# 2002–03 Norwich City F.C. season

During the 2002–03 English football season, Norwich City competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 2002–03 season, the Canaries made an impressive start with just one defeat in their first 14 league games, picking up 29 points from the possible 42 which saw them amongst the candidates for promotion but an inconsistent run towards the end of the season saw Norwich miss out on a play-off spot after only 7 league wins at the end of Christmas.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 6 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 82 | 50 | +32 | 74 | Qualification for First Division Playoffs |
| 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 | |
| 10 | Wimbledon | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 76 | 73 | +3 | 65 | |

## Results

Norwich City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 10 August 2002 | Grimsby Town | H | 4–0 | 19,869 | Mulryne (2), McVeigh (2) |
| 13 August 2002 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | 7,687 | Nielsen |
| 17 August 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–0 | 6,730 | McVeigh, Easton |
| 24 August 2002 | Gillingham | H | 1–0 | 20,588 | McVeigh |
| 26 August 2002 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 13,931 | Drury |
| 31 August 2002 | Watford | H | 4–0 | 20,563 | McVeigh, Roberts, Mulryne, Nielsen |
| 7 September 2002 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 20,074 | McVeigh, Mackay |
| 15 September 2002 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | 29,112 | Mackay |
| 18 September 2002 | Reading | A | 2–0 | 14,335 | McVeigh, Mulryne |
| 21 September 2002 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 21,335 | Roberts |
| 28 September 2002 | Preston North End | A | 2–1 | 13,550 | Nielsen, McVeigh |
| 5 October 2002 | Leicester City | H | 0–0 | 20,952 | |
| 19 October 2002 | Millwall | H | 3–1 | 20,448 | Nielsen (2), Kenton |
| 23 October 2002 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 16,409 | McVeigh |
| 26 October 2002 | Bradford City | A | 1–2 | 12,888 | Abbey |
| 29 October 2002 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 20,986 | |
| 2 November 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 2–4 | 3,908 | Henderson, Nielsen |
| 9 November 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 20,667 | Roberts (2, 1 pen), McVeigh |
| 16 November 2002 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 20,907 | McVeigh, Roberts |
| 23 November 2002 | Burnley | A | 0–2 | 16,282 | |
| 30 November 2002 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 20,522 | Mackay |
| 7 December 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 25,753 | |
| 14 December 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–2 | 16,791 | |
| 21 December 2002 | Walsall | H | 2–1 | 19,872 | Mackay, Mulryne |
| 26 December 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–1 | 20,687 | |
| 28 December 2002 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | 8,306 | Abbey |
| 11 January 2003 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | 19,452 | McVeigh |
| 19 January 2003 | Watford | A | 1–2 | 13,338 | Cox (own goal) |
| 1 February 2003 | Stoke City | H | 2–2 | 20,186 | Roberts, Mackay |
| 8 February 2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–2 | 19,114 | Healy, Roberts |
| 22 February 2003 | Sheffield United | A | 1–0 | 19,020 | McVeigh |
| 25 February 2003 | Gillingham | A | 0–1 | 7,935 | |
| 2 March 2003 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–2 | 21,243 | |
| 5 March 2003 | Reading | H | 0–1 | 18,970 | |
| 12 March 2003 | Portsmouth | A | 2–3 | 19,221 | Easton, Rivers |
| 15 March 2003 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | 20,099 | Nedergaard, Drury |
| 18 March 2003 | Millwall | A | 2–0 | 6,854 | Mackay, Abbey |
| 22 March 2003 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–4 | 27,296 | |
| 25 March 2003 | Wimbledon | H | 1–0 | 21,059 | Healy |
| 29 March 2003 | Bradford City | H | 3–2 | 18,536 | Rivers (2, 1 pen), Abbey |
| 5 April 2003 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | 23,643 | McVeigh |
| 12 April 2003 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | 20,026 | Nedergaard, Abbey |
| 19 April 2003 | Walsall | A | 0–0 | 7,018 | |
| 21 April 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–3 | 20,843 | |
| 27 April 2003 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 31,639 | Rivers |
| 4 May 2003 | Preston North End | H | 2–0 | 20,232 | Mears (own goal), Mulryne |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 14 January 2003 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–1 | 17,205 | Mulryne (2), McVeigh |
| R4 | 25 January 2003 | Dagenham & Redbridge | H | 1–0 | 21,164 | Abbey |
| R5 | 15 February 2003 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | 31,103 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 10 September 2002 | Cheltenham Town | H | 0–3 | 13,285 | |

## 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 | ENG | Robert Green |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Darren Kenton |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Adam Drury |
| 4 | DF | SCO | Malky Mackay |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Craig Fleming |
| 6 | FW | DEN | David Nielsen |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Phil Mulryne |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Gary Holt |
| 9 | FW | WAL | Iwan Roberts |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Zema Abbey |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Chris Llewellyn |
| 14 | FW | SCO | Alex Notman |
| 15 | FW | NIR | David Healy (on loan from Preston North End) |
| 16 | DF | DEN | Steen Nedergaard |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Dean Sinclair |
| 18 | FW | NIR | Paul McVeigh |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Keith Briggs |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Paul Heckingbottom |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Darel Russell |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Ian Henderson |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Ryan Jarvis |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Clint Easton |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Jason Shackell |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Damian Batt |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Mark Rivers |
| 28 | GK | ENG | Paul Crichton |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Aaron Osborne |

### 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 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Neil Emblen (to Walsall) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Arran Lee-Barrett (to Cardiff City) |
| 15 | DF | IRL | Brian McGovern (to Peterborough United) |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Daryl Sutch (to Southend United) |
| 19 | FW | FRA | Marc Libbra (to US Créteil-Lusitanos) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Nicky Southall (on loan from Bolton Wanderers) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Leigh Bromby (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Paul Hayes (to Scunthorpe United) |
| — | FW | ENG | Danny Bloomfield (to AFC Bournemouth) |