2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season
Introduction 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.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'' Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards Players transferred out during the season===Starting 11===
Results ===Pre-season===DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersCompetition20 July 2002FC Zurich A 0 – 2Intertoto Cup27 July 2002FC Zurich H 3 – 0Boulding (33), Allbäck (52), Staunton (77)Intertoto CupAugust 2002Lille A 1 – 1Taylor (83)Intertoto CupAugust 2002Lille H 0 – 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 / AResultF – AScorersAttendance4 January 2003Round 3Blackburn RoversH 1 – 4Angel 41'23,884
League Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendance2 October 2002Round 2Luton TownH 3 – 0De La Cruz 9', Dublin (2) 35', 48'20,8336 November 2002Round 3Oxford UnitedA 3 – 0Taylor 74', Barry 77', Dublin 86'12,1774 December 2002Round 4Preston North EndH 5 – 0Vassell 44', 55', Dublin 80', Ángel 84', Hitzlsperger 87'23,04218 December 2002Round 5LiverpoolH 3 – 4Vassell 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