# 2001–02 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

During the 2001–02 English football season, Wigan Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Background

In the 2000–01 season, Wigan finished in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but once again missed out on promotion, losing in the play-off semi finals to Reading. Following the sudden departure of manager Steve Bruce at the end of the season, Paul Jewell was appointed as his replacement.

## Transfers

Following the departures of several players from the previous season, Jewell spent heavily in the summer in an attempt to build a squad capable of gaining promotion.
Shortly before the transfer deadline, Wigan signed Nathan Ellington for a club record transfer fee of £1.2 million.
At the end of the season, defender Arjan de Zeeuw turned down a new contract at the club and left on a free transfer to join First Division side Portsmouth.

### In

| No. | Player | Position | From | Fee | Date |
| 22 | Peter Kennedy | MF | Watford | £300,000 | 18 July 2001 |
| 2 | Jason De Vos | DF | Dundee United | £500,000 | 30 July 2001 |
| 8 | Ian Nolan | DF | Bradford City | Free | 10 August 2001 |
| 23 | Gábor Bukrán | MF | Walsall | Free | 10 August 2001 |
| 27 | Stewart Kerr | GK | Celtic | £250,000 | 25 August 2001 |
| 31 | Paul Dalglish | FW | Norwich City | Free | 25 August 2001 |
| 21 | Tony Dinning | MF | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £750,000 | 10 September 2001 |
| 23 | Matt Jackson | DF | Norwich City | Free | 22 November 2001 |
| 1 | John Filan | GK | Blackburn Rovers | £600,000 | 14 December 2001 |
| 17 | Gary Teale | MF | Ayr United | £200,000 | 14 December 2001 |
| 9 | Nathan Ellington | FW | Bristol Rovers | £1,200,000 | 28 March 2002 |
| 19 | Jason Jarrett | MF | Bury | £75,000 | 28 March 2002 |

### Out

| No. | Player | Position | To | Fee | Date |
| 1 | Roy Carroll | GK | Manchester United | £2,500,000 | 27 July 2001 |
| 8 | Kevin Nicholls | MF | Luton Town | £25,000 | 5 August 2001 |
| 23 | Gábor Bukrán | MF | SV Salzburg | Released | 18 August 2001 |
| 3 | Kevin Sharp | DF | Wrexham | Free | 1 November 2001 |
| 17 | Alan McLoughlin | MF | Rochdale | Free | 24 December 2001 |
| 9 | Simon Haworth | FW | Tranmere Rovers | £125,000 | 1 March 2002 |
| 16 | Derek Stillie | GK | Dunfermline Athletic | Free | 22 May 2002 |
| 6 | Arjan de Zeeuw | DF | Portsmouth | Free | 7 June 2002 |
| 4 | Pat McGibbon | DF | Tranmere Rovers | Released | 30 June 2002 |
| 8 | Ian Nolan | DF | Southport | Released | 30 June 2002 |
| 18 | Ian Kilford | MF | Scunthorpe United | Released | 30 June 2002 |
| 25 | Ben Kay | MF | | Released | 30 June 2002 |
| 26 | Ian Johnson | MF | Southport | Released | 30 June 2002 |
| 31 | Paul Dalglish | FW | Blackpool | Released | 30 June 2002 |

### Loans in

| No. | Player | Pos | From | Date | Duration |
| 24 | Dariusz Adamczuk | MF | Rangers | 10 August 2001 | Three months |
| 23 | Matt Jackson | DF | Norwich City | 20 October 2001 | One month |
| 3 | Jeff Kenna | DF | Blackburn Rovers | 2 November 2001 | One month |
| 24 | Paul Cook | MF | Burnley | 3 December 2001 | One month |
| 3 | Gary Croft | DF | Ipswich Town | 16 January 2002 | One month |

### Loans out

| No. | Player | Pos | To | Date | Duration | Notes |
| 12 | Neil Roberts | FW | Hull City | 25 January 2002 | One month | |
| 21 | Tony Dinning | MF | Stoke City | 27 March 2002 | End of season | |

## League

Wigan Athletic's league season started on 11 August 2001, with a 1–1 draw against Brentford. The season started poorly, and only the team's away form kept them out of the relegation zone. Despite the club's poor results, chairman Dave Whelan publicly backed manager Paul Jewell, and blamed the previous two managers for the club's current position.
Results improved following a 6–1 win against Stoke City in November, and the club eventually finished in a mid-table position.

### Results

Wigan Athletic's score comes first
Legend
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 11 August 2001 | Brentford | H | 1–1 | 5,952 | McCulloch |
| 2 | 18 August 2001 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–2 | 6,518 | McCulloch |
| 3 | 25 August 2001 | Bristol City | H | 1–2 | 6,231 | Ashcroft |
| 4 | 8 September 2001 | Bury | A | 2–0 | 4,175 | Billy (o.g.), Haworth |
| 5 | 15 September 2001 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 5,400 | |
| 6 | 18 September 2001 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–0 | 5,717 | Haworth |
| 7 | 22 September 2001 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–2 | 6,686 | Dinning |
| 8 | 25 September 2001 | Cambridge United | A | 2–2 | 2,969 | Roberts (2) |
| 9 | 29 September 2001 | Blackpool | A | 1–3 | 5,279 | Ashcroft (pen) |
| 10 | 9 October 2001 | Bournemouth | A | 0–2 | 2,908 | |
| 11 | 12 October 2001 | Cardiff City | A | 2–2 | 11,072 | McGibbon, Haworth |
| 12 | 20 October 2001 | Wrexham | H | 2–3 | 5,979 | Dinning, Haworth |
| 13 | 23 October 2001 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 2–1 | 9,030 | Haworth (2) |
| 14 | 27 October 2001 | Port Vale | H | 0–1 | 5,634 | |
| 15 | 3 November 2001 | Peterborough United | A | 2–0 | 5,405 | Haworth (2) |
| 16 | 9 November 2001 | Colchester United | H | 2–3 | 5,735 | Fitzgerald (o.g.), Liddell |
| 17 | 13 November 2001 | Stoke City | H | 6–1 | 7,047 | Dinning, Liddell, de Zeeuw, Dalglish, Ashcroft (pen), Kenna |
| 18 | 20 November 2001 | Chesterfield | H | 1–1 | 4,071 | Edwards (own goal) |
| 19 | 24 November 2001 | Northampton Town | A | 2–0 | 4,267 | Dinning, Haworth |
| 20 | 1 December 2001 | Swindon Town | H | 1–0 | 5,635 | Liddell |
| 21 | 11 December 2001 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 3,827 | Liddell |
| 22 | 15 December 2001 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–1 | 6,407 | Liddell |
| 23 | 22 December 2001 | Reading | A | 1–1 | 15,808 | Haworth |
| 24 | 26 December 2001 | Bury | H | 1–1 | 6,751 | Liddell |
| 25 | 29 December 2001 | Bournemouth | H | 0–0 | 5,011 | |
| 26 | 5 January 2002 | Bristol City | A | 2–2 | 9,991 | McCulloch, De Vos |
| 27 | 12 January 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–0 | 6,203 | Liddell (3, 1 pen) |
| 28 | 19 January 2002 | Brentford | A | 1–0 | 5,549 | Liddell |
| 29 | 22 January 2002 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 5,546 | |
| 30 | 26 January 2002 | Stoke City | A | 2–2 | 13,361 | Green, Dinning |
| 31 | 2 February 2002 | Blackpool | H | 0–1 | 7,357 | |
| 32 | 9 February 2002 | Wrexham | A | 0–2 | 4,153 | |
| 33 | 16 February 2002 | Cardiff City | H | 4–0 | 5,487 | McCulloch, De Vos (2), de Zeeuw |
| 34 | 19 February 2002 | Notts County | A | 3–1 | 3,358 | McCulloch, Teale, Dalglish |
| 35 | 23 February 2002 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 4,743 | |
| 36 | 26 February 2002 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 8,519 | De Vos |
| 37 | 2 March 2002 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–0 | 12,844 | |
| 38 | 5 March 2002 | Cambridge United | H | 4–1 | 3,535 | Liddell (3, 1 pen), McCulloch |
| 39 | 9 March 2002 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 7,389 | Liddell |
| 40 | 16 March 2002 | Swindon Town | A | 1–1 | 6,226 | Green |
| 41 | 23 March 2002 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–2 | 7,783 | Liddell (pen) |
| 42 | 30 March 2002 | Port Vale | A | 0–1 | 4,359 | |
| 43 | 1 April 2002 | Peterborough United | H | 2–1 | 4,497 | Liddell (2) |
| 44 | 6 April 2002 | Chesterfield | A | 2–1 | 3,896 | Liddell, Ellington |
| 45 | 13 April 2002 | Northampton Town | H | 3–0 | 5,938 | De Vos, Ellington, Green |
| 46 | 20 April 2002 | Colchester United | A | 2–2 | 3,672 | Roberts (2) |

### Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 71 |
| 9 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 77 | 65 | +12 | 70 |
| 10 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 64 |
| 11 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 64 |
| 12 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 63 | 60 | +3 | 63 |

## Cups
### FA Cup

Wigan played at home against non-league club Canvey Island in the first round of the FA Cup. Wigan lost 1–0, and had two players sent-off during the game. The result was considered one of the biggest upsets of the round.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Notes |
| First | 17 November 2001 | Canvey Island | H | 0–1 | 3,671 | | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Notes |
| First | 21 August 2001 | Blackpool | A | 2–3 | 4,237 | Brannan, Haworth | |

### Football League Trophy

Wigan suffered a heavy defeat in the first round of the Football League Trophy, losing 1–5 against Wrexham. Manager Paul Jewell later recalled that chairman Dave Whelan confronted the players after the game, informing them that Jewell would be staying at the club and that the players would be held accountable if results did not improve.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Notes |
| First (Northern) | 16 October 2001 | Wrexham | A | 1–5 | 1,550 | Hill (o.g.) | |

## Squad statistics

    Squad at end of season

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division Two | Division Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | AUS | John Filan | 25 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | CAN | Jason De Vos | 21 | 5 | 19+1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Pat McGibbon | 21 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Stephen McMillan | 29 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | NED | Arjan de Zeeuw | 45 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Andy Liddell | 36 | 18 | 33+1 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | ENG | Ian Nolan | 8 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Nathan Ellington | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Lee Ashcroft | 17 | 3 | 14+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | SCO | Lee McCulloch | 36 | 6 | 24+10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | WAL | Neil Roberts | 18 | 4 | 5+12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Scott Green | 41 | 3 | 35+4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Paul Mitchell | 25 | 0 | 16+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | SCO | Derek Stillie | 16 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Gary Teale | 23 | 1 | 22+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Ian Kilford | 22 | 0 | 7+13 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Jason Jarrett | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Ged Brannan | 35 | 1 | 31+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Tony Dinning | 34 | 5 | 32+1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NIR | Peter Kennedy | 33 | 0 | 29+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Matt Jackson | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ben Kay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Ian Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | SCO | Stewart Kerr | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Greg Traynor | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | David Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Kieran Charnock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | SCO | Paul Dalglish | 30 | 2 | 17+12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Ian Pendlebury | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Scott Tynan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Paul Santus | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Leighton Baines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Wigan and left during the season: ||||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | Kevin Sharp | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Gary Croft | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | WAL | Simon Haworth | 29 | 11 | 19+8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | IRL | Alan McLoughlin | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | HUN | Gábor Bukrán | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | POL | Dariusz Adamczuk | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Paul Cook | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |