# 2002–03 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

The 2002–03 football season was Plymouth Argyle Football Club's 99th consecutive season as a professional club. It began on 1 July 2002, and concluded on 30 June 2003, although competitive games were only played between August and May.

## Season summary

The club began the 2002–03 season in the Football League Second Division, following their promotion from the Third Division. They finished in a creditable 8th position, with a record of 17 wins, 14 draws, and 15 defeats, from 46 games. Their leading goalscorer was Marino Keith with 12 goals in all competitions. The club reached the Third Round of the FA Cup, drawing 2–2 at home with Dagenham & Redbridge before losing the replay 2–0. They entered the League Cup at the First Round stage and were eliminated away to Crystal Palace 2–1 after extra-time. They also competed in the Football League Trophy where they reached the Second Round before being defeated 2–0 at home by Brentford. Notable players to begin their careers with the Pilgrims this season included David Norris, Tony Capaldi, Hasney Aljofree, and Nathan Lowndes.
Legend
Win  Draw  Loss

### League table

| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 80 |
| 8 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 52 | +11 | 65 |
| 9 | Luton Town | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 67 | 62 | +5 | 65 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

### FA Cup

First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Third Round Replay

### Football League Cup

First Round

### Football League Trophy

Southern Section First Round
Southern Section Second Round

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FRA | Romain Larrieu |
| 2 | DF | IRL | David Worrell |
| 3 | DF | NIR | Brian McGlinchey |
| 4 | MF | FRA | David Friio |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Craig Taylor |
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Beresford |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Nathan Lowndes |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Mickey Evans |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Ian Stonebridge |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Martin Phillips |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Steve Adams |
| 13 | DF | SCO | Kieran McAnespie] |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Lee Hodges |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Paul Wotton |
| 16 | MF | FRA | Osvaldo Lopes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Stewart Yetton |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Hasney Aljofree |
| 19 | FW | SCO | Marino Keith |
| 20 | MF | CAN | Jason Bent |
| 21 | FW | SCO | Blair Sturrock |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Joe Broad |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Luke McCormick |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Stuart Malcolm |
| 26 | MF | ENG | David Norris |
| 27 | DF | NIR | Tony Capaldi (on loan from Birmingham City) |
| 29 | MF | SCO | Paul Bernard |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Paul Connolly |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Marcus Martin |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Jason Chapman |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Kenny Schofield |

### 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. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | FW | SCO | Martin Gritton (to Torquay United) |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Kevin Wills (to Torquay United) |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Grant Smith (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Neil Heaney (retired) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Tony Barras (on loan from Walsall) |
| 29 | GK | AUS | Danny Milosevic (on loan to Leeds United) |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Key
# = Squad number; Pos = Playing position; P = Number of games played; G = Number of goals scored; = Yellow cards; = Red cards; GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward
Statistics do not include minor competitions or games played for other clubs. All players who were provided a squad number during the 2002–03 season are included.
| # | Pos | Name | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | | |
| # | Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| 1 | GK | Romain Larrieu | 43 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | David Worrell | 43 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Brian McGlinchey | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | David Friio | 36 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Graham Coughlan | 42 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Craig Taylor† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | David Beresford | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Nathan Lowndes | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17* | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Mickey Evans | 42 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Ian Stonebridge | 37 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Martin Phillips | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Steve Adams | 37 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Kieran McAnespie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Lee Hodges | 39 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Paul Wotton | 43 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Osvaldo Lopes† | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Grant Smith‡ | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5* | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Stewart Yetton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Hasney Aljofree | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Marino Keith | 37 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Jason Bent | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 21 | FW | Blair Sturrock | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Joe Broad | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | Luke McCormick | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Stuart Malcolm | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Neil Heaney† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | David Norris‡ | 33 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36* | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Tony Barras‡ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Tony Capaldi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Paul Bernard | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10* | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | Danny Milosevic‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Paul Connolly | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | Danny Williams‡ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Transfers

In
| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| 8 July 2002 | David Beresford | Hull City | Free |
| 8 July 2002 | Nathan Lowndes | Livingston | Undisclosed |
| 13 August 2002 | Stuart Malcolm | St Johnstone | Free |
| 30 August 2002 | Hasney Aljofree | Dundee United | Free |
| 14 December 2002 | David Norris | Bolton Wanderers | £25,000 |
| 23 December 2002 | Paul Bernard | Barnsley | Free |
| 27 March 2003 | Kieran McAnespie | Fulham | Free |
| 30 April 2003 | Tony Capaldi | Birmingham City | Free |
Out
| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| 6 September 2002 | Martin Gritton | Torquay United | Free |
| 9 September 2002 | Sean Evers | Woking | Free |
| 18 December 2002 | Neil Heaney | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 January 2003 | Kevin Wills | Torquay United | Free |
| 2 June 2003 | Osvaldo Lopes | Free Agent | Released |
| 13 June 2003 | Craig Taylor | Torquay United | Free |

### Loans

In
| Start date | Player | To | End date |
| 9 October 2002 | David Norris | Bolton Wanderers | 13 December 2002 |
| 6 November 2002 | Danny Milosevic | Leeds United | 10 November 2002 |
| 20 November 2002 | Tony Barras | Walsall | 1 January 2003 |
| 11 March 2003 | Grant Smith | Sheffield United | 4 May 2003 |
Out In
| Start date | Player | From | End date |
| 5 August 2002 | Martin Gritton | Torquay United | 5 September 2002 |
| 29 November 2002 | Kevin Wills | Torquay United | 29 December 2002 |
| 24 February 2003 | Craig Taylor | Torquay United | 4 May 2003 |