# 2002–03 Coventry City F.C. season

During the 2002–03 English football season, Coventry City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. It was the club's second consecutive season at that level.

## Season summary

In the 2002–03 season, midway through the campaign, McAllister's men still stood a good chance of making the division One play-offs, but they won only one league game after the turn of 2003 and finished 20th in the final table - just two places above the relegation zone.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 18 | Derby County | 46 | 15 | 7 | 24 | 55 | 74 | −19 | 52 | |
| 19 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 51 | 73 | −22 | 52 | |
| 20 | Coventry City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 50 | |
| 21 | Stoke City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 45 | 69 | −24 | 50 | |
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 56 | 73 | −17 | 46 | Relegation to 2003–04 Second Division |

## Results

Coventry City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 10 August 2002 | Sheffield United | H | 2–1 | 18,839 | Bothroyd, McSheffrey |
| 13 August 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–0 | 6,816 | |
| 17 August 2002 | Reading | A | 2–1 | 14,712 | Davenport, Bothroyd |
| 24 August 2002 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | 15,526 | Hughes (pen) |
| 26 August 2002 | Watford | A | 2–5 | 11,136 | McSheffrey, Eustace |
| 31 August 2002 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–1 | 13,732 | |
| 14 September 2002 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–2 | 12,403 | Mills, McSheffrey (pen), Bothroyd |
| 18 September 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–1 | 14,178 | Normann |
| 21 September 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 | 2,077 | McAllister (pen) |
| 24 September 2002 | Bradford City | A | 1–1 | 11,655 | Bothroyd |
| 28 September 2002 | Millwall | H | 2–3 | 13,562 | McSheffrey, Mills |
| 5 October 2002 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 7,722 | Bothroyd, Pipe |
| 19 October 2002 | Portsmouth | A | 1–1 | 18,837 | Davenport |
| 23 October 2002 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | 16,409 | Partridge |
| 26 October 2002 | Walsall | H | 0–0 | 14,544 | |
| 29 October 2002 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 27,139 | Partridge |
| 2 November 2002 | Rotherham United | H | 2–1 | 13,179 | McAllister (2) |
| 9 November 2002 | Burnley | A | 1–3 | 13,470 | McAllister (pen) |
| 16 November 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 18,998 | |
| 23 November 2002 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–2 | 23,633 | Eustace |
| 30 November 2002 | Preston North End | H | 1–2 | 13,313 | Davenport |
| 7 December 2002 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | 12,760 | Bothroyd (2) |
| 14 December 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 25,577 | McAllister, Partridge |
| 21 December 2002 | Derby County | H | 3–0 | 13,185 | McAllister, Hignett, Bothroyd |
| 26 December 2002 | Reading | H | 2–0 | 19,526 | Hignett, Partridge |
| 28 December 2002 | Sheffield United | A | 0–0 | 20,465 | |
| 1 January 2003 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 17,362 | McSheffrey |
| 11 January 2003 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–0 | 15,951 | |
| 18 January 2003 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 | 24,487 | Sara |
| 1 February 2003 | Watford | H | 0–1 | 17,393 | |
| 8 February 2003 | Burnley | H | 0–1 | 13,659 | |
| 15 February 2003 | Rotherham United | A | 0–1 | 6,524 | |
| 22 February 2003 | Bradford City | H | 0–2 | 12,525 | |
| 1 March 2003 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–0 | 5,736 | Ford (own goal), Eustace (pen) |
| 5 March 2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–5 | 19,536 | Joachim |
| 8 March 2003 | Wimbledon | H | 2–2 | 11,796 | Eustace, Joachim |
| 15 March 2003 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 20,099 | |
| 19 March 2003 | Portsmouth | H | 0–4 | 13,922 | |
| 22 March 2003 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | 16,610 | Jansen |
| 5 April 2003 | Preston North End | A | 2–2 | 13,026 | Pead, Pipe |
| 12 April 2003 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–4 | 13,968 | Jansen, Gordon |
| 15 April 2003 | Walsall | A | 0–0 | 7,337 | |
| 19 April 2003 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 23,921 | |
| 21 April 2003 | Stoke City | H | 0–1 | 12,675 | |
| 26 April 2003 | Gillingham | H | 0–0 | 14,795 | |
| 4 May 2003 | Millwall | A | 0–2 | 9,220 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 2003 | Cardiff City | A | 2–2 | 16,013 | Mills, McAllister (pen) |
| R3R | 15 January 2003 | Cardiff City | H | 3–0 | 11,997 | Fowler, Holdsworth, Bothroyd |
| R4 | 25 January 2003 | Rochdale | A | 0–2 | 9,156 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 11 September 2002 | Colchester United | H | 3–0 | 6,075 | McSheffrey, McAllister, Mills |
| R2 | 2 October 2002 | Rushden & Diamonds | H | 8–0 | 8,570 | McSheffrey (3), Mills (2), Bothroyd (2), Betts (pen) |
| R3 | 6 November 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–3 | 8,102 | |

## 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 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Craig Pead |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Dean Gordon |
| 4 | DF | BIH | Muhamed Konjić |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Richard Shaw |
| 6 | MF | ENG | John Eustace |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Julian Joachim |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Gary McAllister (player-manager) |
| 11 | FW | MAR | Youssef Chippo |
| 13 | GK | FRA | Fabien Debec |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Barry Quinn |
| 15 | MF | MAR | Youssef Safri |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Tom Bates |
| 18 | FW | NIR | Ben Mackey |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Gary McSheffrey |
| 20 | MF | SCO | Gary Caldwell (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Jay Bothroyd |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | WAL | Lee Fowler |
| 23 | GK | DEN | Morten Hyldgaard |
| 24 | FW | ARG | Juan Sara (on loan from Dundee) |
| 25 | MF | ANG | Christian Yulu |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Robert Betts |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Vicente Engonga |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Mark Noon |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Avun Jephcott |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Gary Montgomery |
| 34 | MF | WAL | David Pipe |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Eddie Stanford |
| 37 | DF | IRL | Sean Cooney |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Isaac Osbourne |
| 40 | DF | ENG | Andy Whing |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Player | From | Date | Fee | Ref. |
| Tom Bates | | 20 Feb 2003 | Free | |

### Transfers out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Thompson (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Steve Walsh (to Tamworth) |
| 25 | MF | NOR | Runar Normann (to SK Brann) |
| 32 | DF | HON | Iván Guerrero (to C.D. Motagua) |
| 30 | FW | HON | Jairo Martínez (to C.D. Motagua) |
| 24 | MF | BEL | Laurent Delorge (to Lierse SK) |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Brian Kerr (to Newcastle United) |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Jamie McMaster (on loan from Leeds United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Ben Williams (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Craig Hignett (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| 27 | MF | ITA | Marco Brancati (released) |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Lee Mills (to Stoke City) |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Gavin Strachan (to Peterborough United) |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Dean Holdsworth (to Rushden & Diamonds) |
| 7 | MF | IRL | Richie Partridge (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 29 | FW | ITA | Antonio Gallieri (released) |

## Reserve squad

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 | MF | IRL | Keith O'Neill |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Richard Brush |
| 31 | MF | SCO | Brian Ford |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Kirk Miller |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Andrew Hall |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | 1st Division | 1st Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 13 | GK | FRA | Fabien Debec | 13 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | DEN | Morten Hyldgaard | 31 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Gary Montgomery | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Craig Pead | 26 | 1 | 17+7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Dean Gordon | 35 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | BIH | Muhamed Konjić | 48 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Richard Shaw | 33 | 0 | 27+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | IRL | Barry Quinn | 19 | 0 | 13+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | SCO | Gary Caldwell | 41 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport | 37 | 3 | 26+6 | 3 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | IRL | Sean Cooney | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | ENG | Andy Whing | 14 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | ENG | John Eustace | 35 | 4 | 23+9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Gary McAllister | 46 | 9 | 41 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | MAR | Youssef Chippo | 25 | 0 | 20+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | MAR | Youssef Safri | 29 | 0 | 24+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Tom Bates | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | WAL | Lee Fowler | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ANG | Christian Yulu | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Robert Betts | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Vicente Engonga | 8 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Mark Noon | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | WAL | David Pipe | 24 | 2 | 11+10 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Eddie Stanford | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Isaac Osbourne | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | ENG | Julian Joachim | 11 | 2 | 10+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen | 9 | 2 | 8+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | NIR | Ben Mackey | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Gary McSheffrey | 33 | 8 | 14+15 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Jay Bothroyd | 39 | 11 | 24+9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0+3 | 2 |
| 24 | FW | ARG | Juan Sara | 4 | 1 | 1+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Avun Jephcott | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred or loaned out during the season ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Thompson | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | IRL | Richie Partridge | 31 | 4 | 23+4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes | 4 | 1 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Craig Hignett | 9 | 2 | 7+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Lee Mills | 22 | 6 | 11+7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Steve Walsh | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Brian Kerr | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Dean Holdsworth | 20 | 1 | 13+4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Gavin Strachan | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | BEL | Laurent Delorge | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | NOR | Runar Normann | 4 | 1 | 2+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Jamie McMaster | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2002 Source: Competitions