# 2002–03 Crystal Palace F.C. season

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

## Season summary

Under Francis, Palace were unable to mount a serious promotion challenge and they finished mid-table in Division One. The main highlight of the season was in February 2003 when Palace knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in a fourth round replay at Anfield. Having drawn the first match 0–0 at Selhurst Park, Palace went to Anfield as the clear underdogs. A goal from Julian Gray and an own goal from Liverpool's Stephen Henchoz meant that Palace progressed to a 5th round where they played at home against Leeds United. They lost 2–1 in controversial circumstances, as Palace were denied a first half goal despite the ball clearly crossing the line. Francis resigned on 18 April after another difficult season, and was replaced by long-serving coach Steve Kember.
The end of Francis' tenure, however, saw the beginning of a remarkable, two-year-long transfer saga. Clinton Morrison, a youth team product who had been one of the team's most reliable goalscorers, headed to Birmingham for a £4 million fee in a part-exchange deal which saw Andrew Johnson come to Selhurst Park for £750,000, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Blues boss Steve Bruce. Johnson went on to become an even bigger success at Palace than Morrison, and helped take the club into the Premier League before eventually moving on to Everton for a fee of £8.6million in 2006; Morrison's return to Selhurst Park a year earlier cost Palace £2 million, meaning the club were left with the same player and a total profit of £9,850,000.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Preston North End | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 68 | 70 | −2 | 61 |
| 13 | Watford | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 54 | 70 | −16 | 60 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 59 | 52 | +7 | 59 |
| 15 | Rotherham United | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 62 | 62 | 0 | 59 |
| 16 | Burnley | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 65 | 89 | −24 | 55 |

## 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 | Matt Clarke |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Curtis Fleming |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Granville |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield |
| 5 | DF | WAL | Kit Symons |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Tony Popovic |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Andy Johnson |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Jamie Smith |
| 13 | GK | LVA | Aleksandrs Koliņko |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Steven Thomson |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge |
| 23 | FW | WAL | Gareth Williams |
| 24 | DF | GHA | Will Antwi |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Ben Surey |
| 27 | DF | ENG | David Hunt |
| 31 | FW | NGA | Dele Adebola |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Darren Powell |
| 33 | GK | FRA | Cédric Berthelin |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Noel Whelan (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson |
| 43 | DF | ENG | Sam Togwell |
| 55 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi |

### 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 |
| 17 | FW | LVA | Andrejs Rubins (released) |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Dean Austin (to Woking) |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Steve Kabba (to Sheffield United) |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Andy Frampton (to Brentford) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | DF | USA | Gregg Berhalter (to Energie Cottbus) |
| 25 | GK | GER | Sven Scheuer (to Grazer AK) |
| 33 | GK | GRE | Nikolaos Michopoulos (on loan from Burnley) |

## Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Craig Harrison |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Robert Smith |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 29 | MF | MRI | Gavin Heeroo |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Lance Cronin |