# 2002–03 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2002–03 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season Summary

Sunderland spent the entire first half of the 2002–03 Premier League season in and out of the relegation zone. The poor form that the club had ended 2001–02 with continued into this season, resulting in Peter Reid being sacked after seven years as manager following a 3–1 loss to Arsenal in October just before the international break. Three days later, despite speculation linking recently-departed Ireland manager Mick McCarthy to the job, the board made the shock decision to hire Howard Wilkinson, who had been out of club management for six years.
Despite a loss to West Ham in Wilkinson's first match in charge, Sunderland ground out a four-match unbeaten run in the games that followed, as well as gaining a surprise victory over Liverpool and a point against fellow strugglers West Brom just before Christmas. However, a truly appalling second half of the season saw Sunderland earn just one point after Christmas. Wilkinson was sacked in March and McCarthy brought in to replace him, but the change proved too little too late, with Sunderland ending the season with a staggering run of 15 consecutive defeats, and setting new records for the fewest goals scored by a top-flight club, and the lowest points total for a Premier League club since the competition began (albeit not the lowest since the introduction of three points for a win; Sunderland would, however, break that record three seasons later).

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 8 July 2002 | MF | Sean Thornton | Tranmere Rovers | £225,000 |
| 15 August 2002 | DF | Stephen Wright | Liverpool | £3,000,000 |
| 21 August 2002 | MF | Matt Piper | Leicester City | £3,500,000 |
| 30 August 2002 | FW | Tore Andre Flo | Rangers | £6,750,000 |
| 30 August 2002 | FW | Marcus Stewart | Ipswich Town | £3,250,000 |
| 15 November 2002 | GK | Mart Poom | Derby County | Loan |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 10 January 2003 | GK | Mart Poom | Derby County | £2,500,000 |
| 31 January 2003 | DF | Talal El Karkouri | Paris Saint Germain | Loan |

### Out
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 31 October 2002 | MF | John Oster | Grimsby Town | Loan |
| 1 November 2002 | FW | Michael Reddy | York City | Loan |
| 7 November 2002 | MF | Sean Thornton | Blackpool | Loan |
| 22 November 2002 | GK | Michael Ingham | Darlington | Loan |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 11 January 2003 | FW | Dene Shields | Raith Rovers | £60,000 |
| 24 January 2003 | GK | Michael Ingham | York City | Loan |
| 30 January 2003 | FW | Michael Reddy | Sheffield Wednesday | Loan |
| 12 February 2003 | DF | Stanislav Varga | Celtic | Free |
| 21 February 2003 | MF | John Oster | Grimsby Town | Loan |
| 27 March 2003 | FW | Keith Graydon | York City | Loan |

## 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 | DEN | Thomas Sørensen |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Stephen Wright |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray (captain) |
| 4 | MF | USA | Claudio Reyna |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Phil Babb |
| 6 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Matt Piper |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Gavin McCann |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Tore André Flo |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane |
| 12 | DF | SWE | Joachim Björklund |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Thomas Butler |
| 15 | FW | FRA | David Bellion |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Jody Craddock |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Darren Williams |
| 19 | FW | SCO | Kevin Kyle |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | SWE | Stefan Schwarz |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Paul Thirlwell |
| 22 | DF | MAR | Talal El Karkouri (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain) |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Nicolás Medina |
| 24 | MF | IRL | Sean Thornton |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ben Clark |
| 26 | GK | NOR | Thomas Myhre |
| 27 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 28 | MF | WAL | John Oster |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Chris Black |
| 30 | GK | AUT | Jürgen Macho |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Marcus Stewart |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Michael Proctor |
| 33 | DF | ARG | Julio Arca |
| 34 | DF | IRL | Mark Rossiter |
| 36 | MF | IRL | Richie Ryan |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Jonjo Dickman |
| 40 | GK | EST | Mart Poom |

### 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 |
| 22 | DF | SVK | Stanislav Varga (to Celtic) |
| 22 | DF | SUI | Bernt Haas (on loan to Basel) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 29 | FW | IRL | Niall Quinn (retired) |

## 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 |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Michael Ingham |
| 35 | DF | IRL | Cliff Byrne |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Craig Turns |
| 41 | DF | ENG | Patrick Collins |
| — | GK | ENG | John Kennedy |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Scott |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig James |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | IRL | Stephen Capper |
| — | DF | TUR | Baki Mercimek |
| — | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter |
| — | MF | ENG | Carl Shippen |
| — | FW | SCO | Dene Shields |
| — | FW | NIR | Neil Teggart |
| — | FW | IRL | Keith Graydon |

## Results
### Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 October 2002 | Second round | Cambridge United | Abbey Stadium | 7–0 | 8,175 | Reyna, McCann, Arca, Flo (2), Stewart (2) |
| 6 November 2002 | Third round | Arsenal | Highbury | 3–2 | 19,059 | Kyle, Stewart (2) |
| 3 December 2002 | Fourth round | Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | 0–2 | 27,068 | |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 4 January 2003 | Third round | Bolton Wanderers | Reebok Stadium | 1–1 | 10,132 | Phillips |
| 14 January 2003 | Third round replay | Bolton Wanderers | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | 14,550 | Arca, Proctor |
| 25 January 2003 | Fourth round | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 3–3 | 14,315 | Stewart, Proctor and Phillips |
| 5 February 2003 | Fourth round replay | Blackburn Rovers | Stadium of Light | 2–2 a.e.t. (won 3–0 on penalties) | 15,745 | McCann, Phillips |
| 15 February 2003 | Fifth round | Watford | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | 26,916 | |

### FA Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 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 |
| 20 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 65 | −44 | 19 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

#### 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 | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | D | W | D | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Position | 10 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 17 August 2002 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 0–0 | | 27,122 |
| 24 August 2002 | Everton | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 37,698 |
| 28 August 2002 | Leeds United | Elland Road | 1–0 | McAteer 46' | 39,929 |
| 31 August 2002 | Manchester United | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | Flo 70' | 47,586 |
| 10 September 2002 | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 0–3 | | 32,155 |
| 14 September 2002 | Fulham | Stadium of Light | 0–3 | | 35,432 |
| 21 September 2002 | Newcastle United | St James' Park | 0–2 | | 52,181 |
| 28 September 2002 | Aston Villa | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | Bellion 70' | 40,492 |
| 6 October 2002 | Arsenal | Highbury | 1–3 | Craddock 83' | 37,902 |
| 19 October 2002 | West Ham United | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 44,352 |
| 28 October 2002 | Bolton Wanderers | Reebok Stadium | 1–1 | Gray 45' | 23,036 |
| 3 November 2002 | Charlton Athletic | The Valley | 1–1 | Flo 15' | 26,284 |
| 10 November 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | Phillips 60', Flo 62' | 40,024 |
| 17 November 2002 | Liverpool | Anfield | 0–0 | | 43,074 |
| 23 November 2002 | Birmingham City | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 38,803 |
| 30 November 2002 | Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 0–3 | | 38,946 |
| 9 December 2002 | Manchester City | Stadium of Light | 0–3 | | 36,511 |
| 15 December 2002 | Liverpool | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | McCann 36', Proctor 85' | 37,118 |
| 21 December 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns | 2–2 | Phillips 56', 64' | 26,703 |
| 26 December 2002 | Leeds United | Stadium of Light | 1–2 | Proctor 34' | 44,029 |
| 28 December 2002 | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 1–2 | Flo 77' | 36,242 |
| 1 January 2003 | Manchester United | Old Trafford | 1–2 | Verón 4' o.g. | 67,609 |
| 11 January 2003 | Blackburn Rovers | Stadium of Light | 0–0 | | 36,529 |
| 18 January 2003 | Everton | Goodison Park | 1–2 | Kilbane 34' | 37,409 |
| 28 January 2003 | Southampton | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 34,102 |
| 1 February 2003 | Charlton Athletic | Stadium of Light | 1–3 | Phillips 81' pen. | 36,042 |
| 8 February 2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | White Hart Lane | 1–4 | Phillips 26' | 36,075 |
| 22 February 2003 | Middlesbrough | Stadium of Light | 1–3 | Phillips 56' | 42,134 |
| 1 March 2003 | Fulham | Loftus Road | 0–1 | | 16,286 |
| 15 March 2003 | Bolton Wanderers | Stadium of Light | 0–2 | | 42,124 |
| 22 March 2003 | West Ham United | Boleyn Ground | 0–2 | | 35,033 |
| 5 April 2003 | Chelsea | Stadium of Light | 1–2 | Thornton 12' | 40,011 |
| 12 April 2003 | Birmingham City | St. Andrew's | 0–2 | | 29,132 |
| 19 April 2003 | West Bromwich Albion | Stadium of Light | 1–2 | Stewart 70' | 36,025 |
| 21 April 2003 | Manchester City | Maine Road | 0–3 | | 34,357 |
| 26 April 2003 | Newcastle United | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 45,067 |
| 3 May 2003 | Aston Villa | Villa Park | 0–1 | | 36,963 |
| 11 May 2003 | Arsenal | Stadium of Light | 0–4 | | 40,188 |

## Statistics
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 65 | −44 | 010.53 |
| FA Cup | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 020.00 |
| League Cup | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 066.67 |
| Total | 46 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 74 | −35 | 015.22 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | DEN | Thomas Sørensen | 25 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | NOR | Thomas Myhre | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | AUT | Jürgen Macho | 16 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | EST | Mart Poom | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Stephen Wright | 29 | 0 | 25+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray | 36 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Phil Babb | 30 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | SWE | Joachim Björklund | 22 | 0 | 19+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Jody Craddock | 30 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Darren Williams | 21 | 1 | 12+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | MAR | Talal El Karkouri | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ben Clark | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | NIR | George McCartney | 30 | 0 | 16+8 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ARG | Julio Arca | 18 | 2 | 7+6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | DF | IRL | Mark Rossiter | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Jonjo Dickman | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | USA | Claudio Reyna | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Matthew Piper | 14 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Gavin McCann | 35 | 3 | 29+1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane | 34 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Thomas Butler | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Paul Thirlwell | 21 | 0 | 12+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Nicolás Medina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | IRL | Sean Thornton | 14 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | WAL | John Oster | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Chris Black | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | IRL | Richie Ryan | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | NOR | Tore André Flo | 32 | 6 | 23+6 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips | 36 | 9 | 32 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | FRA | David Bellion | 14 | 1 | 5+6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | SCO | Kevin Kyle | 22 | 1 | 9+8 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Marcus Stewart | 24 | 5 | 9+10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Michael Proctor | 28 | 3 | 11+10 | 2 | 3+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 22 | DF | SVK | Stanislav Varga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | IRL | Niall Quinn | 8 | 0 | 0+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Position | Nation | Number | Name | FA Premier League | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| FW | | 10 | Kevin Phillips | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| FW | | 31 | Marcus Stewart | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| FW | | 9 | Tore André Flo | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| FW | | 32 | Michael Proctor | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| MF | | 8 | Gavin McCann | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| MF | | 33 | Julio Arca | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| DF | | 3 | Micky Gray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | 17 | Jody Craddock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | 24 | Sean Thornton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | 11 | Kevin Kilbane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | 15 | David Bellion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | 16 | Jason McAteer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | 19 | Kevin Kyle | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | | 4 | Claudio Reyna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | Own goal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| / | / | / | Total | 21 | 10 | 8 | 39 |