2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season

Nowadays, the importance of 2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season is undeniable in our daily lives. Whether due to its historical relevance, its impact on society or its influence on different aspects of our lives, 2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season has captured the attention and interest of many people around the world. In this article, we will fully explore everything that 2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season represents, its evolution over time, and its relevance today. Through a detailed analysis, we will examine the different aspects that make 2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season a topic of great importance and interest to a wide audience. Join us on this journey through the history, meaning and relevance of 2002–03 Ipswich Town F.C. season, and let's discover together why it is a topic that deserves our attention.

Ipswich Town
2002-03 season
ChairmanDavid Sheepshanks
ManagerGeorge Burley
(until 11 October 2002)
Tony Mowbray (caretaker)
(11–28 October 2002)
Joe Royle
(from 28 October 2002)
StadiumPortman Road
First Division7th
FA CupFourth round
League CupFourth round
UEFA CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Pablo Couñago (17)
All: Pablo Couñago (21)
Highest home attendance29,503
(vs Nottingham Forest, 5 Apr 2003, First Division)
Lowest home attendance13,266
(vs Brighton & Hove Albion, 24 Sep 2002, League Cup)
Average home league attendance25,498

During the 2002–03 English football season, Ipswich Town competed in the First Division, following relegation from the FA Premier League the previous season. Despite being relegated, Ipswich Town had achieved UEFA Cup qualification for the second season running, this time via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.

Season summary

The financial cost of relegation the previous season saw Ipswich enter administration on 10 February.[1] The financial problems had caused the sale of both key players like Marcus Stewart and promising young players like Titus Bramble and Darren Ambrose, leading to poor results on the pitch that left Ipswich struggling near the relegation zone. A 3–0 defeat at fellow strugglers Grimsby Town proved to be the final straw and manager George Burley was sacked in October. First team coach and former Ipswich player Tony Mowbray took charge of the next four games, winning one, before being replaced by Joe Royle - a former player for Town's archrivals Norwich City. Royle turned Town's fortunes around considerably and they finished in 7th place, 4 points off the playoff places.

In the League Cup, Ipswich reached the fourth round before being knocked out by eventual winners Liverpool 5–4 on penalties, after Tommy Miller's strike in the fourteenth minute was cancelled out by El Hadji Diouf's 54th-minute penalty.

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Andy Marshall
2 DF Netherlands NED Fabian Wilnis
4 DF England ENG John McGreal
6 DF England ENG Mark Venus
7 MF Northern Ireland NIR Jim Magilton
8 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Matt Holland (captain)
9 FW Spain ESP Pablo Couñago
10 FW England ENG Alun Armstrong
12 DF England ENG Richard Naylor
14 MF England ENG Jermaine Wright
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF England ENG Chris Makin
16 FW England ENG Marcus Bent
17 FW England ENG Dean Bowditch
18 FW England ENG Darren Bent
19 MF Nigeria NGA Finidi George
21 MF England ENG Tommy Miller
23 DF Denmark DEN Thomas Gaardsøe
26 GK England ENG James Pullen
30 MF Netherlands NED Martijn Reuser
32 DF England ENG Matt Richards

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 MF England ENG Jamie Clapham (to Birmingham City)
5 DF Iceland ISL Hermann Hreiðarsson (to Charlton Athletic)
11 FW England ENG Marcus Stewart (to Sunderland)
13 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Keith Branagan (retired)
17 DF England ENG Wayne Brown (to Watford)
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW England ENG Richard Logan (to Boston United)
22 MF England ENG Darren Ambrose (to Newcastle United)
25 MF France FRA Ulrich Le Pen (on loan to Strasbourg)
29 DF South Africa RSA Justin Miller (to Leyton Orient)
31 GK England ENG Paul Gerrard (on loan from Everton)

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF England ENG Aidan Collins
24 MF Netherlands NED Nabil Abidallah
27 MF England ENG Matt Bloomfield
28 DF England ENG Lee Beevers
No. Pos. Nation Player
29 FW England ENG Antonio Murray
33 MF England ENG Ian Westlake
35 GK Wales WAL Lewis Price

Pre-season

Ipswich went on a pre-season tour of Denmark in July as part of the pre-season for the 2002–03 season.[3]

Legend

Win Draw Loss
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
16 July 2002 Denmark AaB A 0–1 Unknown
18 July 2002 Denmark Farum Boldklub A 1–2 Unknown Armstrong
24 July 2002 England Bristol Rovers A 2–1 Unknown Ambrose, D Bent
27 July 2002 England Bristol City A 3–0 Unknown D Bent, Miller (2) (pen)
29 July 2002 England Barnet A 2–1 Unknown Couñago (2)
31 July 2002 England Brentford A 3–0 Unknown George, Stewart (2)
3 August 2002 Spain Celta Vigo H 2–1 Unknown Ambrose (2)

Competitions

Football League First Division

Main article: 2002–03 Football League First Division

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers (O, P) 46 20 16 10 81 44 +37 76 Qualification for First Division Playoffs
6 Nottingham Forest 46 20 14 12 82 50 +32 74
7 Ipswich Town 46 19 13 14 80 64 +16 70
8 Norwich City 46 19 12 15 60 49 +11 69
9 Millwall 46 19 9 18 59 69 −10 66
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2003. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Ipswich Town's score comes first[4]

Matches

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
10 August 2002 Walsall A 2–0 5,253 Ambrose, M Bent
18 August 2002 Leicester City H 6–1 27,374 Holland (2), Ambrose, George, Couñago (2)
24 August 2002 Millwall A 1–1 8,097 D Bent
26 August 2002 Bradford City H 1–2 25,457 D Bent
1 September 2002 Preston North End A 0–0 15,357
15 September 2002 Norwich City H 1–1 29,112 Couñago
22 September 2002 Stoke City A 1–2 14,587 Holland
28 September 2002 Derby County H 0–1 24,439
6 October 2002 Wimbledon A 1–0 3,238 Ambrose
8 October 2002 Grimsby Town A 0–3 4,688
12 October 2002 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–1 23,410 Couñago (2)
19 October 2002 Reading A 1–3 19,524 Ambrose
22 October 2002 Burnley H 2–2 22,736 McGreal, Ambrose
26 October 2002 Gillingham H 0–1 24,176
3 November 2002 Crystal Palace H 1–2 24,941 Ambrose
9 November 2002 Sheffield United A 0–0 15,884
17 November 2002 Watford A 2–0 16,184 Armstrong, Clapham
23 November 2002 Coventry City H 2–1 23,633 D Bent, Couñago
30 November 2002 Nottingham Forest A 1–2 24,898 Williams (o.g)
7 December 2002 Rotherham United H 1–2 22,770 Wilnis
10 December 2002 Brighton & Hove Albion A 1–1 6,377 Magilton
14 December 2002 Watford H 4–2 22,985 Miller, Naylor, Couñago, Bent
21 December 2002 Portsmouth A 1–1 19,130 Gaardsøe
26 December 2002 Leicester City A 2–1 31,426 Gaardsøe, Ambrose
28 December 2002 Walsall H 3–2 26,550 Couñago (2), Gaardsøe
1 January 2003 Millwall H 4–1 26,040 Miller (2), Wright, M Bent
11 January 2003 Burnley A 1–1 15,501 Couñago
18 January 2003 Preston North End H 3–0 24,666 M Bent, D Bent (2)
1 February 2003 Bradford City A 0–2 12,080
8 February 2003 Sheffield United H 3–2 26,151 D Bent (2), Ambrose
19 February 2003 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–4 27,700 M Bent, Holland
22 February 2003 Grimsby Town H 2–2 24,118 D Bent
2 March 2003 Norwich City A 2–0 21,243 Wilnis, D Bent
5 March 2003 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–1 26,901 Naylor
8 March 2003 Stoke City H 0–0 25,547
11 March 2003 Crystal Palace A 1–1 15,990 M Bent
15 March 2003 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–0 24,726 Holland
18 March 2003 Reading H 3–1 24,108 Gaardsøe, Holland, Magilton
22 March 2003 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–2 26,078 M Bent, Reuser
29 March 2003 Gillingham A 3–1 8,508 Couñago (2), M Bent
5 April 2003 Nottingham Forest H 3–4 29,503 Miller (2) (pen), M Bent
12 April 2003 Coventry City A 4–2 13,968 M Bent (2), Couñago (2)
18 April 2003 Portsmouth H 3–0 29,396 Reuser, Miller, Couñago
21 April 2003 Rotherham United A 1–2 7,519 Couñago
26 April 2003 Wimbledon H 1–5 25,564 D Bent
4 May 2003 Derby County A 4–1 28,785 Couñago, D Bent, Magilton, Holland

FA Cup

Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 4 January 2003 Morecambe H 4–0 18,529 Clapham, D Bent (2), Ambrose
R4 25 January 2003 Sheffield United A 3–4 12,757 Gaardsøe, Miller (pen), Bent

League Cup

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 24 September 2002 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–1 13,266 D Bent, Couñago, Ambrose
R4 6 November 2002 Middlesbrough H 3–1 14,417 Gaardsøe, Clapham, D Bent
R5 4 December 2002 Liverpool A 1–1 (lost 4–5 on pens) 26,305 Miller

UEFA Cup

Main article: 2002–03 UEFA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
QR First Leg 15 August 2002 Avenir Beggen A 1–1 12,000 Stewart
QR Second Leg 29 August 2002 Avenir Beggen H 8–1 (won 9–2 on agg) 17,462 Miller (2), Couñago (3), Brown, McGreal, Ambrose
R1 First Leg 19 September 2002 Smederevo H 1–1 16,933 Alun Armstrong
R1 Second Leg 3 October 2002 Smederevo A 1–0 (won 2–1 on agg) 16,500 M Bent (pen)
R2 First Leg 31 October 2002 Slovan Liberec H 1–0 16,138 D Bent
R2 Second Leg 14 November 2002 Slovan Liberec A 0–1 (1–1 on agg, lost 2–4 on pens) 6,509

Transfers

Loans in

Date from Pos Name From Date until Ref
15 November 2002 GK England Paul Gerrard England Everton 13 December 2002 [5]

Transfers out

Date Pos Name To Fee Ref
1 July 2002 DF England Will Snowdon Scotland Livingston Free transfer [6]
1 July 2002 MF England Ashley Nicholls England Darlington Free transfer [6]
12 July 2002 DF England Titus Bramble England Newcastle United £5,000,000 [7]
30 August 2002 FW England Marcus Stewart England Sunderland £3,250,000 [8]
30 October 2002 GK Republic of Ireland Keith Branagan Retired [9]
18 December 2002 DF England Wayne Brown England Watford Free transfer [10]
10 January 2003 DF England Jamie Clapham England Birmingham City £1,300,000 [11]
20 January 2003 FW England Richard Logan England Boston United Free transfer [12]
31 January 2003 DF South Africa Justin Miller England Leyton Orient Free transfer [13]
11 March 2003 FW England Steve Burton England Doncaster Rovers Free transfer [14]
24 March 2003 MF England Darren Ambrose England Newcastle United Undisclosed [15]
27 March 2003 DF Iceland Hermann Hreiðarsson England Charlton Athletic £900,000 [16]

Loans out

Date from Pos Name From Date until Ref
18 July 2002 GK Italy Matteo Sereni Italy Brescia Calcio 30 June 2003 [17]
6 August 2002 FW England Steve Burton England Boston united 6 October 2002 [18]
29 August 2002 MF France Ulrich Le Pen France Strasbourg 1 June 2003 [19]
13 September 2002 DF South Africa Justin Miller England Leyton Orient 17 December 2002 [20][21]
16 September 2002 DF Turkey Erdem Artun England Doncaster Rovers 16 October 2002 [22]
29 November 2002 FW England Richard Logan England Boston United 19 January 2003 [23]
26 March 2003 DF England Lee Beevers England Boston United 4 May 2003 [24]
26 March 2003 MF England Robert Dickinson England Boston United 4 May 2003 [24]

Squad statistics

All statistics updated as of end of season

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total First Division FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK England ENG Andy Marshall 50 0 40 0 2 0 2 0 6 0
26 GK England ENG James Pullen 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Defenders
2 DF Netherlands NED Fabian Wilnis 43 2 33+2 2 2 0 2 0 4 0
4 DF England ENG John McGreal 22 2 16 1 0 0 1 0 5 1
6 DF England ENG Mark Venus 12 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
12 DF England ENG Richard Naylor 19 2 11+6 2 1 0 0+1 0 0 0
15 DF England ENG Chris Makin 38 0 33 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
20 DF England ENG Aidan Collins 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF Denmark DEN Thomas Gaardsøe 42 7 37 4 1 1 2 1 2 1
32 DF England ENG Matt Richards 17 0 10+3 0 1 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
Midfielders
7 MF Northern Ireland NIR Jim Magilton 47 3 39+1 3 1 0 1+1 0 3+1 0
8 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Matt Holland 54 7 45 7 2 0 1 0 4+2 0
14 MF England ENG Jermaine Wright 47 1 25+14 1 2 0 3 0 3 0
19 MF Nigeria NGA Finidi George 17 1 3+7 1 0 0 1+1 0 1+4 0
21 MF England ENG Tommy Miller 37 10 24+6 6 1 1 2 1 3+1 2
24 MF Netherlands NED Nabil Abidallah 1 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
30 MF Netherlands NED Martijn Reuser 18 2 6+10 2 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
33 MF England ENG Ian Westlake 5 0 0+4 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
Forwards
9 FW Spain ESP Pablo Couñago 48 21 28+11 17 2 0 2 1 5 3
10 FW England ENG Alun Armstrong 24 2 9+10 1 0 0 0+1 0 4 1
16 FW England ENG Marcus Bent 38 12 25+7 11 2 0 0+1 0 2+1 1
17 FW England ENG Dean Bowditch 5 0 0+5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 FW England ENG Darren Bent 44 18 24+11 12 0+2 3 3 2 1+3 1
29 FW England ENG Antonio Murray 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Players transferred out during the season
3 DF England ENG Jamie Clapham 36 3 26 1 1 1 3 1 6 0
5 DF Iceland ISL Hermann Hreiðarsson 36 0 28 0 2 0 3 0 3 0
11 FW England ENG Marcus Stewart 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
17 DF England ENG Wayne Brown 11 1 7 0 0 0 1 0 3 1
20 FW England ENG Richard Logan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
22 MF England ENG Darren Ambrose 37 11 20+9 8 1+1 1 2 1 3+1 1
25 MF France FRA Ulrich Le Pen 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
31 GK England ENG Paul Gerrard 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Last updated: end of season
Source: Competitions

Goalscorers

No. Pos Nat Player First Division FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
9 FW Spain Pablo Couñago 17 0 1 3 21
18 FW England Darren Bent 12 3 2 1 18
16 FW England Marcus Bent 11 0 0 1 12
22 MF England Darren Ambrose 8 1 1 1 11
21 MF England Tommy Miller 6 1 1 2 10
8 MF Republic of Ireland Matt Holland 7 0 0 0 7
23 DF Denmark Thomas Gaardsøe 4 1 1 1 7
3 DF England Jamie Clapham 1 1 1 0 3
7 MF Northern Ireland Jim Magilton 3 0 0 0 3
17 DF England Wayne Brown 0 0 1 0
0 DF Netherlands Fabian Wilnis 2 0 0 0 2
4 DF England John McGreal 1 0 0 1 2
10 FW England Alun Armstrong 1 0 0 1 2
12 DF England Richard Naylor 2 0 0 0 2
30 MF Netherlands Martijn Reuser 2 0 0 0 2
11 FW England Marcus Stewart 0 0 0 1 1
14 MF England Jermaine Wright 1 0 0 0 1
19 MF Nigeria Finidi George 1 0 0 0 1
Own goal 1 0 0 0 1
Total 82 7 7 13 109

Clean sheets

No. Nat Player First Division FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
1 England Andy Marshall 9 1 0 2 12
31 England Paul Gerrard 1 0 0 0 1
Total 10 1 0 2 13

Disciplinary record

No. Pos. Name First Division FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
1 GK England Andy Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
2 DF Netherlands Fabian Wilnis 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
3 DF England Jamie Clapham 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
4 DF England John McGreal 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0
5 DF Iceland Hermann Hreiðarsson 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
6 DF England Mark Venus 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
7 MF Northern Ireland Jim Magilton 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
8 MF Republic of Ireland Matt Holland 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
9 FW Spain Pablo Couñago 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 2
14 MF England Jermaine Wright 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
15 DF England Chris Makin 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
16 FW England Marcus Bent 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
18 FW England Darren Ambrose 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
19 MF Nigeria Finidi George 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
21 MF England Tommy Miller 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
22 MF England Darren Ambrose 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
23 DF Denmark Thomas Gaardsøe 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 8 0
30 MF Netherlands Martijn Reuser 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 50 4 3 0 1 0 7 0 61 4

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[25]

Awards

Player awards

Award Player Ref
Player of the Year Republic of Ireland Matt Holland [26]
Players' Player of the Year Spain Pablo Couñago [27]
Young Player of the Year England Darren Bent [28]

References

  1. ^ "Ipswich file for administration". 10 February 2003.
  2. ^ "All Ipswich Town players: 2003".
  3. ^ "Town Off to Denmark". TWTD. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Ipswich Town 2001-2002 Results - statto.com". Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Royle reunion for Gerrard". BBC Sport. 16 November 2002. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Two Players Released". TWTD. 5 April 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Football | Teams | Newcastle United | Bramble bids for starring role". BBC Sport. 4 July 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  8. ^ "Stewart Signs at Mackems". TWTD. 30 August 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Branagan Retires". TWTD. 31 October 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Brown Signs for Watford". TWTD. 18 December 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Clapham Move Complete". TWTD. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Logan Signs at Boston". TWTD. 20 January 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Miller Joins Orient". TWTD. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Burton Signs for Donny". TWTD. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Ambrose Deal Complete". TWTD. 24 March 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Hermann Deal Complete". TWTD. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Accident may delay Sereni debut". UEFA. 29 July 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2009.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "Burton Loan Confirmed". TWTD. 6 August 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Le Pen Loan Confirmed". TWTD. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Miller Off On Loan". TWTD. 13 September 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Miller Loan Extended". TWTD. 7 November 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Artun Off on Loan". TWTD. 16 September 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Logan Off to Boston". TWTD. 29 November 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  24. ^ a b "Two join Boston on loan". Ipswich Town F.C. Official Website. 26 March 2003. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  25. ^ "All Ipswich Town players: 2004".
  26. ^ "Matt Supporters' Winner". TWTD. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Pablo Players' Favourite". TWTD. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  28. ^ "I Want to Stay - Pablo". TWTD. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2020.