# 2001–02 Leicester City F.C. season

The 2001–02 season saw Leicester City relegated from the FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons), ending their 6-year run in England's top flight. A tumultuous season amid rising financial issues would see the Foxes go through four managers and suffer relegation to the First Division in April, finishing bottom of the league with 28 points and just five wins all season.

## Season summary

A terrible start to the season saw the Foxes suffer a 5-0 opening-day home defeat to newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers and Peter Taylor sacked at the end of September and Dave Bassett named as his replacement, with Micky Adams joining as assistant manager. For a while, it looked as though Bassett was capable of keeping the Foxes in the Premiership, but a four-month winless run beginning in December killed their survival hopes and they were relegated on 6 April after losing 1–0 at home to Manchester United.
Just before relegation was confirmed, Bassett became Director of Football and Adams was promoted to the manager's seat, with former Cardiff City boss Alan Cork being named as his assistant.
On 11 May 2002, Leicester played their final game at Filbert Street before moving into their new 32,000-seat home. They ended up beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 to attain some satisfaction from winning the final game at their 111-year-old home; it was only their fifth league win of the season. The cost of relocation combined with the money lost from relegation plunged Leicester into a serious financial crisis. The priority for next season would be to secure the club's future financially, before thinking about a promotion challenge.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 44 | 62 | −18 | 40 | |
| 17 | Sunderland | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 40 | |
| 18 | Ipswich Town (R) | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 41 | 64 | −23 | 36 | UEFA Cup QR and relegation to the First Division |
| 19 | Derby County (R) | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 33 | 63 | −30 | 30 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 20 | Leicester City (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 30 | 64 | −34 | 28 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
* ↑ Ipswich Town qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifying as the winners of Premiership Fair Play League by The Football Association, and as one of the UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Statto

### Results by round

| Round | 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 | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | D | W | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | D | D | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | D | L | W | L | L | D | D | D | W |
| Position | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 18 August 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–5 | 19,987 | |
| 25 August 2001 | Arsenal | A | 0–4 | 37,909 | |
| 8 September 2001 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 18,774 | Sturridge |
| 15 September 2001 | Derby County | A | 3–2 | 26,863 | Sturridge (2), Izzet (pen) |
| 17 September 2001 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–2 | 15,412 | Jones |
| 22 September 2001 | Fulham | H | 0–0 | 18,918 | |
| 26 September 2001 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 49,185 | |
| 29 September 2001 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–2 | 20,451 | |
| 13 October 2001 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | 40,370 | |
| 20 October 2001 | Liverpool | H | 1–4 | 21,886 | Wise |
| 29 October 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–0 | 21,873 | |
| 3 November 2001 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 20,573 | Akinbiyi |
| 17 November 2001 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 67,651 | |
| 24 November 2001 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 21,539 | |
| 1 December 2001 | Aston Villa | A | 2–0 | 30,711 | Akinbiyi, Scowcroft |
| 8 December 2001 | Southampton | H | 0–4 | 20,321 | |
| 16 December 2001 | Leeds United | A | 2–2 | 38,337 | Deane, Scowcroft |
| 22 December 2001 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 20,131 | Izzet |
| 26 December 2001 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | 24,403 | |
| 29 December 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | 23,037 | Ricketts (own goal), Deane |
| 12 January 2002 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 34,698 | |
| 19 January 2002 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 21,354 | |
| 23 January 2002 | Arsenal | H | 1–3 | 21,344 | Izzet |
| 30 January 2002 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 42,305 | |
| 2 February 2002 | Chelsea | H | 2–3 | 19,950 | Scowcroft (2) |
| 9 February 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | 35,973 | Oakes |
| 23 February 2002 | Derby County | H | 0–3 | 21,620 | |
| 2 March 2002 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 25,734 | |
| 9 March 2002 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | 18,562 | Scowcroft |
| 16 March 2002 | Southampton | A | 2–2 | 30,012 | Deane (2) |
| 23 March 2002 | Leeds United | H | 0–2 | 18,976 | |
| 30 March 2002 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | 16,236 | Dickov (2) |
| 1 April 2002 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | 44,950 | Dickov |
| 6 April 2002 | Manchester United | H | 0–1 | 21,447 | |
| 13 April 2002 | Everton | A | 2–2 | 35,580 | Deane (2) |
| 20 April 2002 | Aston Villa | H | 2–2 | 18,125 | Izzet (pen), Stevenson |
| 27 April 2002 | Fulham | A | 0–0 | 21,106 | |
| 11 May 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 21,716 | Dickov, Piper |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 2002 | Mansfield Town | H | 2–1 | 14,466 | Scowcroft (2) |
| R4 | 26 January 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 26,820 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 10 September 2001 | Blackpool | A | 1–0 | 4,866 | Akinbiyi |
| R3 | 9 October 2001 | Leeds United | H | 0–6 | 16,316 | |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 | Tim Flowers |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett |
| 3 | DF | JAM | Frank Sinclair |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Gerry Taggart |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Alan Rogers |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Muzzy Izzet |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Matt Jones |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage |
| 9 | MF | ENG | Darren Eadie |
| 10 | FW | ENG | James Scowcroft |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise (Vice captain) |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Simon Royce |
| 14 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson |
| 15 | DF | IRL | Damien Delaney |
| 16 | GK | ENG | Ian Walker |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Stefan Oakes |
| 18 | DF | SCO | Matt Elliott (captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | JAM | Trevor Benjamin |
| 21 | DF | DEN | Jacob Laursen |
| 22 | FW | SCO | Paul Dickov |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Jordan Stewart |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Andy Impey |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Junior Lewis |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Lee Marshall |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Brian Deane |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Matt Heath |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Matt Piper |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Michael Price |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Ian Andrews |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Jon Stevenson |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Martin Reeves |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Jon Ashton |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Tommy Wright |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Tom Williamson |

### 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 |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Kevin Ellison (to Stockport County) |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge (to Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi (to Crystal Palace) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Danny Thomas (to Bournemouth) |
| 13 | FW | ISL | Arnar Gunnlaugsson (on loan to Stoke City) |

### 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 |
| — | GK | IRL | Conrad Logan |
| — | DF | ENG | Ashley Lyth |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Stearman |
| — | DF | IRL | Leon McSweeney |
| — | MF | ENG | Brett Darby |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Stephen Dawson |
| — | MF | ENG | Alex Mortimer |
| — | FW | FIN | Tomi Petrescu |
| — | FW | IRL | Éamon Zayed |

## Statistics
### Appearances, goals and cards

    (Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
    Players with squad numbers struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Leicester.
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Tim Flowers | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Gary Rowett | 9+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Frank Sinclair | 33+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36+2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Gerry Taggart | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Alan Rogers | 9+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Muzzy Izzet | 29+2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33+2 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Matt Jones | 6+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 8+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Robbie Savage | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | James Scowcroft | 21+3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23+3 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Dennis Wise | 15+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17+2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | Arnar Gunnlaugsson | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Callum Davidson | 29+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 30+3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Damien Delaney | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | Ian Walker | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Stefan Oakes | 16+5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17+5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Matt Elliott | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | 4+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 5+8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Jacob Laursen | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21† | FW | Dean Sturridge | 8+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 22† | FW | Ade Akinbiyi | 16+5 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18+6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Paul Dickov | 11+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11+1 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Jordan Stewart | 9+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Andy Impey | 20+7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 22+9 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Junior Lewis | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | MF | Lee Marshall | 29+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32+6 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 27 | FW | Brian Deane | 13+2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14+2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Matt Heath | 3+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Matt Piper | 14+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Jon Stevenson | 0+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Martin Reeves | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | Jon Ashton | 3+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | Tommy Wright | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | Tom Williamson | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Assists |
| 1 | Callum Davidson | 3 |
| 2 | Matt Elliott Stefan Oakes Robbie Savage James Scowcroft | 2 |
| 3 | Ade Akinbiyi Brian Deane Paul Dickov Andy Impey Muzzy Izzet Matt Piper Alan Rogers Jordan Stewart | 1 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 25 June 2001 | MF | Dennis Wise | Chelsea | £1,600,000 |
| 9 July 2001 | GK | Ian Walker | Tottenham Hotspur | £2,500,000 |
| 31 July 2001 | FW | James Scowcroft | Ipswich Town | £3,000,000 |
| 16 November 2001 | DF | Alan Rogers | Nottingham Forest | £300,000 |
| 29 November 2001 | FW | Brian Deane | Middlesbrough | £150,000 |
| 10 January 2002 | DF | Jacob Laursen | Copenhagen | £400,000 |
| 22 February 2002 | FW | Paul Dickov | Manchester City | Nominal |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 30 May 2001 | MF | Stuart Campbell | Grimsby Town | £200,000 |
| 22 June 2001 | FW | Lawrie Dudfield | Hull City | £250,000 |
| 13 July 2001 | FW | Richard Cresswell | Preston North End | £500,000 |
| 2 August 2001 | MF | Steve Guppy | Celtic | £350,000 |
| 29 November 2001 | FW | Kevin Ellison | Stockport County | £55,000 |
| 24 December 2001 | FW | Dean Sturridge | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £350,000 |
| 5 February 2002 | FW | Ade Akinbiyi | Crystal Palace | £2,200,000 |
| 12 February 2002 | MF | Danny Thomas | Bournemouth | Free |
| 12 May 2002 | DF | Gary Rowett | Charlton Athletic | £3,500,000 |
    Transfers in: £7,950,000
    Transfers out: £7,405,000
    Total spending: £545,000

### Loan out

| Date | Pos | Name | Club | Return |
| 26 October 2001 | GK | Tim Flowers | Stockport County | 26 November 2001 |
| 15 November 2001 | DF | Damien Delaney | Stockport County | 11 February 2002 |
| 20 November 2001 | MF | Matt Piper | Mansfield Town | 31 December 2001 |
| 23 November 2001 | FW | Dean Sturridge | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 23 December 2001 |
| 19 December 2001 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | Crystal Palace | 21 January 2002 |
| 24 December 2001 | GK | Simon Royce | Brighton & Hove Albion | 25 January 2002 |
| 7 February 2002 | MF | Junior Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 April 2002 |
| 8 February 2002 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | Norwich City | 13 March 2002 |
| 19 February 2002 | GK | Tim Flowers | Coventry City | 19 March 2002 |
| 22 February 2002 | FW | Arnar Gunnlaugsson | Stoke City | End of the season |
| 15 March 2002 | GK | Simon Royce | Manchester City | 22 April 2002 |
| 27 March 2002 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | West Bromwich Albion | 22 April 2002 |
| 28 March 2002 | DF | Jacob Laursen | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 24 April 2002 |
| 28 March 2002 | DF | Damien Delaney | Huddersfield Town | 2 May 2002 |

## Awards
### Club awards

At the end of the season, Leicester's annual award ceremony, including categories voted for by the players and backroom staff, the supporters and the supporters club, saw the following players recognised for their achievements for the club throughout the 2001–02 season.