The 2002–03 English football season was Aston Villa's 11th season in the Premier League, and their 15th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
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.
There were debuts for Ulises de la Cruz (89), Ronny Johnsen (49), Marcus Allbäck (35), Mark Kinsella (21), Øyvind Leonhardsen (19), Stefan Postma (13), Joey Guðjónsson (11), and Rob Edwards (8).
A season low was the 3–0 defeat by local rivals Birmingham City at St Andrews. A first-half goal from Clinton Morrison saw Birmingham in control at half time, before a comedy of errors saw a throw-in by Olof Mellberg roll under the foot of Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and into the net to gift Blues a 2–0 lead. Geoff Horsfield added a third later in the game thanks to bad defending from Alpay Özalan. This game was followed by the visit to Villa Park. The game kicked into life when Villa striker Dion Dublin was sent off in the 51st minute for headbutting Robbie Savage. In the 74th minute, Australian Stan Lazaridis scored his first goal of the season, and three minutes later, a poor header back by Jlloyd Samuel allowed Horsfield to run onto the ball, beat Enckelman and score from close range. The game ended with another sending off, as Villa's Joey Guðjónsson lunged at Upson with a two-footed tackle. Kit Kit Supplier Sponsor Diadora Rover / MG*
Transfers
Transferred in DatePosPlayerFromFee 14 May 2002 GK Stefan Postma De Graafschap £1,500,000 18 May 2002 CF Marcus Allbäck Heerenveen £2,000,000 8 July 2002 CF Michael Boulding Grimsby Town Free transfer 26 July 2002 RB Ulises de la Cruz Hibernian £1,000,000 23 August 2002 CM Mark Kinsella Charlton Athletic £1,000,000 29 August 2002 CB Ronny Johnsen Manchester United Free transfer 30 August 2002 AM Øyvind Leonhardsen Tottenham Hotspur Free transfer£5,500,000
Loaned in DatePosPlayerFromLoan End 20 January 2003 CM Joey Guðjónsson Real Betis 31 May 2003
Transferred out DatePosPlayerToFee 1 July 2002 GK Peter Schmeichel Manchester City Free transfer 5 August 2002 DM George Boateng Middlesbrough £5,000,000 6 August 2002 AM Paul Merson Portsmouth Free transfer 20 December 2002 RM Steve Stone Portsmouth Free transfer 10 January 2003 CF Michael Boulding Grimsby Town Free transfer£5,000,000
Loaned out DatePosPlayerToLoan End 26 July 2002 CM Gavin Melaugh Rochdale 31 May 2003 9 August 2002 GK Boaz Myhill Bristol City 5 November 2002 27 September 2002 CF Michael Boulding Sheffield United 1 November 2002 21 November 2002 GK Boaz Myhill Bradford City 1 January 2003 29 November 2002 CM John McGrath Dagenham & Redbridge 31 May 2003 10 January 2003 CF Michael Boulding Grimsby Town 12 February 2003
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure £5,500,000
Income £5,000,000
Balance £500,000
Squad First Team # Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth (age) Signed from Date signed Fee Apps Gls Goalkeepers 1 Peter Enckelman GK Turku TPS 1 February 1999 £200,000 28 0 13 Stefan Postma GK Utrecht De Graafschap 14 May 2002 £1,500,000 - - 37 Boaz Myhill GK Modesto, CA Academy 1 July 2001 0 0 39 Wayne Henderson GK Dublin Academy 1 July 2001 0 0 Defenders 2 Mark Delaney RB Haverfordwest Cardiff City 9 March 1999 £250,000 98 1 3 Alan Wright LB Ashton-under-Lyne Blackburn Rovers 10 March 1995 £1,000,000 318 5 4 Olof Mellberg CB Gullspång Racing Santander 19 July 2001 £5,000,000 36 0 5 Alpay Özalan CB İzmir Fenerbahçe 28 July 2000 £5,600,000 60 0 11 Steve Staunton LB Dundalk Liverpool 6 December 2000 Free transfer 319 17 15 Ulises de la Cruz RB Piquiucho Hibernian 26 July 2002 £1,000,000 - - 21 Jlloyd Samuel LB San Fernando Academy 1 January 1999 43 0 24 Liam Ridgewell CB Bexleyheath Academy 1 July 2002 - - 27 Ronny Johnsen CB Sandefjord Manchester United 29 August 2002 Free transfer - - 30 Rob Edwards LB Telford Academy 1 July 2002 - - Midfielders 6 George Boateng CM Nkawkaw Coventry City 20 July 1999 £4,500,000 134 5 6* Gareth Barry LM Hastings Academy 1 January 1998 149 4 7 Ian Taylor CM Birmingham Sheffield Wednesday 21 December 1994 £1,000,000 273 40 10 Paul Merson (c) AM Harlesden Middlesbrough 8 September 1998 £6,750,000 144 19 12 Thomas Hitzlsperger LM Munich Bayern Munich 5 August 2000 Free transfer 13 1 17 Lee Hendrie RM Solihull Academy 1 July 1995 185 20 18 Steve Stone RM Gateshead Nottingham Forest 11 March 1999 £5,500,000 120 7 20 Mustapha Hadji LM Ifrane Atlas-Saghir Coventry City 7 July 2001 £4,500,000 32 3 22 Hassan Kachloul AM Agadir Southampton 1 July 2001 31 2 26 Mark Kinsella CM Dublin Charlton Athletic 23 August 2002 £1,000,000 - - 28 Øyvind Leonhardsen AM Kristiansund Tottenham Hotspur 30 August 2002 Free transfer - - 29 Peter Whittingham RM Nuneaton Academy 1 July 2002 - - 31 Stephen Cooke CM Walsall Academy 1 July 2000 1 0 33 Joey Guðjónsson CM Akranes Real Betis 20 January 2003 Loan - - 38 John McGrath CM Limerick Academy 1 July 1999 3 0 40 Keith Fahey LM Dublin Academy 1 July 2002 - - Forwards 8 Juan Pablo Ángel CF Medellín River Plate 13 January 2001 £9,500,000 45 17 9 Dion Dublin CF Leicester Coventry City 5 November 1998 £5,750,000 127 41 10* Darius Vassell CF Birmingham Academy 1 January 1998 102 21 14 Marcus Allbäck CF Gothenburg Heerenveen 18 May 2002 £2,000,000 - - 16 Peter Crouch CF Macclesfield Portsmouth 27 March 2002 £5,000,000 7 2 19 Boško Balaban CF Rijeka Dinamo Zagreb 24 October 2001 £5,800,000 11 0 23 Michael Boulding CF Sheffield Grimsby Town 8 July 2002 Free transfer - - 25 Stefan Moore CF Birmingham Academy 1 July 2001 0 0 32 Luke Moore CF Birmingham Academy 1 January 2003 - - 42 Peter Hynes CF Dublin Academy 1 July 2001 0 0
Players First-team squad Squad at end of season
Left club during season
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.
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.
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.
Other players The following players did not play for any Aston Villa team this season.
Statistics Appearances and goals As of end of season
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season
Starting 11
Results Pre-season DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersCompetition20 July 2002FC Zurich A0 – 2Intertoto Cup27 July 2002FC Zurich H3 – 0Boulding (33), Allbäck (52), Staunton (77)Intertoto CupAugust 2002Lille A1 – 1Taylor (83)Intertoto CupAugust 2002Lille H0 – 2Intertoto Cup
FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 18 August 2002 LiverpoolH0–141,183 24 August 2002 Tottenham HotspurA0–135,384 28 August 2002 Manchester CityH1–033,494Vassell 64' 1 September 2002 Bolton WanderersA0–122,113 11 September 2002 Charlton AthleticH2–026,483de la Cruz 70', S Moore 83' 16 September 2002 Birmingham CityA0–329,505 22 September 2002 EvertonH3–230,023Hendrie 7', 48', Dublin 85' 28 September 2002 SunderlandA0–140,492 6 October 2002 Leeds UnitedH0–033,505 21 October 2002 SouthamptonH0–125,817 26 October 2002 Manchester UnitedA1–167,619Mellberg 35' 3 November 2002 Blackburn RoversA0–023,004 9 November 2002 FulhamH3–129,563Ángel 20', Allbäck 66', Leonhardsen 83' 16 November 2002 West Bromwich AlbionA0–027,091 23 November 2002 West Ham UnitedH4–133,279Hendrie 29', Leonhardsen 59', Dublin 72', Vassell 80' 30 November 2002 ArsenalA1–338,090Hitzlsperger 64' 7 December 2002 Newcastle UnitedH0–133,446 14 December 2002 West Bromwich AlbionH2–140,391Vassell 16', Hitzlsperger 90' 21 December 2002 ChelseaA0–238,284 26 December 2002 Manchester CityA1–333,991Dublin 41' 28 December 2002 MiddlesbroughH1–033,637Dublin 11' 1 January 2003 Bolton WanderersH2–031,838Dublin 8', Vassell 80' 11 January 2003 LiverpoolA1–143,210Dublin (pen) 49' 18 January 2003 Tottenham HotspurH0–138,576 28 January 2003 MiddlesbroughA5–227,546Vassell 24', 81', Guðjónsson 31', Barry 47', Dublin 90' 2 February 2003 Blackburn RoversH3–029,171Dublin 2', 40', Barry 81' 8 February 2003 FulhamA1–217,092Barry 3' 22 February 2003 Charlton AthleticA0–326,257 3 March 2003 Birmingham CityH0–242,602 15 March 2003 Manchester UnitedH0–142,602 22 March 2003 SouthamptonA2–231,888Hendrie 30', Vassell 36' 5 April 2003 ArsenalH1–142,602K Touré (own goal) 71' 12 April 2003 West Ham UnitedA2–235,029Vassell (pen) 36', Leonhardsen 52' 19 April 2003 ChelseaH2–139,358Allbäck 11', 78' 21 April 2003 Newcastle UnitedA1–152,015Dublin 69' 26 April 2003 EvertonA1–240,167Allbäck 49' 3 May 2003 SunderlandH1–036,963Allbäck 80' 11 May 2003 Leeds UnitedA1–340,205Guðjónsson 40
Final standings
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResult F – AScorersAttendance4 January 2003Round 3Blackburn RoversH1 – 4Angel 41'23,884
League Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResult F – AScorersAttendance2 October 2002Round 2Luton TownH3 – 0 De La Cruz 9', Dublin (2) 35', 48'20,8336 November 2002Round 3Oxford UnitedA3 – 0Taylor 74', Barry 77', Dublin 86'12,1774 December 2002Round 4Preston North EndH5 – 0 Vassell 44', 55', Dublin 80', Ángel 84', Hitzlsperger 87'23,04218 December 2002Round 5LiverpoolH3 – 4 Vassell 23' (pen), Hitzlsperger 72', Henchoz 88 (o.g.)38,530
Transfers
In #PosPlayerFromFeeDate33 MF Joey Guðjónsson Real Betis Loan January 200314 FW Marcus Allbäck SC Heerenveen £2,000,000 July 200227 DF Ronny Johnsen Manchester United F.C. Free July 200215 DF Ulises de la Cruz Hibernian F.C. £1,000,000 July 200226 MF Mark Kinsella Charlton Athletic F.C. £1,000,000 July 200228 MF Øyvind Leonhardsen Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Free July 200213 GK Stefan Postma De Graafschap £1,500,000 July 200223 FW Michael Boulding Grimsby Town F.C. Free July 2002
Out #PosPlayerToFeeDate10 MF Paul Merson Portsmouth Free June 20026 MF George Boateng Middlesbrough £5,000,000 June 20021 GK Peter Schmeichel Manchester City Free June 200219 FW Boško Balaban Dinamo Zagreb Loan June 200243 DF Liam Ridgewell Bournemouth Loan August 200224 MF John McGrath Dagenham & Redbridge Loan November 2002N/A MF Jay Smith Southend United Free November 200218 MF Steve Stone Portsmouth Free December 200223 FW Michael Boulding Grimsby Town Free January 20037 MF Ian Taylor Derby County Released August 2003
See also Aston Villa F.C. seasons
References
Notes
External links Aston Villa official website avfchistory.co.uk 2002–03 season