| Club: | Dundee United F.C. |
| Season: | 2002–03 |
| Manager: | Alex Smith (until 7 October) Paul Hegarty (until 30 January as caretaker) Ian McCall (from 30 January) |
| Chairman: | Jim McLean (until 26 September) Eddie Thompson (from 26 September) |
| League: | Bank of Scotland Premierleague |
| League Result: | 11th W:7 D:11 L:20 F:35 A:68 P:32 |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2 Result: | Semi-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Jim McIntyre (9) |
| Season Topscorer: | Jim McIntyre, Steven Thompson (9) |
| Highest Attendance: | 12,402 (vs Dundee, 31 August) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 5,572 (vs Livingston, 19 October) |
| Prevseason: | 2001–02 |
| Nextseason: | 2003–04 |
The 2002–03 season was the 94th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. United finished the season in eighth place.
United were knocked out of the Tennent's Scottish Cup by Hibernian in the third round, and were beaten by Celtic in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals.
What had begun with optimism and hopes that United could continue the progress made the previous year would end up being statistically the club's worst season since before World War II. Eddie Thompson took over as chairman with the season barely a month old and quickly sacked Alex Smith, though a run of just two wins from the first ten games did not help the manager's cause. After a failed attempt to recruit Ian McCall, Paul Hegarty was put in charge provisionally until the end of the season. While the former club hero got off to a decent start with 7 points from five matches, a dismal run of ten weeks without a win followed, leading to Hegarty being dismissed at the end of January and McCall being successfully recruited.
The key factor in McCall's change of heart was that while his previous club Falkirk were runaway leaders of the First Division, it was by now evident that they were unlikely to be promoted as their ground did not meet the SPL's requirements. McCall still had the task of keeping United off the bottom of the table in the unlikely event that the SPL had a change of heart or one of the chasing pack overhauled Falkirk, and he ultimately managed this with an excellent run of form after the SPL split, leaving them to finish eleventh. However, this good finish could not mask what had been an extremely poor season by any measure, and left McCall facing a major reconstruction job.
Dundee United played a total of 43 competitive matches during the 2002–03 season.[1] The team finished eleventh in the Scottish Premier League.
In the cup competitions, United were knocked out of the Tennent's Scottish Cup in the third round, losing at home to Hibernian. Celtic knocked United out of the CIS Cup in the semi-finals.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
All results are written with Dundee United's score first.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 August 2002 | Partick Thistle | A | 0–0 | 6,375 | ||
| 10 August 2002 | Kilmarnock | H | 1–2 | 6,366 | Thompson | |
| 17 August 2002 | Celtic | A | 0–5 | 56,907 | ||
| 25 August 2002 | Motherwell | H | 1–1 | 5,795 | McIntyre | |
| 31 August 2002 | Dundee | H | 0–0 | 12,402 | ||
| 11 September 2002 | Aberdeen | A | 2–1 | 10,724 | Thompson (2) | |
| 14 September 2002 | Dunfermline | H | 1–2 | 6,041 | Lilley | |
| 21 September 2002 | Hearts | A | 0–2 | 11,532 | ||
| 28 September 2002 | Rangers | H | 0–3 | 10,013 | ||
| 5 October 2002 | Hibernian | A | 1–2 | 11,532 | Thompson | |
| 19 October 2002 | Livingston | H | 2–3 | 5,572 | Lilley, McIntyre | |
| 26 October 2002 | Partick Thistle | H | 1–1 | 6,369 | Thompson | |
| 2 November 2002 | Kilmarnock | A | 2–1 | 5,417 | Thompson, McIntyre | |
| 10 November 2002 | Celtic | H | 0–2 | 10,664 | ||
| 16 November 2002 | Motherwell | A | 2–1 | 5,381 | Hamilton (2) | |
| 23 November 2002 | Dundee | A | 2–3 | 11,539 | Hamilton, McIntyre | |
| 30 November 2002 | Aberdeen | H | 1–1 | 8,621 | Hamilton | |
| 4 December 2002 | Dunfermline | A | 1–4 | 4,342 | McIntyre | |
| 7 December 2002 | Hibernian | H | 1–1 | 5,673 | Wilson | |
| 14 December 2002 | Rangers | A | 0–3 | 47,639 | ||
| 21 December 2002 | Hearts | H | 0–3 | 6,025 | ||
| 26 December 2002 | Livingston | A | 0–3 | 5,103 | ||
| 29 December 2002 | Partick Thistle | A | 0–0 | 5,109 | ||
| 2 January 2003 | Kilmarnock | H | 2–2 | 7,183 | Dodds, McIntyre | |
| 29 January 2003 | Celtic | A | 0–2 | 55,204 | ||
| 1 February 2003 | Motherwell | H | 2–1 | 6,672 | Tod, Miller | |
| 9 February 2003 | Dundee | H | 1–1 | 10,457 | ||
| 16 February 2003 | Aberdeen | A | 0–3 | 9,146 | ||
| 1 March 2003 | Dunfermline | H | 3–0 | 6,004 | Craig Easton, Tod, Ogunmade | |
| 9 March 2003 | Hibernian | A | 1–1 | 7,518 | McIntyre | |
| 15 March 2003 | Livingston | H | 0–1 | 6,247 | ||
| 5 April 2003 | Hearts | A | 1–2 | 9,663 | Griffin | |
| 13 April 2003 | Rangers | H | 1–4 | 10,013 | Dodds | |
| 26 April 2003 | Hibernian | H | 1–2 | 6,758 | McCracken | |
| 3 May 2003 | Motherwell | A | 2–2 | 9,056 | Miller, McIntyre | |
| 10 May 2003 | Livingston | A | 2–1 | 6,314 | McIntyre, Miller | |
| 17 May 2003 | Partick Thistle | A | 1–0 | 6,357 | Paterson | |
| 24 May 2003 | Aberdeen | H | 0–2 | 8,516 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September 2002 | Queen's Park | H | 4–1 | 3,600 | O'Donnell (3), Thompson | |
| 29 October 2002 | Airdrie United | A | 2–1 | 1,768 | Thompson (2) | |
| 13 November 2002 | Livingston | A | 2–0 | 3,592 | Lilley (2) | |
| 6 February 2003 | Celtic | N | 0–3 | 18,856 |
During the 2002–03 season, United used 32 different players, with a further played named as a substitute who did not make an appearance on the pitch. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[2] |}
Thirteen players scored for the United first team with the team scoring 43 goals in total. Steven Thompson and Jim McIntyre were the top goalscorers, scoring nine goals apiece.[3]
| Name | League | Cups | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
During the 2001–02 season, five United players were sent off, and 20 players received at least one yellow card. In total, the team received six dismissals and 67 cautions.[3]
| Name | Cautions | Dismissals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | |||
| 8 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | ||
| 1 | |||
| 9 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 |
Six players were signed during the 2002–03 season, with a total (public) transfer cost of around £150,000. Four players were also signed for the following season. In addition, two players were signed on loan.
The players that joined Dundee United during the 2001–02 season, along with their previous club, are listed below.
| Date | Player | From | Fee (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 July 2002 | Unattached (ex-Kilmarnock) | Free[4] | ||
| 30 July 2002 |  | Unattached (ex-Leicester City) | Free[5] | |
| 1 January 2003 | Free[6] | |||
| 10 January 2003 |  | Unattached (ex-Partick Thistle) | Swap[7] | |
| 28 January 2003 | Bosman[8] | |||
| 23 February 2003 | Unattached (ex-Rangers) | Free[9] | ||
| 16 May 2003 | £0,070,000[10] | |||
| 3 June 2003 | Bosman[11] | |||
| 3 June 2003 | Bosman | |||
| 27 June 2003 | Swap[12] |
| Date | Player | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 2002 | January[13] | |||
| 28 January 2003 | End of season |
Eight players left the club during the season with only one transfer – Steven Thompson to Rangers – bringing in a fee (£200k). Two players were loaned out during the season with six also released before next season.
Listed below are the players that were released during the season, along with the club that they joined. Players did not necessarily join their next club immediately.
| Date | Player | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2002 | Released[14] | |||
| 22 July 2002 | Free[15] | |||
| 30 August 2002 | Released[16] | |||
| 1 January 2003 | £0,200,000[17] | |||
| 16 January 2003 | Released[18] | |||
| 16 January 2003 | Released | |||
| 31 January 2003 | | Released[19] | ||
| 7 March 2003 | Released[20] | |||
| 22 May 2003 | Released[21] | |||
| 22 May 2003 | | Released | ||
| 31 May 2003 | Released (went to Livingston) | Free[22] | ||
| 31 May 2003 | Released (went to Livingston) | Free[23] | ||
| 27 June 2003 | Swap | |||
| 27 June 2003 | Swap |
| Date | Player | From | Fee (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2003 | End of season[24] | |||
| 14 August 2002 | January[25] | |||
| 23 August 2002 | End of season[26] | |||
| 29 June 2003 | January[27] |
November 2002