# 2002–03 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2002–03 season was the 124th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and was their second consecutive season in the top-flight. This article covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003.

## Season summary

A home victory over Aston Villa and a memorable 1–0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford got Bolton off to another promising start to the season, but their subsequent form was memorable for all the wrong reasons as they only won 2 of their next 21 games, causing most pundits to write them off by the start of 2003. A 4–2 win over Birmingham City on 1 February finally kickstarted their campaign and the club only lost two more games (away to Chelsea and Liverpool) during the rest of the season, leaving them in control of their destiny on the final day. They achieved survival with a 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough.

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Bernard Mendy (on loan from PSG) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Mike Whitlow |
| 4 | DF | ISL | Guðni Bergsson |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Bruno Ngotty |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Paul Warhurst |
| 8 | MF | DEN | Per Frandsen |
| 9 | FW | DEN | Henrik Pedersen |
| 10 | FW | NGA | Jay-Jay Okocha |
| 11 | MF | JAM | Ricardo Gardner |
| 12 | FW | IRL | Jonathan Walters |
| 13 | FW | FRA | Youri Djorkaeff |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Gareth Farrelly |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Kevin Nolan |
| 16 | DF | ESP | Iván Campo (on loan from Real Madrid) |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Florent Laville (on loan from Lyon) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | FRA | Pierre-Yves André (on loan from Nantes) |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Delroy Facey |
| 20 | FW | ESP | Salva Ballesta (on loan from Valencia) |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Chris Armstrong |
| 22 | GK | FIN | Jussi Jääskeläinen |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Danny Livesey |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Anthony Barness |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Simon Charlton |
| 28 | MF | JAM | Jermaine Johnson |
| 29 | MF | DEN | Stig Tøfting |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Kevin Poole |
| 33 | DF | SCO | Colin Hendry |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Jeff Smith |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Nicky Hunt |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Steve Banks (to Stoke City) |
| 7 | MF | TUR | Bülent Akın (released) |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Michael Ricketts (to Middlesbrough) |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Dean Holdsworth (to Coventry City) |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nicky Southall (to Gillingham) |
| 21 | FW | DEN | Bo Hansen (to Midtjylland) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | MF | ENG | David Norris (to Plymouth Argyle) |
| 38 | MF | NIR | Wayne Buchanan (released) |
| 39 | MF | IRL | Ciaran Ryan (released) |
| 36 | DF | ENG | David Holdsworth (to Scarborough) |
| 41 | DF | IRL | Alan O'Hare (to Chesterfield) |

## Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | MF | TAH | Gerald Forschelet |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Leam Richardson |
| 37 | MF | JAM | Cleveland Taylor |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 40 | MF | ENG | Chris Downey |
| 42 | MF | SCO | Derek Niven |
| 50 | GK | FRA | Jeremy Bon |

## Results
### FA Premier League
#### Results per matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | W | D | L | D | L | D | W | D | L | D | D | L | L | W | D | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | D | D | W |
| Position | 19 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 17 August 2002 | Fulham | A | 1 – 4 | Ricketts 4' (pen) | 16,338 |
| 24 August 2002 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1 – 2 | Djorkaeff 2' | 21,753 |
| 1 September 2002 | Aston Villa | H | 1 – 0 | Ricketts 56' (pen) | 22,500 |
| 11 September 2002 | Manchester United | A | 1 – 0 | Nolan 76' | 67,623 |
| 14 September 2002 | Liverpool | H | 2 – 3 | Gardner 54', Campo 87' | 27,328 |
| 21 September 2002 | Arsenal | A | 1 – 2 | Farrelly 47' | 37,974 |
| 28 September 2002 | Southampton | H | 1 – 1 | Djorkaeff 90' | 22,692 |
| 5 October 2002 | Middlesbrough | A | 0 – 2 | | 31,005 |
| 20 October 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1 – 3 | Djorkaeff 63' | 35,909 |
| 28 October 2002 | Sunderland | H | 1 – 1 | Babb 80' (og) | 23,036 |
| 2 November 2002 | Birmingham City | A | 1 – 3 | Okocha 72' | 27,224 |
| 9 November 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1 – 1 | Frandsen 89' | 23,630 |
| 17 November 2002 | Leeds United | A | 4 – 2 | Pedersen (2) 3', 90', Djorkaeff 80' Ricketts 89' (pen) | 36,627 |
| 23 November 2002 | Chelsea | H | 1 – 1 | Pedersen 63' | 25,476 |
| 30 November 2002 | Manchester City | A | 0 – 2 | | 34,860 |
| 7 December 2002 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1 – 1 | Okocha 8' | 24,556 |
| 16 December 2002 | Leeds United | H | 0 – 3 | | 23,378 |
| 21 December 2002 | West Ham United | A | 1 – 1 | Ricketts 65' | 34,892 |
| 26 December 2002 | Newcastle United | H | 4 – 3 | Okocha 5', Gardner 9', Ricketts (2) 45', 63' | 27,314 |
| 28 December 2002 | Everton | A | 0 – 0 | | 39,480 |
| 1 January 2003 | Aston Villa | A | 0 – 2 | | 31,838 |
| 11 January 2003 | Fulham | H | 0 – 0 | | 25,156 |
| 18 January 2003 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1 – 1 | Djorkaeff 85' | 26,057 |
| 22 January 2003 | Newcastle United | A | 0 – 1 | | 52,005 |
| 28 January 2003 | Everton | H | 1 – 2 | Bergsson 90' | 25,119 |
| 1 February 2003 | Birmingham City | H | 4 – 2 | Cunningham 12' (o.g.), Pedersen 46', Djorkaeff 84', Facey 87' | 24,342 |
| 8 February 2003 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1 – 1 | Pedersen 18' | 26,933 |
| 22 February 2003 | Manchester United | H | 1 – 1 | Ngotty 90' | 27,409 |
| 8 March 2003 | Liverpool | A | 0 – 2 | | 41,462 |
| 15 March 2003 | Sunderland | A | 2 – 0 | Okocha 50', Pedersen 55' | 42,124 |
| 24 March 2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1 – 0 | Okocha 90' (pen) | 23,084 |
| 5 April 2003 | Manchester City | H | 2 – 0 | Pedersen 32', Campo 52' | 26,949 |
| 12 April 2003 | Chelsea | A | 0 – 1 | | 39,852 |
| 19 April 2003 | West Ham United | H | 1 – 0 | Okocha 38' | 27,160 |
| 21 April 2003 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0 – 0 | | 28,862 |
| 26 April 2003 | Arsenal | H | 2 – 2 | Djorkaeff 74', Keown 84' (og) | 27,253 |
| 3 May 2003 | Southampton | A | 0 – 0 | | 30,951 |
| 11 May 2003 | Middlesbrough | H | 2 – 1 | Frandsen 10', Okocha 21' | 27,241 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | Leeds United | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 47 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 45 | |
| 17 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 44 | |
| 18 | West Ham United (R) | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 59 | −17 | 42 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 29 | 65 | −36 | 26 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 January 2003 | Round 3 | Sunderland | H | 1 – 1 | Ricketts 18' | 10,123 |
| 14 February 2003 | Round 3 replay | Sunderland | A | 0 – 2 (aet) | | 14,550 |

### Coca-Cola Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 October 2002 | Round 2 | Bury | H | 0 – 1 | | 12,621 |

## Statistics
### Appearances

Bolton used a total of 32 players during the season.
| P | Player | Position | PL | FAC | LC | Total |
| 1 | Jussi Jääskeläinen | Goalkeeper | 38 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 38 0(0) |
| 2 | Youri Djorkaeff | Midfielder | 36 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 37 0(0) |
| 3 | Per Frandsen | Midfielder | 34 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 34 0(0) |
| 4= | Henrik Pedersen | Striker | 31 0(2) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) | 31 0(3) |
| 4= | Iván Campo | Defender/Midfielder | 28 0(3) | 02 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 31 0(3) |
| 6 | Ricardo Gardner | Midfielder | 31 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 31 0(1) |
| 7 | Guðni Bergsson | Defender | 31 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 31 0(0) |
| 8 | Simon Charlton | Defender | 27 0(4) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 27 0 (4) |
| 9 | Jay-Jay Okocha | Midfielder | 26 0(5) | 00 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 26 0(6) |
| 10 | Bruno Ngotty | Defender | 23 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 24 0(0) |
| 11 | Anthony Barness | Defender | 21 0(4) | 01 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 22 0(4) |
| 12 | Bernard Mendy | Defender | 20 0(1) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 22 0(1) |
| 13 | Kevin Nolan | Midfielder | 15 (18) | 01 0(1) | 00 0(1) | 16 (20) |
| 14 | Mike Whitlow | Defender | 14 0(3) | 01 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 15 0(4) |
| 15 | Michael Ricketts | Striker | 13 0 (9) | 01 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 14 0(9) |
| 16 | Florent Laville | Defender | 10 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 10 0(0) |
| 17 | Gareth Farrelly | Midfielder | 06 0(2) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 08 0(2) |
| 18 | Stig Tøfting | Midfielder | 02 0(6) | 02 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 05 0(6) |
| 19 | Dean Holdsworth | Striker | 05 0(4) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) | 05 0(5) |
| 20 | Paul Warhurst | Defender/Midfielder | 05 0(2) | 00 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 05 0(3) |
| 21 | Delroy Facey | Striker | 01 0(8) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 03 0(8) |
| 22= | Kevin Poole | Goalkeeper | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 03 0(0) |
| 22= | Jeff Smith | Midfielder | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 03 0(0) |
| 24 | Danny Livesey | Defender | 00 0(2) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 02 0(2) |
| 25 | Bülent Akın | Midfielder | 00 0(1) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 02 0(1) |
| 26= | Jonathan Walters | Striker | 00 0(4) | 00 0(1) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(5) |
| 26= | Salva Ballesta | Striker | 01 0(5) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(5) |
| 28 | Jermaine Johnson | Midfielder | 00 0(2) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(2) |
| 29 | Nicky Hunt | Defender | 00 0(0) | 01 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(1) |
| 30= | Chris Armstrong | Striker | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(0) |
| 30= | David Holdsworth | Defender | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(0) | 01 0(0) |
| 32 | Pierre-Yves André | Striker | 00 0(9) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(9) |

### Top scorers

| P | Player | Position | PL | FAC | LC | Total |
| 1= | Youri Djorkaeff | Midfielder | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1= | Jay-Jay Okocha | Midfielder | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1= | Henrik Pedersen | Striker | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Michael Ricketts | Striker | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Own Goals | | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |