2002-03 in English football - Definition and Overview

Events in the 2002-03 English football season, from August 2002 to July 2003:

England national team

Key: ECQ = 2004 European Championship qualifiers, F = Friendly; scores are written England first

European club competitions

UEFA Champions League

• Manchester United - Quarter finals
• Arsenal - Second group phase
• Newcastle United - Second group phase
• Liverpool - First group phase (dropped into UEFA Cup)

UEFA Cup

• Liverpool - Quarter finals
• Fulham - Third round
• Leeds United - Third round
• Blackburn Rovers - First round
• Chelsea - First round
• Ipswich Town - First round

UEFA Intertoto Cup

• Fulham - Winners (qualified for UEFA Cup)
• Aston Villa - Semi finals

National cup competitions

League competitions

FA Premier League

                              P   W  D  L   F   A   W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Manchester United         38  16  2  1  42  12   9  6  4  32  22  +40   83  Champions League
 2 Arsenal                   38  15  2  2  47  20   8  7  4  38  22  +43   78  Champions League
 3 Newcastle United          38  15  2  2  36  17   6  4  9  27  31  +15   69  Champions League (qualifying)
 4 Chelsea                   38  12  5  2  41  15   7  5  7  27  23  +30   67  Champions League (qualifying)
 5 Liverpool                 38   9  8  2  30  16   9  2  8  31  25  +20   64  UEFA Cup (League Cup winners)
 6 Blackburn Rovers          38   9  7  3  24  15   7  5  7  28  28   +9   60  UEFA Cup
 7 Everton                   38  11  5  3  28  19   6  3 10  20  30   -1   59
 8 Southampton               38   9  8  2  25  16   4  5 10  18  30   -3   52  UEFA Cup (FA Cup runners up)
 9 Manchester City           38   9  2  8  28  26   6  4  9  19  28   -7   51  UEFA Cup (Fair Play winners)
10 Tottenham Hotspur         38   9  4  6  30  29   5  4 10  21  33  -11   50
11 Middlesbrough             38  10  7  2  36  21   3  3 13  12  23   +4   49
12 Charlton Athletic         38   8  3  8  26  30   6  4  9  19  26  -11   49
13 Birmingham City           38   8  5  6  25  23   5  4 10  16  26   -8   48
14 Fulham                    38  11  3  5  26  18   2  6 11  15  32   -9   48
15 Leeds United              38   7  3  9  25  26   7  2 10  33  31   +1   47
16 Aston Villa               38  11  2  6  25  14   1  7 11  17  33   -5   45
17 Bolton Wanderers          38   7  8  4  27  24   3  6 10  14  27  -10   44
18 West Ham United           38   5  7  7  21  24   5  5  9  21  35  -17   42  Relegated
19 West Bromwich Albion      38   3  5 11  17  34   3  3 13  12  31  -36   26  Relegated
20 Sunderland                38   3  2 14  11  31   1  5 13  10  34  -44   19  Relegated

Leading goalscorer: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), 25

Football League First Division

• Champions:
  • Portsmouth
• Also promoted to Premier League:
  • Leicester City
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Second Division:
  • Sheffield Wednesday
  • Grimsby Town
  • Brighton & Hove Albion

Football League Second Division

• Champions:
  • Wigan Athletic
• Also promoted to First Division:
  • Crewe Alexandra
  • Cardiff City (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Third Division:
  • Cheltenham Town
  • Huddersfield Town
  • Mansfield Town
  • Northampton Town

Football League Third Division

• Champions:
  • Rushden & Diamonds
• Also promoted to Second Division:
  • Hartlepool United
  • Wrexham
  • A.F.C. Bournemouth (playoff winners)

• Relegated to Football Conference:
  • Exeter City
  • Shrewsbury Town

Football Conference

• Champions:
  • Yeovil Town
• Also promoted to Third Division:
  • Doncaster Rovers (playoff winners)

• Relegated:
  • Nuneaton Borough (to Southern League)
  • Southport (to Northern Premier League)
  • Kettering Town (to Isthmian League)

National League System

Major transfer deals

• 14 August 2002 - Juninho from Atletico Madrid to Middlesbrough, £6m (third spell at Middlesbrough!)
• 30 August 2002 - Tore André Flo from Rangers to Sunderland, £8m
• 31 August 2002 - Robbie Keane from Leeds United to Tottenham Hotspur, £7m
• 31 January 2003 - Jonathan Woodgate from Leeds United to Newcastle United, £9m
• 17 June 2003 - David Beckham from Manchester United to Real Madrid, £25m
• 15 July 2003 - Tim Howard from Major League Soccer to Manchester United, £2.2m
• 16 July 2003 - Geremi from Real Madrid to Chelsea, undisclosed
• 21 July 2003 - Wayne Bridge from Southampton to Chelsea, £7m
• 21 July 2003 - Damien Duff from Blackburn Rovers to Chelsea, £17m

Deaths

• 2 December 2002 - Alan Ashman, manager of Carlisle United and West Bromwich Albion
• 18 December 2002 - Sir Bert Millichip, chairman of the Football Association 1981 - 1996
• 18 December 2002 - Arthur Rowley, Football League record scorer with 434 goals
• 28 December 2002 - Albert Stubbins, Newcastle United and Liverpool forward
• 26 June 2003 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Manchester City midfielder; collapsed during a match in the FIFA Confederations Cup and died of an undetected heart condition