2002–03 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2002–03 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.

Sunderland A.F.C.

2002–03 season
Chairman	Bob Murray
Manager	Peter Reid (until 7 October) Howard Wilkinson (from 10 October until 10 March) Mick McCarthy (from 12 March)
Stadium	Stadium of Light
FA Premier League	20th (relegated)
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Kevin Phillips (6) All: Kevin Phillips (9)
Highest home attendance	47,586 (vs. Manchester United, 31 August)
Lowest home attendance	14,550 (vs. Bolton Wanderers, 14 January)
Average home league attendance	36,885
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Season Summary

Sunderland spent the entire first half of the 2002–03 Premier League season in and out of the relegation zone. The poor form that the club had ended 2001–02 with continued into this season, resulting in Peter Reid being sacked after seven years as manager following a 3–1 loss to Arsenal in October just before the international break. Three days later, despite speculation linking recently-departed Ireland manager Mick McCarthy to the job, the board made the shock decision to hire Howard Wilkinson, who had been out of club management for six years.

Despite a loss to West Ham in Wilkinson's first match in charge, Sunderland ground out a four-match unbeaten run in the games that followed, as well as gaining a surprise victory over Liverpool and a point against fellow strugglers West Brom just before Christmas. However, a truly appalling second half of the season saw Sunderland earn just one point after Christmas. Wilkinson was sacked in March and McCarthy brought in to replace him, but the change proved too little too late, with Sunderland ending the season with a staggering run of 15 consecutive defeats, and setting new records for the fewest goals scored by a top-flight club, and the lowest points total for a Premier League club since the competition began (albeit not the lowest since the introduction of three points for a win; Sunderland would, however, break that record three seasons later).

Transfers

In

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
8 July 2002	MF	Sean Thornton	Tranmere Rovers	£225,000[1]
15 August 2002	DF	Stephen Wright	Liverpool	£3,000,000
21 August 2002	MF	Matt Piper	Leicester City	£3,500,000
30 August 2002	FW	Tore Andre Flo	Rangers	£6,750,000
30 August 2002	FW	Marcus Stewart	Ipswich Town	£3,250,000
15 November 2002	GK	Mart Poom	Derby County	Loan

January

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
10 January 2003	GK	Mart Poom	Derby County	£2,500,000
31 January 2003	DF	Talal El Karkouri	Paris Saint Germain	Loan

Out

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
31 October 2002	MF	John Oster	Grimsby Town	Loan
1 November 2002	FW	Michael Reddy	York City	Loan
7 November 2002	MF	Sean Thornton	Blackpool	Loan
22 November 2002	GK	Michael Ingham	Darlington	Loan

January

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
11 January 2003	FW	Dene Shields	Raith Rovers	£60,000
24 January 2003	GK	Michael Ingham	York City	Loan
30 January 2003	FW	Michael Reddy	Sheffield Wednesday	Loan
12 February 2003	DF	Stanislav Varga	Celtic	Free
21 February 2003	MF	John Oster	Grimsby Town	Loan
27 March 2003	FW	Keith Graydon	York City	Loan

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of 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 1 GK  DEN Thomas Sørensen 2 DF  ENG Stephen Wright 3 DF  ENG Michael Gray (captain) 4 MF  USA Claudio Reyna 5 DF  IRL Phil Babb[notes 1] 6 DF  BRA Emerson Thome 7 MF  ENG Matt Piper 8 MF  ENG Gavin McCann 9 FW  NOR Tore André Flo 10 FW  ENG Kevin Phillips 11 MF  IRL Kevin Kilbane[notes 2] 12 DF  SWE Joachim Björklund 14 MF  IRL Thomas Butler 15 FW  FRA David Bellion 16 MF  IRL Jason McAteer[notes 3] 17 DF  ENG Jody Craddock 18 DF  ENG Darren Williams 19 FW  SCO Kevin Kyle

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  SWE Stefan Schwarz 21 MF  ENG Paul Thirlwell 22 DF  MAR Talal El Karkouri (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain) 23 MF  ARG Nicolás Medina 24 MF  IRL Sean Thornton 25 DF  ENG Ben Clark 26 GK  NOR Thomas Myhre 27 DF  NIR George McCartney 28 MF  WAL John Oster[notes 4] 29 MF  ENG Chris Black 30 GK  AUT Jürgen Macho 31 FW  ENG Marcus Stewart 32 FW  ENG Michael Proctor 33 DF  ARG Julio Arca 34 DF  IRL Mark Rossiter 36 MF  IRL Richie Ryan 37 MF  ENG Jonjo Dickman 40 GK  EST Mart Poom

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 22 DF  SVK Stanislav Varga (to Celtic) 22 DF  SUI Bernt Haas[notes 5] (on loan to Basel)

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 FW  IRL Niall Quinn (retired)

Reserve squad

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 13 GK  NIR Michael Ingham[notes 6] 35 DF  IRL Cliff Byrne 38 GK  ENG Craig Turns 41 DF  ENG Patrick Collins — GK  ENG John Kennedy — DF  ENG Chris Scott — DF  ENG Craig James

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  IRL Stephen Capper — DF  TUR Baki Mercimek[notes 7] — MF  ENG Grant Leadbitter — MF  ENG Carl Shippen — FW  SCO Dene Shields — FW  NIR Neil Teggart — FW  IRL Keith Graydon

Results

Football League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
1 October 2002	Second round	Cambridge United	Abbey Stadium	7–0	8,175	Reyna, McCann, Arca, Flo (2), Stewart (2)
6 November 2002	Third round	Arsenal	Highbury	3–2	19,059	Kyle, Stewart (2)
3 December 2002	Fourth round	Sheffield United	Bramall Lane	0–2	27,068

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
4 January 2003	Third round	Bolton Wanderers	Reebok Stadium	1–1	10,132	Phillips
14 January 2003	Third round replay	Bolton Wanderers	Stadium of Light	2–0	14,550	Arca, Proctor
25 January 2003	Fourth round	Blackburn Rovers	Ewood Park	3–3	14,315	Stewart, Proctor and Phillips
5 February 2003	Fourth round replay	Blackburn Rovers	Stadium of Light	2–2 a.e.t. (won 3–0 on penalties)	15,745	McCann, Phillips
15 February 2003	Fifth round	Watford	Stadium of Light	0–1	26,916

FA Premier League

Main article: 2002–03 FA Premier League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
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
19	West Bromwich Albion (R)	38	6	8	24	29	65	−36	26
20	Sunderland (R)	38	4	7	27	21	65	−44	19

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results per matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	D	L	W	D	L	L	L	W	L	L	D	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Position	10	14	10	11	12	18	19	16	17	18	19	18	16	17	17	18	19	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20

Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance
17 August 2002	Blackburn Rovers	Ewood Park	0–0		27,122
24 August 2002	Everton	Stadium of Light	0–1		37,698
28 August 2002	Leeds United	Elland Road	1–0	McAteer 46'	39,929
31 August 2002	Manchester United	Stadium of Light	1–1	Flo 70'	47,586
10 September 2002	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	0–3		32,155
14 September 2002	Fulham	Stadium of Light	0–3		35,432
21 September 2002	Newcastle United	St James' Park	0–2		52,181
28 September 2002	Aston Villa	Stadium of Light	1–0	Bellion 70'	40,492
6 October 2002	Arsenal	Highbury	1–3	Craddock 83'	37,902
19 October 2002	West Ham United	Stadium of Light	0–1		44,352
28 October 2002	Bolton Wanderers	Reebok Stadium	1–1	Gray 45'	23,036
3 November 2002	Charlton Athletic	The Valley	1–1	Flo 15'	26,284
10 November 2002	Tottenham Hotspur	Stadium of Light	2–0	Phillips 60', Flo 62'	40,024
17 November 2002	Liverpool	Anfield	0–0		43,074
23 November 2002	Birmingham City	Stadium of Light	0–1		38,803
30 November 2002	Chelsea	Stamford Bridge	0–3		38,946
9 December 2002	Manchester City	Stadium of Light	0–3		36,511
15 December 2002	Liverpool	Stadium of Light	2–1	McCann 36', Proctor 85'	37,118
21 December 2002	West Bromwich Albion	The Hawthorns	2–2	Phillips 56', 64'	26,703
26 December 2002	Leeds United	Stadium of Light	1–2	Proctor 34'	44,029
28 December 2002	Southampton	St Mary's Stadium	1–2	Flo 77'	36,242
1 January 2003	Manchester United	Old Trafford	1–2	Verón 4' o.g.	67,609
11 January 2003	Blackburn Rovers	Stadium of Light	0–0		36,529
18 January 2003	Everton	Goodison Park	1–2	Kilbane 34'	37,409
28 January 2003	Southampton	Stadium of Light	0–1		34,102
1 February 2003	Charlton Athletic	Stadium of Light	1–3	Phillips 81' pen.	36,042
8 February 2003	Tottenham Hotspur	White Hart Lane	1–4	Phillips 26'	36,075
22 February 2003	Middlesbrough	Stadium of Light	1–3	Phillips 56'	42,134
1 March 2003	Fulham	Loftus Road	0–1		16,286
15 March 2003	Bolton Wanderers	Stadium of Light	0–2		42,124
22 March 2003	West Ham United	Boleyn Ground	0–2		35,033
5 April 2003	Chelsea	Stadium of Light	1–2	Thornton 12'	40,011
12 April 2003	Birmingham City	St. Andrew's	0–2		29,132
19 April 2003	West Bromwich Albion	Stadium of Light	1–2	Stewart 70'	36,025
21 April 2003	Manchester City	Maine Road	0–3		34,357
26 April 2003	Newcastle United	Stadium of Light	0–1		45,067
3 May 2003	Aston Villa	Villa Park	0–1		36,963
11 May 2003	Arsenal	Stadium of Light	0–4		40,188

Statistics

Overview

Competition	Record
	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Premier League	38	4	7	27	21	65	−44	010.53
FA Cup	5	1	3	1	8	5	+3	020.00
League Cup	3	2	0	1	10	4	+6	066.67
Total	46	7	10	29	39	74	−35	015.22

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	DEN	Thomas Sørensen	25	0	21	0	4	0	0	0
26	GK	NOR	Thomas Myhre	3	0	1+1	0	0	0	1	0
30	GK	AUT	Jürgen Macho	16	0	12+1	0	1	0	2	0
40	GK	EST	Mart Poom	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Stephen Wright	29	0	25+1	0	3	0	0	0
3	DF	ENG	Michael Gray	36	1	32	1	4	0	0	0
5	DF	IRL	Phil Babb	30	0	26	0	3	0	1	0
6	DF	BRA	Emerson Thome	5	0	1	0	2	0	2	0
12	DF	SWE	Joachim Björklund	22	0	19+1	0	1+1	0	0	0
17	DF	ENG	Jody Craddock	30	1	25	1	4	0	1	0
18	DF	ENG	Darren Williams	21	1	12+4	0	2	0	3	1
22	DF	MAR	Talal El Karkouri	9	0	8	0	0+1	0	0	0
25	DF	ENG	Ben Clark	2	0	0+1	0	1	0	0	0
27	DF	NIR	George McCartney	30	0	16+8	0	1+2	0	2+1	0
33	DF	ARG	Julio Arca	18	2	7+6	0	4	1	1	1
34	DF	IRL	Mark Rossiter	3	0	0	0	0+1	0	2	0
37	DF	ENG	Jonjo Dickman	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
4	MF	USA	Claudio Reyna	12	1	11	0	0	0	1	1
7	MF	ENG	Matthew Piper	14	0	8+5	0	0	0	0+1	0
8	MF	ENG	Gavin McCann	35	3	29+1	1	3	1	2	1
11	MF	IRL	Kevin Kilbane	34	1	30	1	3	0	1	0
14	MF	IRL	Thomas Butler	8	0	7	0	0	0	0+1	0
16	MF	IRL	Jason McAteer	10	1	9	1	1	0	0	0
21	MF	ENG	Paul Thirlwell	21	0	12+6	0	1	0	1+1	0
23	MF	ARG	Nicolás Medina	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
24	MF	IRL	Sean Thornton	14	1	11	1	3	0	0	0
28	MF	WAL	John Oster	5	0	1+2	0	1+1	0	0	0
29	MF	ENG	Chris Black	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
36	MF	IRL	Richie Ryan	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW	NOR	Tore André Flo	32	6	23+6	4	1+1	0	1	2
10	FW	ENG	Kevin Phillips	36	9	32	6	4	3	0	0
15	FW	FRA	David Bellion	14	1	5+6	1	0+1	0	2	0
19	FW	SCO	Kevin Kyle	22	1	9+8	0	2+1	0	2	1
31	FW	ENG	Marcus Stewart	24	5	9+10	1	2	1	3	3
32	FW	ENG	Michael Proctor	28	3	11+10	2	3+2	1	2	0
Players transferred out during the season
22	DF	SVK	Stanislav Varga	3	0	0	0	0+1	0	2	0
29	FW	IRL	Niall Quinn	8	0	0+8	0	0	0	0	0

Goal scorers

Position	Nation	Number	Name	FA Premier League	League Cup	FA Cup	Total
FW		10	Kevin Phillips	6	0	3	9
FW		31	Marcus Stewart	1	4	1	6
FW		9	Tore André Flo	4	2	0	6
FW		32	Michael Proctor	2	0	2	4
MF		8	Gavin McCann	1	1	1	3
MF		33	Julio Arca	0	1	1	2
DF		3	Micky Gray	1	0	0	1
DF		17	Jody Craddock	1	0	0	1
MF		24	Sean Thornton	1	0	0	1
MF		11	Kevin Kilbane	1	0	0	1
FW		15	David Bellion	1	0	0	1
MF		16	Jason McAteer	1	0	0	1
FW		19	Kevin Kyle	0	1	0	1
MF		4	Claudio Reyna	0	1	0	1
			Own goal	1	0	0	1
/	/	/	Total	21	10	8	39