2002–03 Bradford City A.F.C. season

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Bradford City
2002–03 season
ChairmanGordon Gibb
ManagerNicky Law
StadiumValley Parade
First Division19th
FA CupThird round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Andy Gray (15)
All:
Andy Gray (15)
Highest home attendance19,088 (vs. Portsmouth, 4 May)
Lowest home attendance10,615 (vs. Wimbledon, 9 November)
Average home league attendance12,500

During the 2002–03 English football season, Bradford City competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary[]

Just after the end of the previous season, Bradford had been placed into administration, as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital, "six weeks of madness" in the transfer market in 2000 and the collapse of the sale of Benito Carbone (on weekly wages of £40,000) to Middlesbrough. The only way for Bradford, £13 million into debt, to move forward was to going into administration to try and save the club and find a buyer. Cuts had to be made, the most drastic being the cancelling of the contracts of sixteen members of the professional squad, leaving manager Nicky Law with five professionals with a handful of senior appearances among them and sixteen scholars.

After a summer of uncertainty, on 1 August the administrators managed to get creditors to accept a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, which would reschedule debts and reinstate the players, who had gone unpaid since April. One player not to return was Benito Carbone, who sacrificed a large chunk of the money owed to him on his contract and moved back to Italy. Chairman Richmond resigned from the board of directors on 10 August, after a reign of eight years. He was replaced as chairman by theme park magnate and new co-owner Gordon Gibb, who, along with Julian Rhodes, had completed a take-over of the club at the 11th hour before Bradford were due to lose their Football League status.

On 30 August, agreement was finally reached with the Professional Footballers' Association over payment owed to the players. With agreement having already been made with the creditors, this now allowed the Football League to return Bradford City's share in the League, effectively bringing the club out of administration.

With a transfer embargo in place, manager Nicky Law had to show an eye for a bargain and unearthed some raw talent. Youngsters Danny Forrest and Simon Francis emerged while Law worked the loan system to cope with an horrific list of injuries.

Bradford eventually finished the season in 19th place; given all that had happened off the field, this was to be considered a success.

Claus Jorgensen scored in eight consecutive away matches.

Final league table[]

Main article: 2002–03 Football League First Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 Walsall 46 15 9 22 57 69 −12 54
18 Derby County 46 15 7 24 55 74 −19 52
19 Bradford City 46 14 10 22 51 73 −22 52
20 Coventry City 46 12 14 20 46 62 −16 50
21 Stoke City 46 12 14 20 45 69 −24 50
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2003. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results[]

Bradford City's score comes first[1]

Legend[]

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division[]

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
11 August 2002 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–0 13,223
13 August 2002 Crystal Palace A 1–1 15,205 Tod
17 August 2002 Stoke City A 1–2 12,424 Gray
24 August 2002 Grimsby Town H 0–0 10,914
26 August 2002 Ipswich Town A 2–1 25,457 Evans, Proctor
31 August 2002 Rotherham United H 4–2 12,385 Ward (2), Uhlenbeek, Proctor
14 September 2002 Walsall A 1–0 4,678 Gray
17 September 2002 Leicester City A 0–4 24,651
21 September 2002 Burnley H 2–2 14,561 Gray, Proctor
24 September 2002 Coventry City H 1–1 11,655 Evans
28 September 2002 Portsmouth A 0–3 18,459
5 October 2002 Preston North End H 1–1 13,215 Proctor
12 October 2002 Derby County H 0–0 13,385
19 October 2002 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–2 17,191 Warnock
26 October 2002 Norwich City H 2–1 12,888 Reid (2)
29 October 2002 Reading A 0–1 12,110
2 November 2002 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–3 6,319 Gray (2, 1 pen)
9 November 2002 Wimbledon H 3–5 10,615 Facey, Standing (2)
16 November 2002 Nottingham Forest A 0–3 19,653
23 November 2002 Sheffield United H 0–5 13,364
30 November 2002 Millwall A 0–1 8,510
7 December 2002 Gillingham H 1–3 10,711
14 December 2002 Nottingham Forest H 1–0 12,245 Molenaar
21 December 2002 Watford A 0–1 12,579
26 December 2002 Stoke City H 4–2 14,575 Gray (2, 1 pen), Handyside (own goal), Jørgensen
28 December 2002 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 2–1 25,812 Jørgensen, Gray
18 January 2003 Rotherham United A 2–3 6,939 Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
25 January 2003 Grimsby Town A 2–1 5,582 Gray, Jørgensen
1 February 2003 Ipswich Town H 2–0 12,080 Jørgensen, Forrest
8 February 2003 Wimbledon A 2–2 1,178 Jørgensen, Ward
15 February 2003 Brighton & Hove Albion H 0–1 11,520
22 February 2003 Coventry City A 2–0 12,525 Gray, Jørgensen
1 March 2003 Walsall H 1–2 10,893 Forrest
4 March 2003 Leicester City H 0–0 11,531
8 March 2003 Crystal Palace H 2–1 11,016 Atherton, Francis
15 March 2003 Derby County A 2–1 23,735 Jørgensen, Lawrence
18 March 2003 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 14,452 Gray (pen)
22 March 2003 Reading H 0–1 11,385
25 March 2003 Burnley A 2–0 11,095 Jørgensen, Gray
29 March 2003 Norwich City A 2–3 18,536 Forrest, Jørgensen (pen)
5 April 2003 Millwall H 0–1 10,676
19 April 2003 Watford H 2–1 11,145 Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
21 April 2003 Gillingham A 0–1 6,281
26 April 2003 Preston North End A 0–1 13,652
29 April 2003 Sheffield United A 0–3 18,297
4 May 2003 Portsmouth H 0–5 19,088

FA Cup[]

Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 4 January 2003 West Bromwich Albion A 1–3 19,909 Danks

League Cup[]

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 10 September 2002 Wrexham A 1–2 2,232 Cadamarteri

First-team squad[]

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 England ENG Gary Walsh
2 DF England ENG Peter Atherton
3 DF England ENG Andy Myers
4 MF England ENG Tom Kearney
5 DF England ENG David Wetherall (captain)
6 DF England ENG Mark Bower
8 FW England ENG Danny Cadamarteri
9 FW England ENG Ashley Ward
10 MF Wales WAL Paul Evans
11 FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray
12 DF Netherlands NED Robert Molenaar
14 DF Suriname SUR Gus Uhlenbeek
15 MF Spain ESP Juanjo
16 MF England ENG Michael Standing
17 GK Northern Ireland NIR Aidan Davison
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF England ENG Lewis Emanuel
19 MF Faroe Islands FRO Claus Bech Jørgensen
20 DF Scotland SCO Andy Tod
21 MF England ENG Andy Lee
22 DF England ENG Wayne Jacobs
24 MF Australia AUS Paul Reid
34 DF England ENG Simon Francis
35 FW England ENG Mark Danks
38 FW England ENG Danny Forrest
39 FW England ENG Kevin Sanasy
41 MF England ENG Tom Penford
43 FW England ENG Ben Muirhead
45 FW Netherlands NED Laurens ten Heuvel (on loan from Sheffield United)

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
7 MF Jamaica JAM Jamie Lawrence (to Walsall)
10 FW Italy ITA Benito Carbone (to Como)
11 MF Scotland SCO Eoin Jess (to Nottingham Forest)
13 GK England ENG Steve Banks (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
14 MF Scotland SCO Gary Locke (to Kilmarnock)
23 FW England ENG Michael Proctor (on loan from Sunderland)
25 DF England ENG Stephen Warnock (on loan from Liverpool)
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 GK England ENG Dave Beasant (to Wigan Athletic)
27 MF England ENG Harpal Singh (on loan from Leeds United)
28 FW Grenada GRN Delroy Facey (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
29 GK Wales WAL Boaz Myhill (on loan from Aston Villa)
34 FW England ENG Damian Hatton (retired)
37 FW England ENG Graeme Tomlinson (to Bedford Town)
42 GK England ENG Neil Bennett (to Rochdale)

Reserve squad[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 GK Denmark DEN Stefan Magnusson
31 MF England ENG Craig Fishlock
32 DF England ENG Robert Morgan
33 DF England ENG Keith Brodie
No. Pos. Nation Player
36 GK England ENG Nicky Beach
40 FW England ENG Daniel Ekoku
44 DF England ENG Frazer McHugh
46 DF England ENG Jake Wright

Transfers[]

In[]

  • Steve Banks - Bolton Wanderers, loan
  • Andy Gray - Nottingham Forest
  • Michael Proctor - Sunderland, loan
  • Harpal Singh - Leeds United, loan
  • Stephen Warnock - Liverpool, loan
  • Delroy Facey - Bolton Wanderers, loan
  • Boaz Myhill - Aston Villa, loan

Out[]

Statistics[]

Starting 11[]

Considering starts in all competitions

References[]

  1. ^ "Bradford City results for the 2002-2003 season". statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
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