2002–03 Crystal Palace F.C. season

Crystal Palace
2002–03 season
Chairman Simon Jordan
Manager Trevor Francis (until 18 April)
Steve Kember (caretaker from 18 April)
Stadium Selhurst Park
First Division 14th
FA Cup Fifth round
League Cup Fifth round
Top goalscorer League:
Johnson (11)[1]

All:
Johnson (14)[2]
Average home league attendance 16,867

During the 2002–03 English football season, Crystal Palace competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

Under Francis, Palace were unable to mount a serious promotion challenge and they finished mid-table in Division One. The main highlight of the season was in February 2003 when Palace knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in a fourth round replay at Anfield. Having drawn the first match 0-0 at Selhurst Park, Palace went to Anfield as the clear underdogs. A goal from Julian Gray and an own goal from Liverpool's Stephen Henchoz meant that Palace progressed to a 5th round where they played at home against Leeds United. They lost 2-1 in controversial circumstances, as Palace were denied a first half goal despite the ball clearly crossing the line. Francis resigned on 18 April after another difficult season, and was replaced by long-serving coach Steve Kember.

The end of Francis' tenure, however, saw the beginning of a remarkable, two-year-long transfer saga. Clinton Morrison, a youth team product who had been one of the team's most reliable goalscorers, headed to Birmingham for a £4 million fee in a part-exchange deal which saw Andrew Johnson come to Selhurst Park for £750,000, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Blues boss Steve Bruce. Johnson went on to become an even bigger success at Palace than Morrison, and helped take the club into the Premier League before eventually moving on to Everton for a fee of £8.6million in 2006; Morrison's return to Selhurst Park a year earlier cost Palace £2 million, meaning the club were left with the same player and a total profit of £9,850,000.

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GD Pts
1 Portsmouth 4617335222128345239745+5298
2 Leicester City 4616524012109433287340+3392
3 Sheffield United 4613733823104934297252+2080
4 Reading 46133733211211028256146+1579
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4691044019116641258144+3776
6 Nottingham Forest 4614725723671025278250+3274
7 Ipswich Town 461058493998631258064+1670
8 Norwich City 4614453617581024326049+1169
9 Millwall 4611663432831225375969–1066
10 Wimbledon 4612563928661137457673+365
11 Gillingham 461067333168923345665–962
12 Preston North End 4611754429561224416870–261
13 Watford 4611573326641321445470–1660
14 Crystal Palace 4681052917671030355952+759
15 Rotherham United 468962725751135376262±059
16 Burnley 4610493544561230456589 –2455
17 Walsall 46103103434561223355769–1254
18 Derby County 469593332621522425574–1952
19 Bradford City 467882735721424385173–2252
20 Coventry City 466611233168923314662–1650
21 Stoke City 469682525381220444569–2450
22 Sheffield Wednesday 467792932391127415673–1746
23 Brighton & Hove Albion 4676102931461320364967–1845
24 Grimsby Town 4656122639461322464885–3739
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

Squad

Squad at end of season[3]

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

No. Position Player
1 England GK Matt Clarke
2 Republic of Ireland DF Curtis Fleming
3 England DF Danny Granville
4 England DF Danny Butterfield
5 Wales DF Kit Symons
6 Australia DF Tony Popovic
7 England MF Hayden Mullins
8 England FW Andy Johnson
9 Scotland FW Dougie Freedman
10 England MF Shaun Derry
11 England MF Julian Gray
12 England DF Jamie Smith
13 Latvia GK Aleksandrs Koliņko
14 Scotland MF Steve Thomson
15 Finland MF Aki Riihilahti
No. Position Player
16 England MF Tommy Black
22 England MF Wayne Routledge
23 Wales FW Gareth Williams
24 Ghana DF Will Antwi
26 England MF Ben Surey
27 England DF David Hunt
31 Nigeria FW Dele Adebola
32 England DF Darren Powell
33 France GK Cedric Berthelin
35 England FW Noel Whelan (on loan from Middlesbrough)
38 England DF Gary Borrowdale
42 England MF Ben Watson
43 England DF Sam Togwell
55 Nigeria FW Ade Akinbiyi

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
17 Latvia FW Andrejs Rubins (released)
18 England DF Dean Austin (to Woking)
20 England FW Steve Kabba (to Sheffield United)
21 England DF Andy Frampton (to Brentford)
No. Position Player
25 United States DF Gregg Berhalter (to Energie Cottbus)
25 Germany GK Sven Scheuer (to Grazer AK)
33 Greece GK Nikolaos Michopoulos (on loan from Burnley)

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
19 England DF Craig Harrison
28 England MF Robert Smith
No. Position Player
29 England MF Gavin Heeroo
30 England GK Lance Cronin

References

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