2002–03 Fulham F.C. season

Fulham
2002–03 season
Chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed
Manager Jean Tigana (until 17 April)[1]
Chris Coleman (from 17 April)
Stadium Loftus Road
FA Premier League 14th
FA Cup Fifth round
League Cup Fourth round
UEFA Intertoto Cup Winner
UEFA Cup Third round
Top goalscorer League:
Steed Malbranque (6)
All:
Steed Malbranque (13)
Highest home attendance 18,800 (vs. Arsenal, 3 November, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance 4,717 (vs. Sochaux, 31 July, Intertoto Cup)
Average home league attendance 16,707

The 2002–03 season was Fulham F.C.'s 105th season in professional football and second consecutive season in the FA Premier League. It was also the first season in over 115 years where Fulham did not play at Craven Cottage. Due to pending decisions on re-vamping the cottage, all home games (apart from two early-season fixtures) were played at Loftus Road, the home of Queens Park Rangers. Jean Tigana remained as Fulham manager up until his sacking in April 2003. Former Fulham player Chris Coleman had not long been retired from the game since suffering a career-ending injury in a car crash when he was appointed caretaker manager for the rest of the season.

Concerning the league, it was another relatively disappointing season for Fulham. Finishing in 14th place, it was seeming Fulham were finding top-flight football more of a struggle than was originally anticipated two years ago. However, an invitation to the Intertoto Cup after the 2001–02 campaign meant that Fulham could play European football for the first time in their history. Upon entering, Fulham went on to be one of the three winners of the competition, allowing them into the first round draw of the UEFA Cup. Performing better than most expected, Fulham reached the third round before being knocked out by German club Hertha BSC.

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 Netherlands GK Edwin van der Sar
2 Republic of Ireland DF Steve Finnan
4 Wales DF Andy Melville
6 Japan MF Junichi Inamoto (on loan from Gamba Osaka)
7 France FW Steve Marlet
8 England MF Lee Clark
9 Argentina FW Facundo Sava
10 Scotland MF John Collins
11 Portugal FW Luís Boa Morte
12 Northern Ireland GK Maik Taylor[2]
13 England GK Ross Flitney
14 France MF Steed Malbranque[3]
15 Jamaica FW Barry Hayles[4]
16 England DF Zat Knight
17 France DF Martin Djetou (on loan from Parma)
18 France MF Sylvain Legwinski
No. Position Player
19 Denmark FW Bjarne Goldbæk
20 France FW Louis Saha
21 Argentina GK Martín Herrera
23 England MF Sean Davis
24 France DF Alain Goma
25 Morocco DF Abdeslam Ouaddou
26 England DF Jon Harley
27 Cameroon DF Pierre Womé (on loan from Bologna)
31 England MF Darren Pratley
33 England FW Calum Willock[5]
34 Ghana FW Elvis Hammond
36 England DF Mark Hudson
38 England FW Luke Cornwall
39 England DF Dean Leacock
40 Latvia MF Andrejs Štolcers

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
3 England DF Rufus Brevett (to West Ham United)
5 Wales DF Chris Coleman (retired)
30 England GK Glyn Thompson (to Northampton Town)
No. Position Player
31 United States MF Eddie Lewis (to Preston North End)
35 Scotland DF Kieran McAnespie (to Plymouth Argyle)

Transfers

Summer

In

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

No. Position Player
Argentina FW Facundo Sava (from Argentina Gimnasia – £2,000,000)
Argentina GK Martín Herrera (from Spain Alavés – free)
France DF Martin Djetou (two-year loan from Italy Parma)
No. Position Player
Japan MF Junichi Inamoto (season-long loan from Japan Gamba Osaka)
Cameroon DF Pierre Womé (season-long loan from Italy Bologna)

Out

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

No. Position Player
United States GK Marcus Hahnemann (released)
Wales MF Paul Trollope (to England Northampton Town – free)
No. Position Player
United States MF Eddie Lewis (to England Preston North End – undisclosed)

Winter

Out

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

No. Position Player
England FW Luke Cornwall (one-month loan to England Lincoln City)
No. Position Player
England DF Rufus Brevett (to England West Ham United - undisclosed)

League table

Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA +/- Pts Comments
1
Manchester United
38
25
8
5
74
34
40
83
Champions League group stage
2
Arsenal
38
23
9
6
85
42
43
78
3
Newcastle United
38
21
6
11
63
48
15
69
Champions League Third qualifying round
4
Chelsea
38
19
10
9
68
38
30
67
5
Liverpool
38
18
10
10
61
41
20
64
UEFA Cup first round1
6
Blackburn Rovers
38
16
12
10
52
43
9
60
7
Everton
38
17
8
13
48
49
-1
59
8
Southampton
38
13
13
12
43
46
-3
52
UEFA Cup first round2
9
Manchester City
38
15
6
17
47
54
-7
51
UEFA Cup qualifying round
10
Tottenham Hotspur
38
14
8
16
51
62
-11
50
11
Middlesbrough
38
13
10
15
48
44
4
49
12
Charlton Athletic
38
14
7
17
45
56
-11
49
13
Birmingham City
38
13
9
16
41
49
-8
48
14
Fulham
38
13
9
16
41
50
-9
48
15
Leeds United
38
14
5
19
58
57
1
47
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
38
10
12
16
42
59
-17
42
Relegated to Division 1
19
West Bromwich Albion
38
6
8
24
29
65
-36
26
20
Sunderland
38
4
7
27
21
65
-44
19

Results

Premier League

League Cup

FA Cup

UEFA Intertoto Cup

UEFA Cup

References

  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/2957495.stm
  2. Taylor was born in Hildesheim, West Germany (now Germany), but qualifies to represent any of the home nations internationally as he holds a British passport; he made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1999.
  3. Malbranque was born in Mouscron, Belgium, but also qualifies to represent France internationally; he represented them at U-21 level and would be called up to the senior international side in February 2004, but he would not play.
  4. Hayles was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in June 2001, having previously represented the Cayman Islands internationally despite being ineligible to do so.
  5. Willock was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and would make his international debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2004.

External links

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