# 2001–02 Newcastle United F.C. season

In the 2001–02 season, English professional football (soccer) club Newcastle United F.C. played in the Premier League, finishing fourth.

## Season summary

For Bobby Robson's first two seasons as manager, the club remained in the bottom half of the table, however during this period Robson had built up an exciting young squad. He felt that his side could aim for eighth place in the final table as the season began
Newcastle reached an Inter-Toto Cup final early in the season against Troyes AC, which they lost on away goals after a 4–4 draw at home. They were soon looking like unlikely contenders for the Premiership title after they spent Christmas at the top of the table. Players such as Kieron Dyer (a Ruud Gullit signing), Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert ensured the team were capable of once again punching their weight in the league. Newcastle achieved qualification for the lucrative Champions' League finishing in 4th place.
This brought renewed hope for the club after four seasons of struggle, though in the end Newcastle fell short of winning the title that they had coveted since 1927. Nonetheless, fourth place was their highest since 1997, securing Champions League football for only the second time in the club's history.
* Kieron Dyer
* Craig Bellamy
* Laurent Robert

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Liverpool | 38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 80 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 87 | 45 | +42 | 77 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 74 | 52 | +22 | 71 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 66 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Chelsea | 38 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 66 | 38 | +28 | 64 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.

## Club transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| June 2001 | FW | Craig Bellamy | Coventry City | £6,000,000 |
| July 2001 | DF | Robbie Elliott | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 1 August 2001 | MF | Laurent Robert | PSG | £9,500,000 |
| 11 September 2001 | DF | Sylvain Distin | PSG | £500,000 (loan fee) |
| 4 February 2002 | MF | Jermaine Jenas | Nottingham Forest | £5,000,000 |
* Total spending: £21m

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| May 2001 | MF | Des Hamilton | Cardiff City | Free |
| May 2001 | MF | Stephen Glass | Watford | Free |
| May 2001 | FW | Kevin Gallacher | Preston North End | Free |
| May 2001 | MF | Daniel Cordone | Racing Club | Loan ended |
| May 2001 | DF | Carl Serrant | - | Retired |
| January 2002 | MF | Christian Bassedas | Tenerife | Loan |
| 1 February 2002 | DF | Warren Barton | Derby County | Nominal |
| 7 February 2002 | MF | Rob Lee | Derby County | Undisclosed |
| March 2002 | DF | David Beharall | Oldham Athletic | £150,000 |
* Total spending: £0.15m

## Players
### First-team 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 |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Shay Given |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Warren Barton |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Robbie Elliott |
| 4 | MF | PER | Nolberto Solano |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Andy O'Brien |
| 6 | MF | CHI | Clarence Acuña |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Rob Lee |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Jenas |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Kieron Dyer |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Alan Shearer (captain) |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Christian Bassedas |
| 11 | MF | WAL | Gary Speed |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Andy Griffin |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Steve Harper |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Wayne Quinn |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Carl Cort |
| 17 | FW | WAL | Craig Bellamy |
| 18 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes |
| 20 | FW | COD | Lomana LuaLua |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Jamie McClen |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Shola Ameobi |
| 24 | DF | FRA | Sylvain Distin |
| 25 | MF | SCO | Brian Kerr |
| 32 | MF | FRA | Laurent Robert |
| 34 | DF | GRE | Nikos Dabizas |
| 35 | DF | FRA | Olivier Bernard |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not appear for the first-team this 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 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Marcelino |
| 21 | MF | PAR | Diego Gavilán |
| 26 | MF | ENG | James Coppinger |
| 27 | DF | ENG | David Beharall |
| 29 | GK | NED | John Karelse |
| 30 | DF | SCO | Steven Caldwell |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Stuart Green |
| 33 | MF | POR | Pedro Dimas |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 36 | DF | SCO | Gary Caldwell |
| 37 | FW | SCO | Colin McMenamin |
| 38 | MF | SCO | Ryan McGuffie |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Mark Boyd |
| 40 | DF | ENG | David Cowan |
| — | GK | ENG | Phil Pringle |
| — | GK | ENG | Adam Sadler |

### U-19 squad

    The following players made most of their appearances for the under-19 team this season, but may have also appeared for the under-17s or the reserves.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Michael Chopra |
| — | GK | ENG | Carl Bell |
| — | GK | ENG | Jonny Brain |
| — | DF | ENG | Aaron Labonte |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Norton |
| — | DF | ENG | Bradley Orr |
| — | DF | ENG | Peter Ramage |
| — | DF | IRL | Joe Kendrick |
| — | MF | ENG | Karl Colley |
| — | MF | ENG | Tommy English |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Ferrell |
| — | MF | ENG | Robert Kent |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Moore |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Craig Robson |
| — | MF | ENG | Damon Robson |
| — | MF | NIR | Carl Heiniger |
| — | MF | IRL | Stephen Brennan |
| — | FW | ENG | Jonathan Mann |
| — | FW | ENG | Richard Offiong |
| — | | | Kevin Dixon |
| — | | | Paul Dunn |
| — | | | Ryan Hogg |
| — | | | David Molloy |
| — | | | Chris Meredith |
| — | | | Matthew Patterson |
| — | | | Stephen Pringle |

### U-17 squad

    The following players made most of their appearances for the under-17 team this season, but may have appeared for the under-19s or the reserves.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Adam Bartlett |
| — | GK | ENG | Adam Collin |
| — | GK | ENG | Ben Smith |
| — | DF | ENG | Liam Atkin |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Carr |
| — | DF | ENG | Phil Cave |
| — | DF | ENG | Kris Gate |
| — | DF | ENG | Steven Taylor |
| — | DF | SCO | Chris Shanks |
| — | MF | ENG | James Beaumont |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Brittain |
| — | MF | ENG | Ross Gardner |
| — | MF | ENG | Steven Istead |
| — | MF | ENG | Neale McDermott |
| — | MF | ENG | Ben Webster |
| — | MF | IRL | Alan O'Brien |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Guy Bates |
| — | FW | ENG | Lewis Guy |
| — | FW | ENG | Marc Walton |
| — | FW | COD | Calvin Zola |
| — | MF | | Ben Jackson |
| — | | | Michael Carr |
| — | | | Ben Dixon |
| — | | | Stephen Graham |
| — | | | Mark Grant |
| — | | | Danny Howe |
| — | | | Scott Kerr |
| — | | | Mark Laird |
| — | | | Graeme Matthewson |
| — | | | Wesley Richardson |
| — | | | Gavin Stoker |
| — | | | Jack Wanless |

### Trialists

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | NED | Dries Boussatta (free agent) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | IRN | Hamed Kavianpour (on trial from Persepolis) |

### Other players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | NIR | Daryl Smylie |
| — | MF | RSA | Matty Pattison |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Carl Finnigan |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Director of Football | Gordon Milne |
| Manager | Bobby Robson |
| Assistant manager | David Geddis |
| First-team coach | John Carver |
| Goalkeeping coach | Simon Smith |
| Under 17 coach | Alan Irvine |
| Under 19 coach | Kenny Wharton |
| Reserve team coach | Tommy Craig |
| Academy striker coach | Peter Beardsley |
| Physiotherapist | Derek Wright |
| Assistant Physio | Paul Ferris |
| Chief scout | Charlie Woods |
Last updated: 10 January 2020 Source:

## Statistics

    (Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Shay Given | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Warren Barton | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Robbie Elliott | 26+1 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 37+3 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Nolberto Solano | 37 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 52 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Andy O'Brien | 31+3 | 2 | 4+1 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 38+6 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Clarence Acuña | 10+6 | 3 | 3+2 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 14+10 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Rob Lee | 15+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Jermaine Jenas | 6+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Kieron Dyer | 15+3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17+4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Alan Shearer | 36+1 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45+1 | 27 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Christian Bassedas | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Gary Speed | 28+1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 39+1 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Andy Griffin | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Steve Harper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Wayne Quinn | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Carl Cort | 6+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Craig Bellamy | 26+1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 37+2 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Aaron Hughes | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 48 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Lomana LuaLua | 4+16 | 3 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+6 | 2 | 4+28 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Jamie McClen | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 6+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Shola Ameobi | 4+11 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 12+13 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Sylvain Distin | 20+8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27+8 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Brian Kerr | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | Laurent Robert | 34+2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40+2 | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Nikos Dabizas | 33+2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 44+2 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | Olivier Bernard | 4+12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 8+15 | 3 | 2 | 0 |