2002–03 Bradford City A.F.C. season

Just after the end of the previous season, Bradford had been placed into administration, as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital, "six weeks of madness" in the transfer market in 2000 and the collapse of the sale of Benito Carbone (on weekly wages of £40,000) to Middlesbrough. The only way for Bradford, £13 million into debt, to move forward was to going into administration to try and save the club and find a buyer. Cuts had to be made, the most drastic being the cancelling of the contracts of sixteen members of the professional squad, leaving manager Nicky Law with five professionals with a handful of senior appearances among them and sixteen scholars.

After a summer of uncertainty, on 1 August the administrators managed to get creditors to accept a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, which would reschedule debts and reinstate the players, who had gone unpaid since April. One player not to return was Benito Carbone, who sacrificed a large chunk of the money owed to him on his contract and moved back to Italy. Chairman Richmond resigned from the board of directors on 10 August, after a reign of eight years. He was replaced as chairman by theme park magnate and new co-owner Gordon Gibb, who, along with Julian Rhodes, had completed a take-over of the club at the 11th hour before Bradford were due to lose their Football League status.^[3]

On 30 August, agreement was finally reached with the Professional Footballers' Association over payment owed to the players. With agreement having already been made with the creditors, this now allowed the Football League to return Bradford City's share in the League, effectively bringing the club out of administration.

With a transfer embargo in place, manager Nicky Law had to show an eye for a bargain and unearthed some raw talent. Youngsters Danny Forrest and Simon Francis emerged while Law worked the loan system to cope with an horrific list of injuries.

Bradford eventually finished the season in 19th place; given all that had happened off the field, this was to be considered a success.^[4]

Final league table

Main article: 2002–03 Football League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Portsmouth	46	17	3	3	52	22	12	8	3	45	23	97	45	+52	98
2	Leicester City	46	16	5	2	40	12	10	9	4	33	28	73	40	+33	92
3	Sheffield United	46	13	7	3	38	23	10	4	9	34	29	72	52	+20	80
4	Reading	46	13	3	7	33	21	12	1	10	28	25	61	46	+15	79
5	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	9	10	4	40	19	11	6	6	41	25	81	44	+37	76
6	Nottingham Forest	46	14	7	2	57	23	6	7	10	25	27	82	50	+32	74
7	Ipswich Town	46	10	5	8	49	39	9	8	6	31	25	80	64	+16	70
8	Norwich City	46	14	4	5	36	17	5	8	10	24	32	60	49	+11	69
9	Millwall	46	11	6	6	34	32	8	3	12	25	37	59	69	–10	66
10	Wimbledon	46	12	5	6	39	28	6	6	11	37	45	76	73	+3	65
11	Gillingham	46	10	6	7	33	31	6	8	9	23	34	56	65	–9	62
12	Preston North End	46	11	7	5	44	29	5	6	12	24	41	68	70	–2	61
13	Watford	46	11	5	7	33	26	6	4	13	21	44	54	70	–16	60
14	Crystal Palace	46	8	10	5	29	17	6	7	10	30	35	59	52	+7	59
15	Rotherham United	46	8	9	6	27	25	7	5	11	35	37	62	62	±0	59
16	Burnley	46	10	4	9	35	44	5	6	12	30	45	65	89	–24	55
17	Walsall	46	10	3	10	34	34	5	6	12	23	35	57	69	–12	54
18	Derby County	46	9	5	9	33	32	6	2	15	22	42	55	74	–19	52
19	Bradford City	46	7	8	8	27	35	7	2	14	24	38	51	73	–22	52
20	Coventry City	46	6	6	11	23	31	6	8	9	23	31	46	62	–16	50
21	Stoke City	46	9	6	8	25	25	3	8	12	20	44	45	69	–24	50
22	Sheffield Wednesday	46	7	7	9	29	32	3	9	11	27	41	56	73	–17	46
23	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	7	6	10	29	31	4	6	13	20	36	49	67	–18	45
24	Grimsby Town	46	5	6	12	26	39	4	6	13	22	46	48	85	–37	39

Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Key
	Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League
	Promoted to FA Premier League
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted to Premier League through play-offs
	Relegated

Results

Bradford City's score comes first^[5]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
11 August 2002	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0-0	13,223
13 August 2002	Crystal Palace	A	1-1	15,205	Tod
17 August 2002	Stoke City	A	1-2	12,424	Gray
24 August 2002	Grimsby Town	H	0-0	10,914
26 August 2002	Ipswich Town	A	2-1	25,457	Evans, Proctor
31 August 2002	Rotherham United	H	4-2	12,385	Ward (2), Uhlenbeek, Proctor
14 September 2002	Walsall	A	1-0	4,678	Gray
17 September 2002	Leicester City	A	0-4	24,651
21 September 2002	Burnley	H	2-2	14,561	Gray, Proctor
24 September 2002	Coventry City	H	1-1	11,655	Evans
28 September 2002	Portsmouth	A	0-3	18,459
5 October 2002	Preston North End	H	1-1	13,215	Proctor
12 October 2002	Derby County	H	0-0	13,385
19 October 2002	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1-2	17,191	Warnock
26 October 2002	Norwich City	H	2-1	12,888	Reid (2)
29 October 2002	Reading	A	0-1	12,110
2 November 2002	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2-3	6,319	Gray (2, 1 pen)
9 November 2002	Wimbledon	H	3-5	10,615	Facey, Standing (2)
16 November 2002	Nottingham Forest	A	0-3	19,653
23 November 2002	Sheffield United	H	0-5	13,364
30 November 2002	Millwall	A	0-1	8,510
7 December 2002	Gillingham	H	1-3	10,711
14 December 2002	Nottingham Forest	H	1-0	12,245	Molenaar
21 December 2002	Watford	A	0-1	12,579
26 December 2002	Stoke City	H	4-2	14,575	Gray (2, 1 pen), Handyside (own goal), Jørgensen
28 December 2002	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2-1	25,812	Jørgensen, Gray
18 January 2003	Rotherham United	A	2-3	6,939	Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
25 January 2003	Grimsby Town	A	2-1	5,582	Gray, Jørgensen
1 February 2003	Ipswich Town	H	2-0	12,080	Jørgensen, Forrest
8 February 2003	Wimbledon	A	2-2	1,178	Jørgensen, Ward
15 February 2003	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	0-1	11,520
22 February 2003	Coventry City	A	2-0	12,525	Gray, Jørgensen
1 March 2003	Walsall	H	1-2	10,893	Forrest
4 March 2003	Leicester City	H	0-0	11,531
8 March 2003	Crystal Palace	H	2-1	11,016	Atherton, Francis
15 March 2003	Derby County	A	2-1	23,735	Jørgensen, Lawrence
18 March 2003	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1-1	14,452	Gray (pen)
22 March 2003	Reading	H	0-1	11,385
25 March 2003	Burnley	A	2-0	11,095	Jørgensen, Gray
29 March 2003	Norwich City	A	2-3	18,536	Forrest, Jørgensen (pen)
5 April 2003	Millwall	H	0-1	10,676
19 April 2003	Watford	H	2-1	11,145	Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
21 April 2003	Gillingham	A	0-1	6,281
26 April 2003	Preston North End	A	0-1	13,652
29 April 2003	Sheffield United	A	0-3	18,297
4 May 2003	Portsmouth	H	0-5	19,088

FA Cup

Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	4 January 2003	West Bromwich Albion	A	1-3	19,909	Danks

League Cup

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	10 September 2002	Wrexham	A	1-2	2,232	Cadamarteri

First-team squad

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Gary Walsh
2	DF	Peter Atherton
3	DF	Andy Myers
4	MF	Tom Kearney
5	DF	David Wetherall (captain)
6	DF	Mark Bower
8	FW	Danny Cadamarteri
9	FW	Ashley Ward
10	MF	Paul Evans
11	FW	Andy Gray
12	DF	Robert Molenaar
14	DF	Gus Uhlenbeek
15	MF	Juanjo
16	MF	Michael Standing
17	GK	Aidan Davison

No.	Position	Player
18	DF	Lewis Emanuel
19	MF	Claus Bech Jørgensen
20	DF	Andy Tod
21	MF	Andy Lee
22	DF	Wayne Jacobs
24	MF	Paul Reid
34	DF	Simon Francis
35	FW	Mark Danks
38	FW	Danny Forrest
39	FW	Kevin Sanasy
41	MF	Tom Penford
43	FW	Ben Muirhead
45	FW	Laurens ten Heuvel (on loan from Sheffield United)

Left club during season

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

No.	Position	Player
7	MF	Jamie Lawrence (to Walsall)
10	FW	Benito Carbone (to Como)
11	MF	Eoin Jess (to Nottingham Forest)
13	GK	Steve Banks (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
14	MF	Gary Locke (to Kilmarnock)
23	FW	Michael Proctor (on loan from Sunderland)
25	DF	Stephen Warnock (on loan from Liverpool)

No.	Position	Player
26	GK	Dave Beasant (to Wigan Athletic)
27	MF	Harpal Singh (on loan from Leeds United)
28	FW	Delroy Facey (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
29	GK	Boaz Myhill (on loan from Aston Villa)
34	FW	Damian Hatton (retired)
37	FW	Graeme Tomlinson (to Bedford Town)
42	GK	Neil Bennett (to Rochdale)

Reserve squad

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

No.	Position	Player
30	GK	Stefan Magnusson
31	MF	Craig Fishlock
32	DF	Robert Morgan
33	DF	Keith Brodie

No.	Position	Player
36	GK	Nicky Beach
40	FW	Daniel Ekoku
44	DF	Frazer McHugh
46	DF	Jake Wright

Transfers

In

Out

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions^[6]

#17, Aidan Davison, 35
#34, Simon Francis, 25
#12, Robert Molenaar, 30
#18, Lewis Emanuel, 26
#14, Gus Uhlenbeek, 44
#2, Peter Atherton, 25
#3, Andy Myers, 22
#19, Claus Bech Jorgensen, 29
#6, Mark Bower, 38
#9, Ashley Ward, 25
#11, Andy Gray, 46

References

Bradford City A.F.C.

Managers Players (50 or more league appearances) Players (1–49 league appearances) Records

History	Seasons Fire disaster

Grounds	Valley Parade

Matches	1911 FA Cup Final 1996 Second Division play-off Final 2013 Football League Cup Final 2013 Football League Two play-off Final

Related articles	Bradford derby West Yorkshire derby Manningham F.C. Women SC United Bantams All articles

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Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Charlton Athletic Chelsea Everton Fulham Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Southampton Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United

First Division	Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Burnley Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Grimsby Town Gillingham Ipswich Town Leicester City Millwall Norwich City Nottingham Forest Portsmouth Preston North End Reading Rotherham United Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Stoke City Walsall Watford Wimbledon Wolverhampton Wanderers

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