2002–03 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

Wolverhampton Wanderers
2002–03 season
Chairman Sir Jack Hayward OBE
Manager Dave Jones
Football League First Division 5th
(promoted via play-offs)
FA Cup Quarter-finals
League Cup 2nd Round
Top goalscorer League: Kenny Miller (19)
All: Kenny Miller (24)
Highest home attendance 28,190 (vs Leicester City, 4 May 2003)
Lowest home attendance 23,016 (vs Brighton, 11 November 2002)
Average home league attendance 25,745 (league only)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 season was the 104th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League First Division.

The season was a huge success for the club as they were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs after finishing fifth in the table. It was their first and only success in the play-off system from, to date, six attempts. This ended a nineteen-year top flight absence for the club and a fourteen-year stay in the same division.

Season review

Paul Ince was Wolves' high profile summer signing.

In contrast to the heavy spending of the previous close season, Summer 2002 saw the club recruit four players on free transfers. Two of these incoming players were however high profile deals, with former England captain Paul Ince[1] signing alongside ex-Manchester United stalwart Denis Irwin,[2] on one-year deals.

The season began strongly with an opening day draw at administration-hit Bradford City, followed by three successive victories that put the club at the top of the table. Their form soon dipped though, and the next seven games brought just one win. An upturn saw a 10-game unbeaten run return the team to the play-off positions, aided by the loan addition of striker Carlton Cole.[3] The Christmas/New Year period though brought a return of just two points from a possible 15.

With this drop in form, manager Dave Jones faced criticism from chairman Sir Jack Hayward at the turn of the year, publicly reminding him that he had promised to deliver automatic promotion.[4][5] With the club lying 10th in the league, some 16 points from the top two, the FA Cup provided a welcome distraction as the team entered their best performance of the campaign to eliminate Premier League high flyers Newcastle United in a thrilling televised tie.[6]

The following week brought a first league success in six games, with a narrow victory at neighbours Walsall further relieving the pressure on manager Jones. A 4–1 cup triumph against promotion chasers Leicester City preceded the team's highest away win of the campaign, where they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 4–0 to return to the play-off zone. However, their following away fixture brought the team crashing back to ground with a 1–4 loss at relegation strugglers Brighton.

An unbeaten sequence yielded 14 points from 18 before a slender loss at runaway leaders Portsmouth. March also saw an exit from the FA Cup, losing 0–2 at Premier League Southampton in Wolves' first quarter final appearance for five years, before the club recorded their biggest win since 1988 as they thumped Gillingham 6–0.

By April Wolves sat in sixth place, the final play-off berth, but with the East Anglian duo of Ipswich and Norwich just two points behind. Easter Monday brought the decisive round of games to clarify the play-off picture with Ipswich losing earlier in the day, meaning Wolves could confirm their play-off place if they won at Norwich.[7] A 3–0 victory that evening ensured the club would participate in its fourth play-off campaign at this level.

Dave Jones became the first Wolves manager to return the club to the top flight in 19 years.

Wolves finished the season in fifth place after two successive draws, meaning they would play Reading in the play-offs. The first leg saw them at home, where they overturned a half time deficit to win the game 2–1 and take a lead into the second leg. A tense 1–0 success at the Madejski Stadium thanks to a goal from substitute Alex Rae sent them into the final for the first time, breaking a run of three successive losses in away legs.

The final was staged at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff where Wolves met Sheffield United. The Blades had had a strong season, being positioned in the play-off zone almost throughout and reaching the semi finals of both the FA Cup[8] and League Cup.[9] Wolves won the game decisively with three first-half goals by Mark Kennedy, Nathan Blake and top goalscorer Kenny Miller bringing a 3–0 triumph, preserved by goalkeeper Matt Murray who saved a second half penalty from Michael Brown as part of a man of the match performance.

Promotion ended a 19-year absence from the top level of English football for the club and a fourteen-year stay in the same division. It also brought owner Sir Jack Hayward his dream of Premier League football at his 13th attempt. Three days later Hayward joined in a bus parade through Wolverhampton city centre to Molineux to celebrate the triumph.[10]

Results

Pre season

Wolves' pre season saw them spend a week in Cascais, Portugal (15–22 July), training and playing two Portuguese sides. As had become common in recent years, only their final game was held at their Molineux home.

A second string Wolves side also played: 2–0 v Kidderminster Harriers (24 July), 4–0 v Worcester City (1 August) and 0–0 v Burton Albion (6 August)

Football League First Division

A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League First Division in the 2002–03 season. Each team played every other team twice: once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.

The provisional fixture list was released on 13 June 2002, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.[11]

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Portsmouth 46 29 11 6 97 45 +52 98
2 Leicester City 46 26 14 6 73 40 +33 92
3 Sheffield United 46 23 11 12 72 52 +20 80
4 Reading 46 25 4 17 61 46 +15 79
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 20 16 10 81 44 +37 76
6 Nottingham Forest 46 20 14 12 82 50 +32 74
7 Ipswich Town 46 19 13 14 80 64 +16 70

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
46 20 16 10 81 44 +37 76 9 10 4 40 19 +21 11 6 6 41 25 +16

Source: Statto.com

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
Result D W W W D L L L W L L W W W D D D W W D W L D L L D W D W L W W D W D W L D W D W D W W D D
Position 11 5 3 1 2 4 10 14 9 10 14 12 11 8 9 9 9 6 5 8 6 7 7 9 10 10 8 8 6 7 6 6 5 4 6 6 6 5 6 6 5 5 5 4 5 5

Source: Statto.com

Play-offs

FA Cup

League Cup

Players

Statistics

Key

      ‡ On loan from another club       * First appearance(s) for the club

# = Squad number

Pos = Playing position

P = Number of games played

G = Number of goals scored

GK = Goalkeeper

DF = Defender

MF = Midfielder

FW = Forward

A yellow card = Yellow cards

A red card = Red cards

† Permanent player left club during the season

¤ Loaned to another club for part or all of season

Correct as of the season's end. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

No. Pos Name P G P G P G P G P G A yellow card A red card Notes
League FA Cup League Cup Playoffs Total Discipline
1GKEngland Oakes, MichaelMichael Oakes 600010007000
2DFEngland Connelly, SeanSean Connelly † 000000000000
3DFEngland Naylor, LeeLee Naylor 31(1)140203140(1)210
4MFScotland Rae, AlexAlex Rae 30(8)30(2)0220(1)132(11)690
5DFEngland Lescott, JoleonJoleon Lescott 44040103052010
6DFRepublic of Ireland Butler, PaulPaul Butler 31(1)040203040(1)0100
7MFEngland Newton, ShaunShaun Newton 29(4)340212(1)037(5)450
8DFRepublic of Ireland Irwin, DenisDenis Irwin 432401(1)03051(1)260
9FWWales Blake, NathanNathan Blake 22(1)1210213128(1)1461
10MFScotland Cameron, ColinColin Cameron 29(4)740003036(4)730
11MFRepublic of Ireland Kennedy, MarkMark Kennedy 30(1)341003137(1)540
12FWEngland Proudlock, AdamAdam Proudlock ¤ 2(15)20(3)10(1)00(1)02(20)310
13GKEngland Murray, MattMatt Murray 40040103048000
14DFFrance Pollet, LudovicLudovic Pollet ¤ 2(0)000110(1)03(1)110
15MFEngland Cooper, KevinKevin Cooper 13(13)30(1)0000(1)013(15)350
16FWScotland Miller, KennyKenny Miller 35(8)19431(1)13143(9)2450
17DFGuinea Camara, MoMo Camara 000000000000
18FWNigeria Ndah, GeorgeGeorge Ndah 17(8)734101022(8)1170
19MFRepublic of Ireland Andrews, KeithKeith Andrews 2(7)01000003(7)010
20FWEngland Branch, MichaelMichael Branch ¤ 000000000000
21DFIceland Ingimarsson, ÍvarÍvar Ingimarsson ¤ 10(3)200200012(3)220
23MFEngland Ince, PaulPaul Ince (c) 35(2)2411(1)03043(3)3130
24DFEngland Edworthy, MarcMarc Edworthy 18(4)000100019(4)030
29FWEngland Sturridge, DeanDean Sturridge 17(22)100(1)00(1)00(3)017(27)1040
30GKUnited States Feuer, IanIan Feuer † 000000000000
31DFNorthern Ireland Clyde, MarkMark Clyde ¤ 15(2)00(1)0000015(3)010
32MFRepublic of Ireland Melligan, JohnJohn Melligan ¤ 0(2)00000000(2)000
33MFRepublic of Ireland Ward, GrahamGraham Ward 000000000000
34MFNorthern Ireland Clingan, SammySammy Clingan 000000000000
35DFRepublic of Ireland Coleman, KennyKenny Coleman ¤ 000000000000
36GKEngland Solly, LewisLewis Solly † 000000000000
37GKAustralia Federici, AdamAdam Federici 000000000000
39FWEngland Cole, CarltonCarlton Cole ‡ 5(2)10000005(2)100

    Awards

    Award Winner[12]
    Fans' Player of the Season Joleon Lescott
    Young Player of the Season Matt Murray

    Transfers

    In

    Date Player From Fee
    1 July 2002Iceland Ívar IngimarssonUnattachedFree[13]
    23 July 2002Republic of Ireland Denis IrwinUnattached Free[2]
    6 August 2002England Paul Ince UnattachedFree[1]
    23 August 2002England Marc EdworthyUnattachedFree[14]
    18 September 2002United States Ian Feuer Unattached Non-contract[15]
    26 February 2003Australia Adam Federici Unattached End of season[16]

    Out

    Date Player To Fee
    June 2002 England Andy Sinton Released Free[17]
    June 2002 Wales Carl Robinson ReleasedFree
    1 July 2002 Australia Kevin Muscat RangersFree[18]
    11 July 2002 England Darren Bazeley ReleasedFree[19]
    2 August 2002 Republic of Ireland Colin Larkin Mansfield Town£120,000[20]
    28 September 2002 United States Ian Feuer ReleasedFree[21]
    10 October 2002 England Sean Connelly ReleasedFree[22]
    28 March 2003 England Lewis Solly BuryFree[23]

    Loans in

    Start date Player From End date
    28 November 2002 England Carlton Cole Chelsea 3 January 2003[3]

    Loans out

    Start date Player To End date
    1 July 2002 Belgium Cédric Roussel Mons End of season[24]
    12 September 2002 Northern Ireland Mark Clyde Kidderminster Harriers 12 October 2002[25]
    12 September 2002 Republic of Ireland John Melligan Kidderminster Harriers 4 May 2003[25]
    4 October 2002 England Michael Branch Hull City 3 December 2002[26]
    10 October 2002 Republic of Ireland Kenny Coleman Kidderminster Harriers End of season[27]
    25 October 2002 England Adam Proudlock Tranmere Rovers 25 November 2002[28]
    14 November 2002 France Ludovic Pollet Walsall 1 January 2003[29]
    13 December 2002 England Adam Proudlock Sheffield Wednesday 7 January 2003[30]
    10 February 2003 Iceland Ívar Ingimarsson Brighton & Hove Albion 4 May 2003[31]

    Kit

    The season saw new home and away kits, manufactured by Admiral.[32] The home strip reverted to a lighter gold colour after two years wearing a darker "old gold" style, while the away kit returned to the club's traditional all-white look.[33] After twelve seasons sponsored by Goodyear, the club signed a two-year deal with Doritos.[34]

    References

    1. 1 2 "Ince agrees Wolves move". BBC Sport. 6 August 2002.
    2. 1 2 "Irwin joins Wolves". BBC Sport. 23 July 2002.
    3. 1 2 "Cole joins Wolves on loan". BBC Sport. 28 November 2002.
    4. ↑ "Targeted Jones has Molineux agenda revised". Birmingham Post. 2 January 2003.
    5. ↑ "Don't air this dirty linen in public, Sir Jack". Sunday Mercury. 5 January 2003.
    6. ↑ "Wonderers! Wolves savage Toon and save Jones' job". The Mirror. 6 January 2003.
    7. ↑ "Rotherham 2-1 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 21 April 2003.
    8. ↑ "Arsenal sink brave Blades". BBC Sport. 13 April 2003.
    9. ↑ "Liverpool conquer brave Blades". BBC Sport. 21 January 2003.
    10. ↑ "Crowds hail Molineux heroes". wolves.co.uk. 29 May 2003.
    11. ↑ "Rams in Reading opener". BBC Sport. 13 June 2002.
    12. ↑ "Player of the Year". wolves.co.uk. 4 May 2003.
    13. ↑ "Ivar New Club". wolves.co.uk. 1 July 2002.
    14. ↑ "Howarth and Edworthy". wolves.co.uk. 23 August 2002.
    15. ↑ "Wolves sign Feuer". BBC Sport. 18 September 2002.
    16. ↑ "Keeper looking to impress". wolves.co.uk. 26 February 2003.
    17. ↑ "Out of contract". wolves.co.uk. 15 May 2002.
    18. ↑ "Rangers accused over Muscat". BBC Sport. 7 May 2002.
    19. ↑ "Darren departs". wolves.co.uk. 11 July 2002.
    20. ↑ "Striker moves to Mansfield". wolves.co.uk. 2 August 2002.
    21. ↑ "Feuer decides on future". wolves.co.uk. 28 September 2002.
    22. ↑ "Defender leaves Molineux". wolves.co.uk. 10 October 2002.
    23. ↑ "Shakers chase Solly". BBC Sport. 25 March 2003.
    24. ↑ "Roussel goes on loan". BBC Sport. 27 July 2002.
    25. 1 2 "Two out on loan". wolves.co.uk. 12 September 2002.
    26. ↑ "Hull get a Branch". BBC Sport. 4 October 2002.
    27. ↑ "Kidderminster comings and goings". wolves.co.uk. 10 October 2002.
    28. ↑ "Proudlock move confirmed". wolves.co.uk. 25 October 2002.
    29. ↑ "Ludo on the move". wolves.co.uk. 14 November 2002.
    30. ↑ "Another Proudlock loan". wolves.co.uk. 13 December 2002.
    31. ↑ "Ingimarsson joins Seagulls". BBC Sport. 10 February 2003.
    32. ↑ "Wolves sign lucrative kit sponsorship deal with Admiral". wolves.co.uk. 14 February 2002.
    33. ↑ "New away kit". wolves.co.uk. 9 August 2002.
    34. ↑ "New sponsor revealed". wolves.co.uk. 2 July 2002.
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