2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
	2002–03 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	Graham Taylor
Premier League	16th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Intertoto Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League:; Dion Dublin (10); All:; Dion Dublin (14)
Home colours	Away colours
← 2001–02	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]

Season review

Fans had hoped that the return of successful former manager Graham Taylor would spark a serious challenge for honours once more, but unfortunately the actual result was Villa's worst Premier League campaign to date, 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.

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Peter Enckelman
2	DF	Mark Delaney
3	DF	Alan Wright
4	DF	Olof Mellberg
5	DF	Alpay Özalan
6	DF	Gareth Barry
7	MF	Ian Taylor
8	FW	Juan Pablo Angel
9	FW	Dion Dublin
10	FW	Darius Vassell
11	DF	Steve Staunton
12	MF	Thomas Hitzlsperger
13	GK	Stefan Postma
14	FW	Marcus Allbäck
15	DF	Ulises de la Cruz

No.	Position	Player
16	FW	Peter Crouch
17	MF	Lee Hendrie
19	FW	Boško Balaban
20	MF	Mustapha Hadji
21	DF	Jlloyd Samuel^[3]
22	MF	Hassan Kachloul
24	DF	Liam Ridgewell
25	FW	Stefan Moore
26	MF	Mark Kinsella
27	DF	Ronny Johnsen
28	MF	Øyvind Leonhardsen
29	MF	Peter Whittingham
30	DF	Rob Edwards
31	DF	Stephen Cooke
33	DF	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.		Position	Player
6		MF	George Boateng (to Middlesbrough)
10		FW	Paul Merson (to Portsmouth)

No.		Position	Player
18		MF	Steve Stone (to Portsmouth)
23		MF	Michael Boulding (to Grimsby Town)

Reserve squad

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

No.	Position	Player
32	FW	Luke Moore
37	GK	Boaz Myhill^[4]
38	MF	John McGrath

No.		Position	Player
39		GK	Wayne Henderson
40		MF	Keith Fahey

Statistics

Starting 11

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

Results

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
20 July 2002	FC Zurich	A	0 – 2		Intertoto Cup
27 July 2002	FC Zurich	H	3 – 0	Boulding (33), Allback (52), Staunton (77)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	A	1 – 1	Taylor (83)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	H	0 – 2		Intertoto Cup

Premier League

30 November 2002 16	Arsenal	3–1	Aston Villa	London
15:00 GMT	Pirès 17' Henry 49', 82' (pen.)	[ Report]	Hitzlsperger 64'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,090 Referee: Graham Barber

16 September 2002	Birmingham City	3–0	Aston Villa	St Andrew's, Birmingham
20:00 BST (UTC+01)	Morrison 31' Enckelman 77' (o.g.) Horsfield 83'	[ Report]		Attendance: 29,505 Referee: David Elleray

9 November 2002 (2002-11-09) 13	Aston Villa	3–1	Fulham	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Angel 20' Allback 66' Leonhardsen 83'	[ Report]	Boa Morte 51'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 29,563 Referee: Andy D'Urso

3 March 2003	Aston Villa	0–2	Birmingham City	Villa Park, Birmingham
20:00 GMT (UTC)	Dublin 51' Guðjónsson 81'	[ Report]	Lazaridis 74' Horsfield 77'	Attendance: 42,602 Referee: Mark Halsey

5 April 2003 32	Aston Villa	1–1	Arsenal	Birmingham
15:00 BST	Touré 71' (o.g.)	Report	Ljungberg 56'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,602 Referee: Uriah Rennie

Final standings

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
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

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

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 2003	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	Joey Guðjónsson	Real Betis	Loan	January 2003
14	FW	Marcus Allbäck	SC Heerenveen	£2,000,000	July 2002
27	DF	Ronny Johnsen	Manchester United F.C.	Free	July 2002
15	DF	Ulises de la Cruz	Hibernian F.C.	£1,000,000	July 2002
26	MF	Mark Kinsella	Charlton Athletic F.C.	£1,000,000	July 2002
28	MF	Øyvind Leonhardsen	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.	Free	July 2002
13	GK	Stefan Postma	De Graafschap	£1,500,000	July 2002
N/A	FW	Michael Boulding	Grimsby Town F.C.	Free	July 2002

Out

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

References

↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2002-2003/faprem/avilla.htm
↑ Samuel later went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago, but was registered as an English player at this time.
↑ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, and later represented Wales internationally.

[1] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[2] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2002-2003/faprem/avilla.htm

[3] Samuel later went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago, but was registered as an English player at this time.

[4] Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, and later represented Wales internationally.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

Contents

Season review

First-team squad

Left club during season

Reserve squad

Statistics

Starting 11

Results

Pre-season

Premier League

Final standings

FA Cup

League Cup

Transfers

In

Out

See also

References

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