# 2001–02 Coventry City F.C. season

During the 2001–02 English football season, Coventry City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, following relegation from the FA Premier League the previous season.

## Season summary

Despite the signing of prolific striker Lee Hughes from local rivals West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City were unable to make a genuine push for an immediate return to the Premier League and finished well away from promotion in 11th place. Manager Gordon Strachan had been sacked after five games with only one win and Coventry 19th; this heralded the beginning of an eleven-match unbeaten run which saw Coventry top the table with a third of the season gone, but from then three straight losses took them down to ninth. Coventry never regained the form from that unbeaten run, but with seven games left to play they stood fourth and appeared almost certain to gain a playoff place. Unfortunately, Coventry only gained one point from those last seven games and fell down to 11th place.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Wimbledon | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 67 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 66 |
| 11 | Coventry City | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 66 |
| 12 | Gillingham | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 64 |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 60 |

## Results

Coventry City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 11 August 2001 | Stockport County | A | 2–0 | 9,329 | Hughes, Carsley |
| 19 August 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 22,902 | |
| 24 August 2001 | Bradford City | A | 1–2 | 15,085 | Bothroyd |
| 27 August 2001 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 18,467 | |
| 8 September 2001 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–1 | 14,980 | |
| 15 September 2001 | Sheffield United | A | 1–0 | 16,168 | Delorge |
| 19 September 2001 | Manchester City | H | 4–3 | 18,804 | Pearce (own goal), Konjić, Hughes, Thompson |
| 22 September 2001 | Portsmouth | H | 2–0 | 18,303 | Bothroyd, Carsley |
| 25 September 2001 | Barnsley | A | 1–1 | 11,692 | Martínez |
| 29 September 2001 | Gillingham | A | 2–1 | 9,435 | Martínez, Chippo |
| 14 October 2001 | Walsall | A | 1–0 | 7,515 | Thompson |
| 17 October 2001 | Rotherham United | A | 0–0 | 6,582 | |
| 21 October 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–0 | 15,788 | Hughes (pen) |
| 24 October 2001 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 | 5,883 | Thompson |
| 27 October 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 17,381 | Safri, Hughes (pen) |
| 31 October 2001 | Preston North End | H | 2–2 | 15,755 | Thompson (2) |
| 3 November 2001 | Millwall | A | 2–3 | 15,748 | Martínez, Bothroyd |
| 17 November 2001 | Burnley | H | 0–2 | 16,849 | |
| 25 November 2001 | Birmingham City | A | 0–2 | 18,279 | |
| 28 November 2001 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 13,695 | Delorge, Mills |
| 1 December 2001 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 17,303 | Hughes, Mills, Thompson |
| 9 December 2001 | Watford | H | 0–2 | 13,251 | |
| 12 December 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 22,543 | |
| 15 December 2001 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 17,889 | |
| 23 December 2001 | Bradford City | H | 4–0 | 14,977 | Hughes (2, 1 pen), Thompson, Joachim |
| 26 December 2001 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 | 7,568 | Hughes |
| 29 December 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–2 | 22,706 | Chippo |
| 13 January 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–3 | 21,009 | Bothroyd |
| 19 January 2002 | Stockport County | H | 0–0 | 12,448 | |
| 29 January 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–1 | 16,197 | Bothroyd, Hall, McSheffrey |
| 2 February 2002 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | 14,337 | Bothroyd |
| 6 February 2002 | Rotherham United | H | 2–0 | 12,893 | Konjić, Hughes |
| 9 February 2002 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 6–1 | 7,835 | Delorge (2), Hughes (3), Thompson |
| 16 February 2002 | Walsall | H | 2–1 | 13,736 | Thompson, Chippo |
| 23 February 2002 | Barnsley | H | 4–0 | 15,092 | Chippo, Thompson (2), Mills |
| 26 February 2002 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 12,336 | |
| 3 March 2002 | Manchester City | A | 2–4 | 33,335 | Mills (2) |
| 6 March 2002 | Sheffield United | H | 1–0 | 12,963 | Thompson |
| 9 March 2002 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 16,744 | Hughes (2, 1 pen) |
| 16 March 2002 | Watford | A | 0–3 | 15,833 | |
| 24 March 2002 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 17,945 | Healy |
| 29 March 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 21,470 | Healy |
| 1 April 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–1 | 21,513 | |
| 6 April 2002 | Preston North End | A | 0–4 | 15,665 | |
| 12 April 2002 | Millwall | H | 0–1 | 15,335 | |
| 21 April 2002 | Burnley | A | 0–1 | 18,751 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 16 January 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | 20,758 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 11 September 2001 | Peterborough United | A | 2–2 (won 4–2 on pens) | 5,729 | Thompson, Carsley |
| R3 | 9 October 2001 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 12,582 | |

## 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 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Marc Edworthy |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Marcus Hall |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Horacio Carbonari (on loan from Derby County) |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Gary Breen |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Richard Shaw |
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Thompson |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Paul Trollope |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Julian Joachim |
| 11 | MF | MAR | Youssef Chippo |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Lee Mills |
| 13 | GK | SWE | Magnus Hedman |
| 14 | DF | IRL | Barry Quinn |
| 15 | MF | ENG | John Eustace |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Keith O'Neill |
| 17 | FW | PER | Ysrael Zúñiga |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Gavin Strachan |
| 19 | MF | HON | Iván Guerrero |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Jay Bothroyd |
| 22 | DF | BIH | Muhamed Konjić |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | GK | DEN | Morten Hyldgaard |
| 24 | DF | SWE | Roland Nilsson (player-manager) |
| 25 | FW | HON | Jairo Martínez |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport |
| 27 | MF | MAR | Youssef Safri |
| 28 | MF | BEL | Laurent Delorge |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Gary McSheffrey |
| 31 | FW | NOR | Runar Normann |
| 32 | MF | WAL | Lee Fowler |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Gary Montgomery |
| 34 | DF | SWE | Richard Spong |
| 35 | MF | IRL | Colin Healy (on loan from Celtic) |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Robert Betts |
| 37 | MF | SCO | Craig Strachan |
| 38 | FW | SCO | Gary McPhee |
| 39 | MF | SWE | Andreas Dahl |
| 40 | DF | ENG | Thomas Cudworth |
| 41 | DF | ENG | Craig Pead |
| 42 | MF | IRL | Barry Ferguson |

### 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Chris Kirkland (to Liverpool) |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Paul Williams (to Southampton) |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Lee Carsley (to Everton) |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Paul Telfer (to Southampton) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | SWE | Tomas Gustafsson (to Copenhagen) |
| 30 | GK | SCO | Andy Goram (to Oldham Athletic) |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers (on loan from Leicester City) |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Carlton Palmer (to Stockport County) |

### 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 |
| — | GK | SWE | Per Fahlman |
| — | DF | IRL | Sean Cooney |
| — | DF | IRL | Conor Kenna |
| — | MF | NIR | Ruaidhri Higgins |
| — | MF | NIR | Mark Magennis |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Noon |
| — | MF | IRL | Stephen Rice |
| — | FW | ENG | Rory May |
| — | FW | IRL | Roy O'Donovan |

## Transfers
### In

* Julian Joachim - Aston Villa, 6 July, part-exchange
* Keith O'Neill - Middlesbrough, 8 August, £750,000
* Lee Hughes - West Bromwich Albion, 8 August, £5,000,001
* Youssef Safri - Raja Casablanca, 11 August, £700,000
* Andy Goram - unattached (last at Hamilton Academical), 24 August
* Lee Mills - Portsmouth, 1 January, £250,000
* Paul Trollope - Fulham, 22 March, free

### Out

* Stephen McPhee - released (later joined Port Vale on 24 June)
* Craig Bellamy - Newcastle United, 25 June, £6,000,000
* John Aloisi - Osasuna, 3 July, £1,200,000
* Mustapha Hadji - Aston Villa, 6 July, £2,000,000 plus Julian Joachim
* John Hartson - Celtic, 2 August, £6,000,000
* Chris Kirkland - Liverpool, 31 August, £6,000,000
* Paul Williams - Southampton, 31 October, free
* Paul Telfer - Southampton, 31 October, free
* Carlton Palmer - Stockport County, 6 November, free
* Tomas Gustafsson - Copenhagen, 4 February, undisclosed
* Lee Carsley - Everton, 8 February, £1,900,000
* Roland Nilsson - retired, 8 April
* Steve Froggatt - retired
* Andy Goram - Oldham Athletic

### Loan in

* Lee Mills - Portsmouth, December, one month
* Horacio Carbonari - Derby County, 22 March, one month
* Colin Healy - Celtic, 29 January, 84 days
* Tim Flowers - Leicester City

### Loan out

* Carlton Palmer - Sheffield Wednesday, 4 September, 46 days

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 13 | GK | SWE | Magnus Hedman | 36 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Gary Montgomery | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Marc Edworthy | 22 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Marcus Hall | 30 | 1 | 27+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Horacio Carbonari | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Gary Breen | 33 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Richard Shaw | 35 | 0 | 29+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | IRL | Barry Quinn | 24 | 0 | 18+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | HON | Iván Guerrero | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | BIH | Muhamed Konjić | 41 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | SWE | Roland Nilsson | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | DF | ENG | Craig Pead | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Thompson | 40 | 13 | 35+2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Paul Trollope | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | MAR | Youssef Chippo | 34 | 4 | 29+4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | John Eustace | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Keith O'Neill | 11 | 0 | 7+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Gavin Strachan | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | MAR | Youssef Safri | 35 | 1 | 32+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | BEL | Laurent Delorge | 30 | 4 | 21+7 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | WAL | Lee Fowler | 13 | 0 | 5+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | IRL | Colin Healy | 17 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Robert Betts | 10 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes | 40 | 14 | 35+3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Julian Joachim | 18 | 1 | 4+12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Lee Mills | 20 | 5 | 19+1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | PER | Ysrael Zúñiga | 6 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Jay Bothroyd | 34 | 6 | 24+7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | HON | Jairo Martínez | 13 | 3 | 5+6 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Gary McSheffrey | 9 | 1 | 1+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | NOR | Runar Normann | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred or loaned out during the season ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Chris Kirkland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Paul Williams | 5 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Lee Carsley | 29 | 3 | 25+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | DF | SWE | Tomas Gustafsson | 6 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | SCO | Andy Goram | 7 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2002 Source: Competitions