# 1902–03 in English football

The 1902–03 season was the 32nd season of competitive football in England.

## Events

Aston Villa win 12 of their last 15 games to finish one point behind champions The Wednesday.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner |
| First Division | The Wednesday (1) |
| Second Division | Manchester City |
| FA Cup | Bury (2) |
| Home Championship | England, Scotland & Ireland |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## League tables
### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | The Wednesday (C) | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 54 | 36 | 1.500 | 42 | |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 34 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 61 | 40 | 1.525 | 41 | |
| 3 | Sunderland | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 36 | 1.417 | 41 | |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 58 | 44 | 1.318 | 39 | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 49 | 1.388 | 38 | |
| 6 | Stoke | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 38 | 1.211 | 37 | |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 54 | 53 | 1.019 | 36 | |
| 8 | Bury | 34 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 54 | 43 | 1.256 | 35 | |
| 9 | Derby County | 34 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 50 | 47 | 1.064 | 35 | |
| 10 | Nottingham Forest | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 49 | 47 | 1.043 | 35 | |
| 11 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 48 | 57 | 0.842 | 33 | |
| 12 | Everton | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 45 | 47 | 0.957 | 32 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 41 | 50 | 0.820 | 32 | |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 41 | 51 | 0.804 | 32 | |
| 15 | Notts County | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 31 | |
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 44 | 63 | 0.698 | 29 | |
| 17 | Grimsby Town (R) | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 62 | 0.694 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers (R) | 34 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 37 | 73 | 0.507 | 19 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester City | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 95 | 29 | 3.276 | 54 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Small Heath | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 74 | 36 | 2.056 | 51 | Promoted |
| 3 | Woolwich Arsenal | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 66 | 30 | 2.200 | 48 | |
| 4 | Bristol City | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 59 | 38 | 1.553 | 42 | |
| 5 | Manchester United | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 53 | 38 | 1.395 | 38 | |
| 6 | Chesterfield Town | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 67 | 40 | 1.675 | 37 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 40 | 1.400 | 36 | |
| 8 | Barnsley | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 51 | 1.078 | 34 | |
| 9 | Burslem Port Vale | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 57 | 62 | 0.919 | 34 | |
| 10 | Lincoln City | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 53 | 0.868 | 30 | |
| 11 | Glossop | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 43 | 57 | 0.754 | 29 | |
| 12 | Gainsborough Trinity | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 59 | 0.695 | 29 | |
| 13 | Burton United | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 39 | 59 | 0.661 | 29 | |
| 14 | Blackpool | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 44 | 59 | 0.746 | 28 | |
| 15 | Leicester Fosse | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 41 | 65 | 0.631 | 28 | |
| 16 | Doncaster Rovers | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 35 | 72 | 0.486 | 25 | Failed re-election |
| 17 | Stockport County | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 74 | 0.514 | 20 | Re-elected |
| 18 | Burnley | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 77 | 0.390 | 20 | Re-elected |