2002–03 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)

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]

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 →

Second City Derby

46--34--26

← 1993–94 2003–04 →

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*

*Rover sponsored the home shirts, MG sponsored the away

Transfers

Transferred in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
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

Date	Pos	Player	From	Loan End
20 January 2003	CM	Joey Guðjónsson	Real Betis	31 May 2003

Transferred out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee
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

Date	Pos	Player	To	Loan 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	(1977-03-10)10 March 1977 (aged 25)	TPS	1 February 1999	£200,000	28	0
13	Stefan Postma	GK		Utrecht	(1976-10-06)6 October 1976 (aged 25)	De Graafschap	14 May 2002	£1,500,000	-	-
37	Boaz Myhill	GK		Modesto, CA	(1982-11-09)9 November 1982 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 2001	—	0	0
39	Wayne Henderson	GK		Dublin	(1983-09-16)16 September 1983 (aged 18)	Academy	1 July 2001	—	0	0
Defenders
2	Mark Delaney	RB		Haverfordwest	(1976-05-13)13 May 1976 (aged 26)	Cardiff City	9 March 1999	£250,000	98	1
3	Alan Wright	LB		Ashton-under-Lyne	(1971-09-28)28 September 1971 (aged 30)	Blackburn Rovers	10 March 1995	£1,000,000	318	5
4	Olof Mellberg	CB		Gullspång	(1977-09-03)3 September 1977 (aged 24)	Racing Santander	19 July 2001	£5,000,000	36	0
5	Alpay Özalan	CB		İzmir	(1973-05-30)30 May 1973 (aged 28)	Fenerbahçe	28 July 2000	£5,600,000	60	0
11	Steve Staunton	LB		Dundalk	(1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 33)	Liverpool	6 December 2000	Free transfer	319	17
15	Ulises de la Cruz	RB		Piquiucho	(1974-02-08)8 February 1974 (aged 28)	Hibernian	26 July 2002	£1,000,000	-	-
21	Jlloyd Samuel	LB		San Fernando	(1981-03-29)29 March 1981 (aged 21)	Academy	1 January 1999	—	43	0
24	Liam Ridgewell	CB		Bexleyheath	(1984-07-21)21 July 1984 (aged 17)	Academy	1 July 2002	—	-	-
27	Ronny Johnsen	CB		Sandefjord	(1969-06-10)10 June 1969 (aged 33)	Manchester United	29 August 2002	Free transfer	-	-
30	Rob Edwards	LB		Telford	(1982-12-25)25 December 1982 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 2002	—	-	-
Midfielders
6	George Boateng	CM		Nkawkaw	(1975-09-05)5 September 1975 (aged 26)	Coventry City	20 July 1999	£4,500,000	134	5
6*	Gareth Barry	LM		Hastings	(1981-02-23)23 February 1981 (aged 21)	Academy	1 January 1998	—	149	4
7	Ian Taylor	CM		Birmingham	(1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 34)	Sheffield Wednesday	21 December 1994	£1,000,000	273	40
10	Paul Merson (c)	AM		Harlesden	(1968-03-20)20 March 1968 (aged 34)	Middlesbrough	8 September 1998	£6,750,000	144	19
12	Thomas Hitzlsperger	LM		Munich	(1982-04-05)5 April 1982 (aged 20)	Bayern Munich	5 August 2000	Free transfer	13	1
17	Lee Hendrie	RM		Solihull	(1977-05-18)18 May 1977 (aged 25)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	185	20
18	Steve Stone	RM		Gateshead	(1971-08-20)20 August 1971 (aged 30)	Nottingham Forest	11 March 1999	£5,500,000	120	7
20	Mustapha Hadji	LM		Ifrane Atlas-Saghir	(1971-11-16)16 November 1971 (aged 30)	Coventry City	7 July 2001	£4,500,000	32	3
22	Hassan Kachloul	AM		Agadir	(1973-02-19)19 February 1973 (aged 29)	Southampton	1 July 2001	—	31	2
26	Mark Kinsella	CM		Dublin	(1972-08-12)12 August 1972 (aged 29)	Charlton Athletic	23 August 2002	£1,000,000	-	-
28	Øyvind Leonhardsen	AM		Kristiansund	(1970-08-17)17 August 1970 (aged 31)	Tottenham Hotspur	30 August 2002	Free transfer	-	-
29	Peter Whittingham	RM		Nuneaton	(1983-02-15)15 February 1983 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 2002	—	-	-
31	Stephen Cooke	CM		Walsall	(1983-02-15)15 February 1983 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 2000	—	1	0
33	Joey Guðjónsson	CM		Akranes	(1980-05-25)25 May 1980 (aged 22)	Real Betis	20 January 2003	Loan	-	-
38	John McGrath	CM		Limerick	(1980-03-27)27 March 1980 (aged 22)	Academy	1 July 1999	—	3	0
40	Keith Fahey	LM		Dublin	(1983-01-15)15 January 1983 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 2002	—	-	-
Forwards
8	Juan Pablo Ángel	CF		Medellín	(1975-10-24)24 October 1975 (aged 26)	River Plate	13 January 2001	£9,500,000	45	17
9	Dion Dublin	CF		Leicester	(1969-04-22)22 April 1969 (aged 33)	Coventry City	5 November 1998	£5,750,000	127	41
10*	Darius Vassell	CF		Birmingham	(1980-06-13)13 June 1980 (aged 22)	Academy	1 January 1998	—	102	21
14	Marcus Allbäck	CF		Gothenburg	(1973-07-05)5 July 1973 (aged 28)	Heerenveen	18 May 2002	£2,000,000	-	-
16	Peter Crouch	CF		Macclesfield	(1981-01-30)30 January 1981 (aged 20)	Portsmouth	27 March 2002	£5,000,000	7	2
19	Boško Balaban	CF		Rijeka	(1978-10-15)15 October 1978 (aged 23)	Dinamo Zagreb	24 October 2001	£5,800,000	11	0
23	Michael Boulding	CF		Sheffield	(1976-02-08)8 February 1976 (aged 26)	Grimsby Town	8 July 2002	Free transfer	-	-
25	Stefan Moore	CF		Birmingham	(1983-09-28)28 September 1983 (aged 18)	Academy	1 July 2001	—	0	0
32	Luke Moore	CF		Birmingham	(1986-02-13)13 February 1986 (aged 16)	Academy	1 January 2003	—	-	-
42	Peter Hynes	CF		Dublin	(1983-11-28)28 November 1983 (aged 18)	Academy	1 July 2001	—	0	0

*squad number was re-used following a players departure.
Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 2002.

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2][3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FIN Peter Enckelman 2 DF  WAL Mark Delaney 3 DF  ENG Alan Wright 4 DF  SWE Olof Mellberg 5 DF  TUR Alpay Özalan 6 DF  ENG Gareth Barry 7 MF  ENG Ian Taylor 8 FW  COL Juan Pablo Ángel 9 FW  ENG Dion Dublin 10 FW  ENG Darius Vassell 11 DF  IRL Steve Staunton 12 MF  GER Thomas Hitzlsperger 13 GK  NED Stefan Postma 14 FW  SWE Marcus Allbäck 15 DF  ECU Ulises de la Cruz

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 FW  ENG Peter Crouch 17 MF  ENG Lee Hendrie 19 FW  CRO Boško Balaban 20 MF  MAR Mustapha Hadji 21 DF  ENG Jlloyd Samuel[notes 1] 22 MF  MAR Hassan Kachloul 24 DF  ENG Liam Ridgewell 25 FW  ENG Stefan Moore 26 MF  IRL Mark Kinsella 27 DF  NOR Ronny Johnsen 28 MF  NOR Øyvind Leonhardsen 29 MF  ENG Peter Whittingham 30 DF  WAL Rob Edwards[notes 2] 31 DF  ENG Stephen Cooke 33 DF  ISL Joey Guðjónsson (on loan from Real Betis)

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 MF  NED George Boateng[notes 3] (to Middlesbrough) 10 FW  ENG Paul Merson (to Portsmouth)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  ENG Steve Stone (to Portsmouth) 23 MF  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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 GK  ENG Boaz Myhill[notes 4] 38 MF  IRL John McGrath 40 MF  IRL Keith Fahey — DF  ENG Leon Hylton

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Danny Jackman — MF  NIR Gavin Melaugh — FW  ENG Jon Bewers —   Seyi Morgan

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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 GK  IRL Wayne Henderson 42 FW  IRL Peter Hynes — GK  ENG Antoni Pecora — GK  IRL Stephen Gahan — DF  ENG Scott Cormell — DF  ENG James O'Connor — DF  ENG Cameron Stuart — DF  ENG Oliver Williams — DF  IRL Pierre Ennis — MF  ENG Ryan Amoo

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Adam Baptist (on trial to Stoke City) — MF  SCO Colin Marshall — MF  NIR Steven Davis — MF  NIR Jamie Ward[notes 5] — FW  ENG Mark Atkinson — FW  ENG Michael Husbands — FW  SCO Alan Brazil — FW  FIN Mika Aaritalo — MF   David Nolan

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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 FW  ENG Luke Moore — GK  ENG Andrew Yarnold — DF  ENG Stuart Bridges — DF  ENG Gary Cahill — DF  ENG Ashley Edkins — DF  ENG Lee Grant — DF  ENG Nick Green — DF  ENG Paul Green — DF  IRL Kevin Mulcahy — MF  ENG Craig Gardner

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Kyle Nix[notes 6] — MF  ENG Sam Williams — MF  IRL Stephen Foley-Sheridan — FW  ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor — FW  ENG Shane Paul — FW  CIV Amadou Koman — MF   Rowan Caney — MF   John Grady —   Daniel Bridges

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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FIN Jon Masalin — GK  TRI Kelvin Jack (on trial from San Juan Jabloteh) — DF  ENG Danny Haynes — DF  FIN Lasse Lagerblom (on trial from Lahti) — MF  ENG Michael Noakes — MF  ENG Isaiah Osbourne — MF  ENG Jay Smith (to Southend United) — MF  BEL Christian Tshimanga Kabeya[notes 7]

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  NOR Espen Sögård (on trial from Lillestrøm SK) — FW  ENG Matt Lewis (on trial from Kidderminster Harriers) — FW  ENG Lee McGuire (to Bristol City) — MF  NIR David Scullion — GK   Jake Meredith — MF   John Malpass (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	FIN	Peter Enckelman	39	0	33	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
13	GK	NED	Stefan Postma	9	0	5+1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
Defenders
2	DF	WAL	Mark Delaney	17	0	12	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
3	DF	ENG	Alan Wright	12	0	9+1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF	SWE	Olof Mellberg	44	1	38	1	1	0	2	0	3	0
5	DF	TUR	Alpay Özalan	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	DF	IRL	Steve Staunton	32	1	22+4	0	0	0	3	0	3	1
15	DF	ECU	Ulises de la Cruz	24	2	12+8	1	1	0	2+1	1	0	0
21	DF	ENG	Jlloyd Samuel	45	0	33+5	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
24	DF	ENG	Liam Ridgewell	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF	NOR	Ronny Johnsen	30	0	25+1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
30	DF	WAL	Rob Edwards	9	0	7+1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
6	MF	ENG	Gareth Barry	44	4	35	3	1	0	4	1	4	0
7	MF	ENG	Ian Taylor	19	2	9+4	0	0+1	0	2	1	3	1
12	MF	GER	Thomas Hitzlsperger	33	4	24+2	2	0	0	2+1	2	4	0
17	MF	ENG	Lee Hendrie	34	4	22+5	4	1	0	3	0	1+2	0
20	MF	MAR	Mustapha Hadji	14	0	7+4	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0
22	MF	MAR	Hassan Kachloul	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
26	MF	IRL	Mark Kinsella	24	0	15+4	0	1	0	2+2	0	0	0
28	MF	NOR	Øyvind Leonhardsen	23	3	13+6	3	0	0	3+1	0	0	0
29	MF	ENG	Peter Whittingham	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF	ENG	Stephen Cooke	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	ISL	Joey Guðjónsson	11	2	9+2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
8	FW	COL	Juan Pablo Ángel	19	3	8+7	1	1	1	0+3	1	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Dion Dublin	35	14	23+5	10	1	0	4	4	2	0
10	FW	ENG	Darius Vassell	39	11	28+5	8	0+1	0	3	3	1+1	0
14	FW	SWE	Marcus Allbäck	25	6	9+11	5	0	0	0+2	0	3	1
16	FW	ENG	Peter Crouch	18	0	7+7	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
25	FW	ENG	Stefan Moore	17	1	7+6	1	0	0	1+1	0	0+2	0
Players transferred out during the season
6	MF	NED	George Boateng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF	ENG	Paul Merson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
18	MF	ENG	Steve Stone	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0
23	FW	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		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), Allbäck (52), Staunton (77)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	A	1 – 1	Taylor (83)	Intertoto Cup
August 2002	Lille	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'
3 November 2002	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–0	23,004
9 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 v t e	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	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
23	FW	Michael Boulding	Grimsby Town F.C.	Free	July 2002

Out

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

See also

• Aston Villa F.C. seasons