2002–03 Dundee United F.C. season

Dundee United F.C.

2002–03 season
Chairman	Jim McLean (until 26 September) Eddie Thompson (from 26 September)
Manager	Alex Smith (until 7 October) Paul Hegarty (until 30 January as caretaker) Ian McCall (from 30 January)
Bank of Scotland Premierleague	11th W:7 D:11 L:20 F:35 A:68 P:32
Tennent's Scottish Cup	Third round
CIS Insurance Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Jim McIntyre (9) All: Jim McIntyre, Steven Thompson (9)
Highest home attendance	12,402 (vs Dundee, 31 August)
Lowest home attendance	5,572 (vs Livingston, 19 October)

The 2002–03 season was the 94th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. United finished the season in eighth place.

United were knocked out of the Tennent's Scottish Cup by Hibernian in the third round, and were beaten by Celtic in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals.

Review and events

What had begun with optimism and hopes that United could continue the progress made the previous year would end up being statistically the club's worst season since before World War II. Eddie Thompson took over as chairman with the season barely a month old and quickly sacked Alex Smith, though a run of just two wins from the first ten games did not help the manager's cause. After a failed attempt to recruit Ian McCall, Paul Hegarty was put in charge provisionally until the end of the season. While the former club hero got off to a decent start with 7 points from five matches, a dismal run of ten weeks without a win followed, leading to Hegarty being dismissed at the end of January and McCall being successfully recruited.

The key factor in McCall's change of heart was that while his previous club Falkirk were runaway leaders of the First Division, it was by now evident that they were unlikely to be promoted as their ground did not meet the SPL's requirements. McCall still had the task of keeping United off the bottom of the table in the unlikely event that the SPL had a change of heart or one of the chasing pack overhauled Falkirk, and he ultimately managed this with an excellent run of form after the SPL split, leaving them to finish eleventh. However, this good finish could not mask what had been an extremely poor season by any measure, and left McCall facing a major reconstruction job.

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 43 competitive matches during the 2002–03 season.^[1] The team finished eleventh in the Scottish Premier League.

In the cup competitions, United were knocked out of the Tennent's Scottish Cup in the third round, losing at home to Hibernian. Celtic knocked United out of the CIS Cup in the semi-finals.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first.

Bank of Scotland Premierleague

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
3 August 2002	Partick Thistle	A	0–0	6,375
10 August 2002	Kilmarnock	H	1–2	6,366	Thompson
17 August 2002	Celtic	A	0–5	56,907
25 August 2002	Motherwell	H	1–1	5,795	McIntyre
31 August 2002	Dundee	H	0–0	12,402
11 September 2002	Aberdeen	A	2–1	10,724	Thompson (2)
14 September 2002	Dunfermline	H	1–2	6,041	Lilley
21 September 2002	Hearts	A	0–2	11,532
28 September 2002	Rangers	H	0–3	10,013
5 October 2002	Hibernian	A	1–2	11,532	Thompson
19 October 2002	Livingston	H	2–3	5,572	Lilley, McIntyre
26 October 2002	Partick Thistle	H	1–1	6,369	Thompson
2 November 2002	Kilmarnock	A	2–1	5,417	Thompson, McIntyre
10 November 2002	Celtic	H	0–2	10,664
16 November 2002	Motherwell	A	2–1	5,381	Hamilton (2)
23 November 2002	Dundee	A	2–3	11,539	Hamilton, McIntyre
30 November 2002	Aberdeen	H	1–1	8,621	Hamilton
4 December 2002	Dunfermline	A	1–4	4,342	McIntyre
7 December 2002	Hibernian	H	1–1	5,673	Wilson
14 December 2002	Rangers	A	0–3	47,639
21 December 2002	Hearts	H	0–3	6,025
26 December 2002	Livingston	A	0–3	5,103
29 December 2002	Partick Thistle	A	0–0	5,109
2 January 2003	Kilmarnock	H	2–2	7,183	Dodds, McIntyre
29 January 2003	Celtic	A	0–2	55,204
1 February 2003	Motherwell	H	2–1	6,672	Tod, Miller
9 February 2003	Dundee	H	1–1	10,457
16 February 2003	Aberdeen	A	0–3	9,146
1 March 2003	Dunfermline	H	3–0	6,004	Craig Easton, Tod, Ogunmade
9 March 2003	Hibernian	A	1–1	7,518	McIntyre
15 March 2003	Livingston	H	0–1	6,247
5 April 2003	Hearts	A	1–2	9,663	Griffin
13 April 2003	Rangers	H	1–4	10,013	Dodds
26 April 2003	Hibernian	H	1–2	6,758	McCracken
3 May 2003	Motherwell	A	2–2	9,056	Miller, McIntyre
10 May 2003	Livingston	A	2–1	6,314	McIntyre, Miller
17 May 2003	Partick Thistle	A	1–0	6,357	Paterson
24 May 2003	Aberdeen	H	0–2	8,516

Tennent's Scottish Cup

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25 January 2003	Hibernian	H	2–3	8,986	O'Donnell, Hamilton

CIS Insurance Cup

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
24 September 2002	Queen's Park	H	4–1	3,600	O'Donnell (3), Thompson
29 October 2002	Airdrie United	A	2–1	1,768	Thompson (2)
13 November 2002	Livingston	A	2–0	3,592	Lilley (2)
6 February 2003	Celtic	N	0–3	18,856

Player details

During the 2002–03 season, United used 32 different players, with a further played named as a substitute who did not make an appearance on the pitch. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.^[2]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Bank of Scotland Premierleague		Tennent's Scottish Cup		CIS Insurance Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	SCO	Paul Gallacher	38	0	34	0	1	0	3	0
22	GK	SCO	Alan Combe	6	0	5	0	0	0	1	0
2	DF	SCO	Jamie McCunnie	21	0	17	0	1	0	3	0
3	DF	SCO	Warren Cummings	12	0	11	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF	NIR	Danny Griffin	17	1	17	1	0	0	0	0
5	DF	SCO	Kevin McGowne	13	0	12	0	0	0	1	0
5	DF	SCO	Gary Bollan	13	0	13	0	0	0	0	0
6	DF	SCO	Jim Lauchlan	28	0	24	0	1	0	3	0
14	DF	ENG	Hasney Aljofree	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	SCO	David McCracken	30	1	25	1	1	0	4	0
27	DF	SCO	Mark Wilson	31	1	26	1	1	0	4	0
35	DF	ITA	Daniele Chiarini	5	0	4	0	1	0	0	0
18	DF	SCO	Andy Tod	13	2	13	2	0	0	0	0
7	MF	SCO	Craig Easton	41	1	36	1	1	0	4	0
8	MF	SCO	Charlie Miller	38	4	34	4	1	0	3	0
11	MF	SCO	Jim Paterson	38	1	33	1	1	0	4	0
15	MF	SCO	Stuart Duff	38	0	34	0	0	0	4	0
16	MF	NIR	Stephen Carson	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	GRE	Tassos Venetis	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF	ISL	Arnar Gunnlaugsson	7	0	6	0	0	0	1	0
21	MF	TRI	Russell Latapy	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	SCO	Stephen O'Donnell	14	4	11	0	1	1	2	3
9	FW	SCO	Derek Lilley	37	4	33	2	0	0	4	2
10	FW	SCO	Jim McIntyre	37	9	32	9	1	0	4	0
12	FW	SCO	Allan Smart	18	0	17	0	0	0	1	0
14	FW	SCO	Billy Dodds	16	2	14	2	1	0	1	0
17	FW	SCO	Jim Hamilton	16	5	13	4	1	1	2	0
19	FW	SCO	Steven Thompson	23	9	20	6	0	0	3	3
23	FW	SCO	David Winters	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
29	FW	SCO	Daniel Ogunmade	4	1	4	1	0	0	0	0
39	FW	SCO	Stephen McGowan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
47	FW	SCO	Aaron Conway	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goalscorers Thirteen players scored for the United first team with the team scoring 43 goals in total. Steven Thompson and Jim McIntyre were the top goalscorers, scoring nine goals apiece.[3] Name League Cups Total Jim McIntyre 9 0 9 Steven Thompson 6 3 9 Jim Hamilton 4 1 5 Derek Lilley 2 2 4 Stephen O'Donnell 1 3 4 Charlie Miller 3 0 3 Billy Dodds 2 0 2 Andy Tod 2 0 2 Craig Easton 1 0 1 Danny Griffin 1 0 1 Daniel Ogunmade 1 0 1 Jim Paterson 1 0 1 Mark Wilson 1 0 1

Discipline During the 2001–02 season, five United players were sent off, and 20 players received at least one yellow card. In total, the team received six dismissals and 67 cautions.[3] Name Cautions Dismissals Allan Smart 2 Charlie Miller 8 1 Jim Lauchlan 7 1 Jim McIntyre 5 1 Alan Combe 1 Craig Easton 9 Derek Lilley 6 David McCracken 4 Jamie McCunnie 4 Steven Thompson 4 Andy Tod 4 Gary Bollan 3 Stuart Duff 2 Danny Griffin 2 Kevin McGowne 2 Warren Cummings 1 Billy Dodds 1 Paul Gallacher 1 Jim Hamilton 1 Stephen O'Donnell 1 Jim Paterson 1 Mark Wilson 1

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
8	Aberdeen	38	13	10	15	41	54	−13	49
9	Livingston	38	9	8	21	48	62	−14	35
10	Partick Thistle	38	8	11	19	37	58	−21	35
11	Dundee United	38	7	11	20	35	68	−33	32
12	Motherwell	38	7	7	24	45	71	−26	28	Spared from relegation[b]

Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
2. As the First Division champions Falkirk did not have a suitable ground for the SPL, bottom club Motherwell were spared from relegation.

Transfers

In Six players were signed during the 2002–03 season, with a total (public) transfer cost of around £150,000. Four players were also signed for the following season. In addition, two players were signed on loan. The players that joined Dundee United during the 2001–02 season, along with their previous club, are listed below. Date Player From Fee (£) 6 July 2002 Kevin McGowne Unattached (ex-Kilmarnock) Free[4] 30 July 2002 Arnar Gunnlaugsson Unattached (ex-Leicester City) Free[5] 1 January 2003 Billy Dodds Rangers Free[6] 10 January 2003 Daniele Chiarini Unattached (ex-Partick Thistle) Swap[7] 28 January 2003 Gary Bollan Livingston Bosman[8] 23 February 2003 Russell Latapy Unattached (ex-Rangers) Free[9] 16 May 2003 Barry Robson Inverness CT £0,070,000[10] 3 June 2003 Alan Archibald Partick Thistle Bosman[11] 3 June 2003 Scott Paterson Partick Thistle Bosman[11] 27 June 2003 Tony Bullock Ross County Swap[12] Loans in Date Player To Fee 23 August 2002 Warren Cummings Chelsea January[13] 28 January 2003 Andy Tod Bradford City End of season[8]

Out Eight players left the club during the season with only one transfer – Steven Thompson to Rangers – bringing in a fee (£200k). Two players were loaned out during the season with six also released before next season. Listed below are the players that were released during the season, along with the club that they joined. Players did not necessarily join their next club immediately. Date Player To Fee 1 July 2002 Stephen Wright Scunthorpe United Released[14] 22 July 2002 David Partridge Motherwell Free[15] 30 August 2002 Hasney Aljofree Plymouth Argyle Released[16] 1 January 2003 Steven Thompson Rangers £0,200,000[17] 16 January 2003 Kevin McGowne Partick Thistle Released[18] 16 January 2003 Tassos Venetis Ross County Released[18] 31 January 2003 Arnar Gunnlaugsson KR Released[19] 7 March 2003 Jim Hamilton Dunfermline Released[20] 22 May 2003 Stephen Carson Barnsley Released[21] 22 May 2003 Daniele Chiarini Partick Thistle Released[18] 31 May 2003 Jim Lauchlan Released (went to Livingston) Free[22] 31 May 2003 Derek Lilley Released (went to Livingston) Free[23] 27 June 2003 Jamie McCunnie Ross County Swap[12] 27 June 2003 David Winters Ross County Swap[12] Loans out Date Player From Fee (£) 1 January 2003 David Winters Ross County End of season[24] 14 August 2002 Hugh Davidson Stirling Albion January[25] 23 August 2002 Stephen McConalogue Clyde End of season[26] 29 June 2003 Stephen O'Donnell Ross County January[27]

Playing kit

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

The jerseys were sponsored by Telewest for the last time.

Awards

• Mark Wilson
  • Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: 1

November 2002

See also

• 2002–03 Scottish Premier League
• 2002–03 Scottish Cup
• 2002–03 in Scottish football

References

1. "Dundee Utd 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
2. "Dundee Utd 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
3. "Dundee Utd 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
4. "McGowne signs at Tannadice". BBC Sport website. 6 July 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
5. "Gunnlaugsson joins Dundee United". BBC Sport website. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
6. "Dodds completes Tannadice move". BBC Sport website. 30 December 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
7. "Dundee Utd land Chiarini". BBC Sport website. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
8. "United in double swoop". Dundee United F.C. 28 January 2003. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
9. "Latapy joins United". BBC Sport website. 23 February 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
10. "United snap up Robson". BBC Sport website. 16 May 2003. Archived from the original on 13 March 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
11. "United parade new signings". BBC Sport website. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
12. "United complete Bullock deal". BBC Sport website. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
13. "1st Team: Warren Cummings". Dundee United F.C. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
14. "Wright joins Scunthorpe". BBC Sport website. 6 September 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
15. "Triple swoop for 'Well". BBC Sport website. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
16. "Hasney departs Tannadice". Dundee United F.C. 30 August 2002. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
17. "Rangers get Thompson". BBC Sport website. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
18. "United release McGowne and Venetis". BBC Sport website. 16 January 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
19. "New Bosman threat". BBC Sport website. 3 February 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
20. "Duo shown Tannadice exit". BBC Sport website. 7 March 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
21. "Released players in quarter II/2003". Globalsoccertransfers.com. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
22. "Lauchlan signs for Livi". BBC Sport website. 8 September 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
23. "Livi steal Lilley". BBC Sport website. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
24. "Slow start to Scots' transfers". BBC Sport website. 1 January 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
25. "Davidson on loan to Stirling Albion". Dundee United F.C. 14 August 2002. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
26. "Cummings in Tayside move". BBC Sport website. 23 August 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
27. "O'Donnell moves to County". BBC Sport website. 29 June 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2008.

External links

• Official site: 2002/03 Results
• Soccerbase
  • Results
  • Squad stats
  • Transfers^{[dead link‍]}