2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

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Aston Villa
2002–03 season
ChairmanDoug Ellis
ManagerGraham Taylor
Premier League16th
FA CupThird round
League CupQuarter-finals
UEFA Intertoto CupSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Dion Dublin (10)
All: Dion Dublin (14)
Away colours

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.

Players[]

First-team squad[]

Squad at end of season[2][3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Finland FIN Peter Enckelman
2 DF Wales WAL Mark Delaney
3 DF England ENG Alan Wright
4 DF Sweden SWE Olof Mellberg
5 DF Turkey TUR Alpay Özalan
6 DF England ENG Gareth Barry
7 MF England ENG Ian Taylor
8 FW Colombia COL Juan Pablo Ángel
9 FW England ENG Dion Dublin
10 FW England ENG Darius Vassell
11 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Steve Staunton
12 MF Germany GER Thomas Hitzlsperger
13 GK Netherlands NED Stefan Postma
14 FW Sweden SWE Marcus Allbäck
15 DF Ecuador ECU Ulises de la Cruz
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 FW England ENG Peter Crouch
17 MF England ENG Lee Hendrie
19 FW Croatia CRO Boško Balaban
20 MF Morocco MAR Mustapha Hadji
21 DF England ENG Jlloyd Samuel[notes 1]
22 MF Morocco MAR Hassan Kachloul
24 DF England ENG Liam Ridgewell
25 FW England ENG Stefan Moore
26 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Mark Kinsella
27 DF Norway NOR Ronny Johnsen
28 MF Norway NOR Øyvind Leonhardsen
29 MF England ENG Peter Whittingham
30 DF Wales WAL Rob Edwards[notes 2]
31 DF England ENG Stephen Cooke
33 DF Iceland ISL Joey Guðjónsson (on loan from Real Betis)

Left club during season[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 MF Netherlands NED George Boateng[notes 3] (to Middlesbrough)
10 FW England ENG Paul Merson (to Portsmouth)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF England ENG Steve Stone (to Portsmouth)
23 MF England ENG Michael Boulding (to Grimsby Town)

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.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
37 GK England ENG Boaz Myhill[notes 4]
38 MF Republic of Ireland IRL John McGrath
40 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Keith Fahey
— DF England ENG
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF England ENG Danny Jackman
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Gavin Melaugh
— FW England ENG Jon Bewers
—  

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.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
39 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Wayne Henderson
42 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Peter Hynes
— GK England ENG
— GK Republic of Ireland IRL
— DF England ENG
— DF England ENG James O'Connor
— DF England ENG
— DF England ENG
— DF Republic of Ireland IRL
— MF England ENG Ryan Amoo
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG (on trial to Stoke City)
— MF Scotland SCO Colin Marshall
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Steven Davis
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Jamie Ward[notes 5]
— FW England ENG
— FW England ENG Michael Husbands
— FW Scotland SCO
— FW Finland FIN Mika Aaritalo
— MF  

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.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
32 FW England ENG Luke Moore
— GK England ENG
— DF England ENG
— DF England ENG Gary Cahill
— DF England ENG Ashley Edkins
— DF England ENG Lee Grant
— DF England ENG
— DF England ENG Paul Green
— DF Republic of Ireland IRL
— MF England ENG Craig Gardner
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Kyle Nix[notes 6]
— MF England ENG Sam Williams
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL
— FW England ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor
— FW England ENG Shane Paul
— FW Ivory Coast CIV
— MF  
— MF  
—  

Other players[]

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

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Finland FIN Jon Masalin
— GK Trinidad and Tobago TRI Kelvin Jack (on trial from San Juan Jabloteh)
— DF England ENG
— DF Finland FIN Lasse Lagerblom (on trial from Lahti)
— MF England ENG
— MF England ENG Isaiah Osbourne
— MF England ENG Jay Smith (to Southend United)
— MF Belgium BEL Christian Tshimanga Kabeya[notes 7]
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Norway NOR (on trial from Lillestrøm SK)
— FW England ENG (on trial from Kidderminster Harriers)
— FW England ENG (to Bristol City)
— MF Northern Ireland NIR David Scullion
— GK  
— MF   (to Stourport Swifts)
—   Steve Jones (on trial to Stoke City)

Statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

As of end of season[4]
No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup Intertoto Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK Finland FIN Peter Enckelman 39 0 33 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
13 GK Germany GER Stefan Postma 9 0 5+1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
Defenders
2 DF Wales WAL Mark Delaney 17 0 12 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
3 DF England ENG Alan Wright 12 0 9+1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
4 DF Sweden SWE Olof Mellberg 44 1 38 1 1 0 2 0 3 0
5 DF Turkey TUR Alpay Özalan 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Steve Staunton 32 1 22+4 0 0 0 3 0 3 1
15 DF Ecuador ECU Ulises de la Cruz 24 2 12+8 1 1 0 2+1 1 0 0
21 DF England ENG Jlloyd Samuel 45 0 33+5 0 1 0 4 0 2 0
24 DF England ENG Liam Ridgewell 1 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
27 DF Norway NOR Ronny Johnsen 30 0 25+1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
30 DF Wales WAL Rob Edwards 9 0 7+1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Midfielders
6 MF England ENG Gareth Barry 44 4 35 3 1 0 4 1 4 0
7 MF England ENG Ian Taylor 19 2 9+4 0 0+1 0 2 1 3 1
12 MF Germany GER Thomas Hitzlsperger 33 4 24+2 2 0 0 2+1 2 4 0
17 MF England ENG Lee Hendrie 34 4 22+5 4 1 0 3 0 1+2 0
20 MF Morocco MAR Mustapha Hadji 14 0 7+4 0 0 0 0 0 1+2 0
22 MF Morocco MAR Hassan Kachloul 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
26 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Mark Kinsella 24 0 15+4 0 1 0 2+2 0 0 0
28 MF Norway NOR Øyvind Leonhardsen 23 3 13+6 3 0 0 3+1 0 0 0
29 MF England ENG Peter Whittingham 4 0 1+3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 MF England ENG Stephen Cooke 3 0 0+3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 MF Iceland ISL Joey Guðjónsson 11 2 9+2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Forwards
8 FW Colombia COL Juan Pablo Ángel 19 3 8+7 1 1 1 0+3 1 0 0
9 FW England ENG Dion Dublin 35 14 23+5 10 1 0 4 4 2 0
10 FW England ENG Darius Vassell 39 11 28+5 8 0+1 0 3 3 1+1 0
14 FW Sweden SWE Marcus Allbäck 25 6 9+11 5 0 0 0+2 0 3 1
16 FW England ENG Peter Crouch 18 0 7+7 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
25 FW England ENG Stefan Moore 17 1 7+6 1 0 0 1+1 0 0+2 0
Players transferred out during the season
6 MF Netherlands NED George Boateng 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
10 MF England ENG Paul Merson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
18 MF England ENG Steve Stone 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0
23 FW England ENG Michael Boulding 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1

Last updated: 30 May 2003
Source: Competitions

Starting 11[]

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 MS Notes
1 GK Finland Peter Enckelman 39
2 RB Wales Mark Delaney 17
27 CB Norway Ronny Johnsen 29
4 CB Sweden Olof Mellberg 44
21 LB England Jlloyd Samuel 40
26 RM Republic of Ireland Mark Kinsella 18 Steve Staunton has 28 starts
17 CM England Lee Hendrie 27
6 CM England Gareth Barry 44
12 LM Germany Thomas Hitzlsperger 30
9 CF England Dion Dublin 30
10 CF England Darius Vassell 32

Results[]

Pre-season[]

Date Opponents Home/
Away 		Result
F – A 		Scorers Competition
20 July 2002 FC Zurich Switzerland A 0 – 2 Intertoto Cup
27 July 2002 FC Zurich Switzerland H 3 – 0 Boulding (33), Allbäck (52), Staunton (77) Intertoto Cup
August 2002 Lille France A 1 – 1 Taylor (83) Intertoto Cup
August 2002 Lille France 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'
03 November 2002 Blackburn Rovers A 0–0 23,004
09 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[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
14 Fulham 38 13 9 16 41 50 −9 48
15 Leeds United 38 14 5 19 58 57 +1 47
16 Aston Villa 38 12 9 17 42 47 −5 45
17 Bolton Wanderers 38 10 14 14 41 51 −10 44
18 West Ham United (R) 38 10 12 16 42 59 −17 42 Relegation to Football League First Division
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

FA Cup[]

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
4 January 2003 Round 3 Blackburn Rovers H 1 – 4 Angel 41' 23,884

League Cup[]

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – 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 Iceland Joey Guðjónsson Spain Real Betis Loan January 2003
14 FW Sweden Marcus Allbäck Netherlands SC Heerenveen £2,000,000 July 2002
27 DF Norway Ronny Johnsen England Manchester United F.C. Free July 2002
15 DF Colombia Ulises de la Cruz Scotland Hibernian F.C. £1,000,000 July 2002
26 MF Republic of Ireland Mark Kinsella England Charlton Athletic F.C. £1,000,000 July 2002
28 MF Norway Øyvind Leonhardsen England Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Free July 2002
13 GK Netherlands Stefan Postma Netherlands De Graafschap £1,500,000 July 2002
23 FW England Michael Boulding England Grimsby Town F.C. Free July 2002

Out[]

# Pos Player To Fee Date
10 MF England Paul Merson England Portsmouth Free June 2002
6 MF Netherlands George Boateng England Middlesbrough £5,000,000 June 2002
1 GK Denmark Peter Schmeichel England Manchester City Free June 2002
19 FW Croatia Boško Balaban Croatia Dinamo Zagreb Loan June 2002
43 DF England Liam Ridgewell England Bournemouth Loan August 2002
24 MF Republic of Ireland John McGrath England Dagenham & Redbridge Loan November 2002
N/A MF England Jay Smith England Southend United Free November 2002
18 MF England Steve Stone England Portsmouth Free December 2002
23 FW England Michael Boulding England Grimsby Town Free January 2003
7 MF England Ian Taylor England Derby County Released August 2003

See also[]

  • Aston Villa F.C. seasons

References[]

  1. ^ "Aston Villa". soccerbase. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  2. ^ "FootballSquads - Aston Villa - 2002/03".
  3. ^ "Aston Villa Player Database".
  4. ^ "All Aston Villa players: 2003".

Notes[]

  1. ^ Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-21 level and be called up to the senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.
  2. ^ Edwards was born in Madeley, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
  3. ^ Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Netherlands in November 2001.
  4. ^ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
  5. ^ Ward was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his grandfather and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in August 2011.
  6. ^ Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.
  7. ^ Kabeya was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but also qualifies to represent Belgium internationally and has represented them at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level.

External links[]


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