2002–03 Coventry City F.C. season

Coventry City

2002–03 season
Chairman	Mike McGinnity
Manager	Gary McAllister (player-manager)
Stadium	Highfield Road
First Division	20th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Bothroyd (8) All: Bothroyd (11)
Average home league attendance	14,813

During the 2002–03 English football season, Coventry City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. It was the club's second consecutive season at that level.

Season summary

In the 2002–03 season, midway through the campaign, McAllister's men still stood a good chance of making the division One play-offs, but they won only one league game after the turn of 2003 and finished 20th in the final table - just two places above the relegation zone.

Final league table

Main article: 2002–03 Football League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
18	Derby County	46	15	7	24	55	74	−19	52
19	Bradford City	46	14	10	22	51	73	−22	52
20	Coventry City	46	12	14	20	46	62	−16	50
21	Stoke City	46	12	14	20	45	69	−24	50
22	Sheffield Wednesday (R)	46	10	16	20	56	73	−17	46	Relegation to 2003–04 Second Division

Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2003. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

Coventry City's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
10 August 2002	Sheffield United	H	2–1	18,839	Bothroyd, McSheffrey
13 August 2002	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–0	6,816
17 August 2002	Reading	A	2–1	14,712	Davenport, Bothroyd
24 August 2002	Crystal Palace	H	1–0	15,526	Hughes (pen)
26 August 2002	Watford	A	2–5	11,136	McSheffrey, Eustace
31 August 2002	Nottingham Forest	H	0–1	13,732
14 September 2002	Grimsby Town	H	3–2	12,403	Mills, McSheffrey (pen), Bothroyd
18 September 2002	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–1	14,178	Normann
21 September 2002	Wimbledon	A	1–0	2,077	McAllister (pen)
24 September 2002	Bradford City	A	1–1	11,655	Bothroyd
28 September 2002	Millwall	H	2–3	13,562	McSheffrey, Mills
5 October 2002	Gillingham	A	2–0	7,722	Bothroyd, Pipe
19 October 2002	Portsmouth	A	1–1	18,837	Davenport
23 October 2002	Norwich City	H	1–1	16,409	Partridge
26 October 2002	Walsall	H	0–0	14,544
29 October 2002	Leicester City	A	1–2	27,139	Partridge
2 November 2002	Rotherham United	H	2–1	13,179	McAllister (2)
9 November 2002	Burnley	A	1–3	13,470	McAllister (pen)
16 November 2002	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–2	18,998
23 November 2002	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	23,633	Eustace
30 November 2002	Preston North End	H	1–2	13,313	Davenport
7 December 2002	Stoke City	A	2–1	12,760	Bothroyd (2)
14 December 2002	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2–0	25,577	McAllister, Partridge
21 December 2002	Derby County	H	3–0	13,185	McAllister, Hignett, Bothroyd
26 December 2002	Reading	H	2–0	19,526	Hignett, Partridge
28 December 2002	Sheffield United	A	0–0	20,465
1 January 2003	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	17,362	McSheffrey
11 January 2003	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	0–0	15,951
18 January 2003	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	24,487	Sara
1 February 2003	Watford	H	0–1	17,393
8 February 2003	Burnley	H	0–1	13,659
15 February 2003	Rotherham United	A	0–1	6,524
22 February 2003	Bradford City	H	0–2	12,525
1 March 2003	Grimsby Town	A	2–0	5,736	Ford (own goal), Eustace (pen)
5 March 2003	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–5	19,536	Joachim
8 March 2003	Wimbledon	H	2–2	11,796	Eustace, Joachim
15 March 2003	Norwich City	A	0–2	20,099
19 March 2003	Portsmouth	H	0–4	13,922
22 March 2003	Leicester City	H	1–2	16,610	Jansen
5 April 2003	Preston North End	A	2–2	13,026	Pead, Pipe
12 April 2003	Ipswich Town	H	2–4	13,968	Jansen, Gordon
15 April 2003	Walsall	A	0–0	7,337
19 April 2003	Derby County	A	0–1	23,921
21 April 2003	Stoke City	H	0–1	12,675
26 April 2003	Gillingham	H	0–0	14,795
4 May 2003	Millwall	A	0–2	9,220

FA Cup

Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	4 January 2003	Cardiff City	A	2–2	16,013	Mills, McAllister (pen)
R3R	15 January 2003	Cardiff City	H	3–0	11,997	Fowler, Holdsworth, Bothroyd
R4	25 January 2003	Rochdale	A	0–2	9,156

League Cup

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	11 September 2002	Colchester United	H	3–0	6,075	McSheffrey, McAllister, Mills
R2	2 October 2002	Rushden & Diamonds	H	8–0	8,570	McSheffrey (3), Mills (2), Bothroyd (2), Betts (pen)
R3	6 November 2002	Crystal Palace	A	0–3	8,102

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 2 DF  ENG Craig Pead 3 DF  ENG Dean Gordon 4 DF  BIH Muhamed Konjić 5 DF  ENG Richard Shaw 6 MF  ENG John Eustace 8 FW  ENG Julian Joachim 9 FW  ENG Matt Jansen (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 10 MF  SCO Gary McAllister (player-manager) 11 FW  MAR Youssef Chippo 13 GK  FRA Fabien Debec 14 MF  IRL Barry Quinn 15 MF  MAR Youssef Safri 17 MF  ENG Tom Bates 18 FW  NIR Ben Mackey 19 FW  ENG Gary McSheffrey 20 MF  SCO Gary Caldwell (on loan from Newcastle United) 21 FW  ENG Jay Bothroyd

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  WAL Lee Fowler 23 GK  DEN Morten Hyldgaard 24 FW  ARG Juan Sara (on loan from Dundee) 25 MF  ANG Christian Yulu 26 MF  ENG Robert Betts 27 MF  ESP Vicente Engonga 28 DF  ENG Calum Davenport 30 MF  ENG Mark Noon 32 FW  ENG Avun Jephcott 33 GK  ENG Gary Montgomery 34 MF  WAL David Pipe 35 MF  ENG Eddie Stanford 37 DF  IRL Sean Cooney 39 MF  ENG Isaac Osbourne 40 DF  ENG Andy Whing

Transfers

Transfers in

Player	From	Date	Fee	Ref.
Tom Bates		20 Feb 2003	Free	[4]

Transfers out

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 9 FW  ENG Lee Hughes (to West Bromwich Albion) 7 MF  ENG David Thompson (to Blackburn Rovers) 17 DF  ENG Steve Walsh (to Tamworth) 25 MF  NOR Runar Normann (to SK Brann) 32 DF  HON Iván Guerrero (to C.D. Motagua) 30 FW  HON Jairo Martínez (to C.D. Motagua) 24 MF  BEL Laurent Delorge (to Lierse SK) 17 MF  SCO Brian Kerr (to Newcastle United) 25 MF  ENG Jamie McMaster (on loan from Leeds United)

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 GK  ENG Ben Williams (on loan from Manchester United) 9 FW  ENG Craig Hignett (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 27 MF  ITA Marco Brancati (released) 12 FW  ENG Lee Mills (to Stoke City) 18 MF  SCO Gavin Strachan (to Peterborough United) 17 FW  ENG Dean Holdsworth (to Rushden & Diamonds) 7 MF  IRL Richie Partridge (on loan from Liverpool) 29 FW  ITA Antonio Gallieri (released)

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 16 MF  IRL Keith O'Neill 29 GK  ENG Richard Brush 31 MF  SCO Brian Ford 36 DF  ENG Kirk Miller 38 MF  ENG Andrew Hall

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		1st Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
13	GK	FRA	Fabien Debec	13	0	11	0	0	0	2	0
23	GK	DEN	Morten Hyldgaard	31	0	27	0	3	0	1	0
33	GK	ENG	Gary Montgomery	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Craig Pead	26	1	17+7	1	2	0	0	0
3	DF	ENG	Dean Gordon	35	1	30	1	3	0	2	0
4	DF	BIH	Muhamed Konjić	48	0	42	0	3	0	3	0
5	DF	ENG	Richard Shaw	33	0	27+2	0	2	0	1+1	0
14	DF	IRL	Barry Quinn	19	0	13+5	0	0	0	1	0
20	DF	SCO	Gary Caldwell	41	0	36	0	2	0	3	0
28	DF	ENG	Calum Davenport	37	3	26+6	3	2+1	0	2	0
37	DF	IRL	Sean Cooney	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
40	DF	ENG	Andy Whing	14	0	13+1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
6	MF	ENG	John Eustace	35	4	23+9	4	1	0	1+1	0
10	MF	SCO	Gary McAllister	46	9	41	7	3	1	2	1
11	MF	MAR	Youssef Chippo	25	0	20+3	0	0	0	1+1	0
15	MF	MAR	Youssef Safri	29	0	24+3	0	0	0	2	0
17	MF	ENG	Tom Bates	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	WAL	Lee Fowler	3	1	1	0	1+1	1	0	0
25	MF	ANG	Christian Yulu	3	0	1+2	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	ENG	Robert Betts	4	1	1	0	1+1	0	1	1
27	MF	ESP	Vicente Engonga	8	0	5+3	0	0	0	0	0
30	MF	ENG	Mark Noon	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
34	MF	WAL	David Pipe	24	2	11+10	2	0+1	0	1+1	0
35	MF	ENG	Eddie Stanford	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	0+1	0
39	MF	ENG	Isaac Osbourne	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
8	FW	ENG	Julian Joachim	11	2	10+1	2	0	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Matt Jansen	9	2	8+1	2	0	0	0	0
18	FW	NIR	Ben Mackey	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	ENG	Gary McSheffrey	33	8	14+15	4	1+1	0	2	4
21	FW	ENG	Jay Bothroyd	39	11	24+9	8	3	1	0+3	2
24	FW	ARG	Juan Sara	4	1	1+2	1	0+1	0	0	0
32	FW	ENG	Avun Jephcott	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Players transferred or loaned out during the season
7	MF	ENG	David Thompson	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF	IRL	Richie Partridge	31	4	23+4	4	2	0	2	0
9	FW	ENG	Lee Hughes	4	1	3+1	1	0	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Craig Hignett	9	2	7+1	2	0	0	1	0
12	FW	ENG	Lee Mills	22	6	11+7	2	1	1	3	3
17	DF	ENG	Steve Walsh	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	SCO	Brian Kerr	4	0	2+1	0	0	0	1	0
17	FW	ENG	Dean Holdsworth	20	1	13+4	0	3	1	0	0
18	MF	SCO	Gavin Strachan	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF	BEL	Laurent Delorge	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0
25	FW	NOR	Runar Normann	4	1	2+1	1	0	0	0+1	0
25	MF	ENG	Jamie McMaster	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: 31 June 2002
Source: Competitions

References

1. "Coventry City results for the 2002-2003 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
2. "FootballSquads - Coventry City - 2002/03".
3. "All Coventry City players: 2003". Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
4. "Tom, 17, signs for City". 20 February 2003.