | 3,379 | Winters, Goodfellow (2), Greenacre (3), Neal | |
| 2 | 22 July 2002 | Wacker Burghausen | A | 0–2 | |||
| 3 | 26 July 2002 | Sturm Graz | A | 1–1 | Handyside | ||
| 4 | 31 July 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | 6,241 | ||
| 5 | 3 August 2002 | Birmingham City | H | 0–2 | 5,781 |
See main article: 2002–03 Football League.
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Reports | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 August 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 26,746 | Report | ||
| 2 | 14 August 2002 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 14,028 | Report | ||
| 3 | 17 August 2002 | Bradford City | H | 2–1 | 12,424 | Cooke 4', Marteinsson 34' | Report | |
| 4 | 24 August 2002 | Preston North End | A | 3–4 | 15,422 | Clarke (2) 7', 65' (2 pens), Cooke 90+2' | Report | |
| 5 | 26 August 2002 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | 13,931 | Commons 74' | Report | |
| 6 | 31 August 2002 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | 21,723 | Report | ||
| 7 | 14 September 2002 | Burnley | A | 1–2 | 14,244 | Guðjónsson 74' | Report | |
| 8 | 17 September 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–1 | 6,369 | Mooney 17' (pen), Cooke 90' | Report | |
| 9 | 21 September 2002 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 14,587 | Shtanyuk 17', Cooke 80' | Report | |
| 10 | 25 September 2002 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–2 | 14,554 | Shtanyuk 13', Goodfellow 72' | Report | |
| 11 | 28 September 2002 | Reading | A | 1–1 | 13,646 | Vandeurzen 39' | Report | |
| 12 | 5 October 2002 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 14,214 | Iwelumo 85' | Report | |
| 13 | 19 October 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 16,885 | Report | ||
| 14 | 23 October 2002 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | 15,163 | Greenacre 84' | Report | |
| 15 | 26 October 2002 | Rotherham United | A | 0–4 | 7,078 | Report | ||
| 16 | 30 October 2002 | Watford | H | 1–2 | 11,215 | Mooney 72' | Report | |
| 17 | 2 November 2002 | Walsall | A | 2–4 | 6,391 | Cooke (2) 77', 81' | Report | |
| 18 | 9 November 2002 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–2 | 11,488 | Mooney 50' (pen) | Report | |
| 19 | 16 November 2002 | Portsmouth | A | 0–3 | 18,701 | Report | ||
| 20 | 23 November 2002 | Millwall | H | 0–1 | 13,776 | Report | ||
| 21 | 30 November 2002 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | 8,150 | Clarke 56' | Report | |
| 22 | 7 December 2002 | Coventry City | H | 1–2 | 12,760 | Hoekstra 35' | Report | |
| 23 | 14 December 2002 | Portsmouth | H | 1–1 | 13,330 | Gunnarsson 34' | Report | |
| 24 | 21 December 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 1,697 | Iwelumo 88' | Report | |
| 25 | 26 December 2002 | Bradford City | A | 2–4 | 14,575 | Marteinsson 9', Henry 23' | Report | |
| 26 | 28 December 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–2 | 16,042 | Iwelumo (2) 16', 66', Gunnarsson 90+4' | Report | |
| 27 | 1 January 2003 | Preston North End | H | 2–1 | 14,862 | Gunnarsson 43', Hoekstra 45' | Report | |
| 28 | 11 January 2003 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | 25,058 | Report | ||
| 29 | 18 January 2003 | Derby County | H | 1–3 | 17,308 | Greenacre 63' | Report | |
| 30 | 1 February 2003 | Norwich City | A | 2–2 | 20,186 | Gunnarsson 63', Mills 88' | Report | |
| 31 | 8 February 2003 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–2 | 5,657 | Report | ||
| 32 | 22 February 2003 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–6 | 24,085 | Report | ||
| 33 | 26 February 2003 | Walsall | H | 1–0 | 10,409 | Mills 19' | Report | |
| 34 | 1 March 2003 | Burnley | H | 0–1 | 12,874 | Report | ||
| 35 | 5 March 2003 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | 21,023 | Greenacre 83' | Report | |
| 36 | 8 March 2003 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–0 | 24,547 | Report | ||
| 37 | 15 March 2003 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 14,449 | Report | ||
| 38 | 18 March 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | 25,235 | Report | ||
| 39 | 22 March 2003 | Watford | A | 2–1 | 12,570 | Hoekstra (2) 34' 49', (1 pen) | Report | |
| 40 | 5 April 2003 | Gillingham | H | 0–0 | 12,746 | Report | ||
| 41 | 9 April 2003 | Rotherham United | H | 2–0 | 19,553 | Warhurst 21', Cooke 40' | Report | |
| 42 | 12 April 2003 | Millwall | A | 1–3 | 8,725 | Shtanyuk 73' | Report | |
| 43 | 19 April 2003 | Wimbledon | H | 2–1 | 12,587 | Gunnarsson 29', Akinbiyi 45' | Report | |
| 44 | 21 April 2003 | Coventry City | A | 1–0 | 12,675 | Montgomery 87' (o.g.) | Report | |
| 45 | 26 April 2003 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | 16,604 | Report | ||
| 46 | 4 May 2003 | Reading | H | 1–0 | 20,477 | Akinbiyi 55' | Report |
See main article: 2002–03 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | 4 January 2003 | Wigan Athletic | H | 3–0 | 9,618 | Greenacre (2) 20', 67' Iwelumo 31' | Report | |
| R4 | 25 January 2003 | Bournemouth | H | 3–0 | 12,004 | Iwelumo (2) 45', 51' (1 pen), Hoekstra 84' | Report | |
| R5 | 16 February 2003 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 26,615 | Report |
See main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup.
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | Discipline | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| 1 | GK | Neil Cutler | 20 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | Wayne Thomas | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| 3 | DF | Clive Clarke | 27(4) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28(4) | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 4 | DF | Peter Handyside | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 5 | DF |  Sergei Shtanuk | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 8 | 1 | |
| 6 | MF |  Brynjar Gunnarsson | 40 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| 7 | MF | Bjarni Guðjónsson | 25(11) | 1 | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28(12) | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 8 | FW | Andy Cooke | 24(7) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25(7) | 6 | 4 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW | Lee Mills | 7(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | FW | Chris Greenacre | 18(12) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21(12) | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| 11 | MF | Peter Hoekstra | 26(4) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 28(5) | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 12 | GK |  Jani Viander | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | GK | Ben Foster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | FW | Chris Iwelumo | 15(17) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19(17) | 7 | 4 | 0 | |
| 16 | FW | 11(1) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 3 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 16 | DF | Frazer Richardson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | MF | James O'Connor | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 18 | MF | Lewis Neal | 7(9) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(11) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 19 | FW | Marc Goodfellow | 6(14) | 1 | 0(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 6(18) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | MF | Mark Wilson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 21 | MF | Pétur Marteinsson | 7(5) | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(6) | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 22 | MF | Brian Wilson | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | MF | Karl Henry | 15(3) | 1 | 2(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 17(5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 24 | MF | Kris Commons | 6(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25 | DF | Gareth Owen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | FW |  Ade Akinbiyi | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 27 | MF | 7(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | FW | Paul Warhurst | 4(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 28 | GK | Mark Crossley | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 29 | DF | Richard Keogh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 30 | DF | Marcus Hall | 23(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 31 | GK | Steve Banks | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | DF | Mark Williams | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 33 | FW | Laurence Hall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| – | – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | – | |