2001–02 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
2001–02 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	John Gregory (until 24 January); John Deehan and Stuart Gray (caretakers); Graham Taylor (from 5 February)
Stadium	Villa Park
Premier League	8th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fourth round
Intertoto Cup	Winners
UEFA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Darius Vassell and Juan Pablo Ángel (12); All: ; Juan Pablo Ángel (16)
Average home league attendance	35,012
	← 2000–01 2002–03 →

During the 2001–02 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

Aston Villa's early season form was good and the Midlanders even went top briefly at the end of November, but followed that with a run of eleven games with only one win, falling out of the title race. Still, it came as a shock when John Gregory announced his resignation after four years as Villa manager on 24 January. A host of names were linked with the vacancy, but in the end it was Graham Taylor, who took Villa to promotion in 1988 and second place in the league in 1990, who was appointed manager. Taylor was unable to improve Villa's form, but two wins against Southampton and Chelsea at the end of the season where enough to see Villa finish eighth: this was hardly amazing, but it at least meant that Villa would be finishing in the top 10 for the seventh year in succession.

Final league table

Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team |- style="background:#fcc;" |rowspan="2"|18 | rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"|Ipswich Town (R) |rowspan="2"|38 |rowspan="2"|9 |rowspan="2"|9 |rowspan="2"|20 |rowspan="2"|41 |rowspan="2"|64 |rowspan="2"|−23 |rowspan="2"|36 | style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; background:#bbebff;"|2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying round ³ |- | style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; background:#fcc;"|Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division |- style="background:#fcc;" |19 | style="text-align:left;" |Derby County (R) |38 |8 |6 |24 |33 |63 |−30 |30 | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; "|Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division |- style="background:#fcc;" |20 | style="text-align:left;" |Leicester City (R) |38 |5 |13 |20 |30 |64 |−34 |28 Template:Fb cl footer

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

¹Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.

²Blackburn Rovers qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners

³Despite relegation, Ipswich Town qualified for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round as Fair Play Award winners

Results

Aston Villa's score comes first^[2]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
18 August 2001	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–0	36,059
26 August 2001	Manchester United	H	1–1	42,632	Vassell
8 September 2001	Liverpool	A	3–1	44,102	Dublin, Hendrie, Vassell
16 September 2001	Sunderland	H	0–0	31,668
24 September 2001	Southampton	A	3–1	26,794	Boateng, Ángel, Hadji
30 September 2001	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–0	27,732	Ángel, Vassell
14 October 2001	Fulham	H	2–0	28,579	Vassell, Taylor
20 October 2001	Everton	A	2–3	33,352	Hadji, Schmeichel
24 October 2001	Charlton Athletic	H	1–0	27,701	Kachloul
27 October 2001	Bolton Wanderers	H	3–2	33,599	Ángel (2, 1 pen), Vassell
3 November 2001	Newcastle United	A	0–3	51,057
17 November 2001	Middlesbrough	H	0–0	35,424
25 November 2001	Leeds United	A	1–1	40,159	Kachloul
1 December 2001	Leicester City	H	0–2	30,711
5 December 2001	West Ham United	A	1–1	28,377	Dublin
9 December 2001	Arsenal	A	2–3	38,074	Merson, Stone
17 December 2001	Ipswich Town	H	2–1	29,320	Ángel (2)
22 December 2001	Derby County	A	1–3	28,001	Ángel
26 December 2001	Liverpool	H	1–2	42,602	Hendrie
29 December 2001	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–1	41,134	Ángel (pen)
1 January 2002	Sunderland	A	1–1	45,324	Taylor
12 January 2002	Derby County	H	2–1	28,881	Vassell, Ángel
21 January 2002	Charlton Athletic	A	2–1	25,681	Vassell, Ángel
30 January 2002	Everton	H	0–0	32,460
2 February 2002	Fulham	A	0–0	20,041
9 February 2002	Chelsea	H	1–1	41,137	Merson
23 February 2002	Manchester United	A	0–1	67,592
2 March 2002	West Ham United	H	2–1	37,341	Ángel, Vassell
5 March 2002	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–3	21,988
17 March 2002	Arsenal	H	1–2	41,520	Dublin
23 March 2002	Ipswich Town	A	0–0	25,247
30 March 2002	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–3	24,600	Warhurst (own goal), Taylor
2 April 2002	Newcastle United	H	1–1	36,597	Crouch
6 April 2002	Middlesbrough	A	1–2	26,003	Ángel
13 April 2002	Leeds United	H	0–1	40,039
20 April 2002	Leicester City	A	2–2	18,125	Vassell, Hitzlsperger
27 April 2002	Southampton	H	2–1	35,255	Vassell (2)
11 May 2002	Chelsea	A	3–1	40,709	Crouch, Vassell, Dublin

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	6 January 2002	Manchester United	H	2–3	38,444	Taylor, Neville (own goal)

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	10 October 2001	Reading	H	1–0	23,431	Dublin
R4	28 November 2001	Sheffield Wednesday	H	0–1	26,526

Intertoto Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3 First Leg	14 July 2001	NK Slaven Belupo	A	1–2	3,000	Ginola
R3 Second Leg	21 July 2001	NK Slaven Belupo	H	2–0 (won 3-2 on agg)	27,580	Hendrie (2)
SF First Leg	25 July 2001	Rennes	A	1–2	15,753	Vassell
SF Second Leg	1 August 2001	Rennes	H	1–0 (won on away goals)	30,782	Dublin
F First Leg	7 August 2001	Basel	A	1–1	25,879	Merson
F Second Leg	21 August 2001	Basel	H	4–1 (won 5-2 on agg)	39,593	Vassell, Ángel (2), Ginola

UEFA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 First Leg	20 September 2001	NK Varteks	H	2–3	27,132	Ángel (2)
R1 Second Leg	27 September 2001	NK Varteks	A	1–0 (lost on away goals)	12,100	Hadji

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[3]

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	Peter Schmeichel
2	DF	WAL	Mark Delaney
3	DF	ENG	Alan Wright
4	DF	SWE	Olof Mellberg
5	DF	TUR	Alpay Özalan
6	MF	NED	George Boateng^[4]
7	MF	ENG	Ian Taylor
8	FW	COL	Juan Pablo Ángel
9	FW	ENG	Dion Dublin
10	MF	ENG	Paul Merson
11	DF	IRL	Steve Staunton
12	GK	FIN	Peter Enckelman


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	MF	FRA	David Ginola
15	DF	ENG	Gareth Barry
16	FW	ENG	Peter Crouch
17	MF	ENG	Lee Hendrie
18	MF	ENG	Steve Stone
19	FW	CRO	Boško Balaban
20	MF	MAR	Mustapha Hadji
21	MF	GER	Thomas Hitzlsperger
22	FW	ENG	Darius Vassell
30	MF	MAR	Hassan Kachloul
31	DF	ENG	Jlloyd Samuel^[5]

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	ENG	Boaz Myhill^[6]
23	FW	ENG	Stefan Moore
24	MF	IRL	John McGrath
25	FW	ENG	Jon Bewers
28	MF	NIR	Gavin Melaugh
29	MF	ENG	Stephen Cooke
39	GK	IRL	Wayne Henderson
42	FW	IRL	Peter Hynes
43	DF	ENG	Liam Ridgewell
46	DF	ENG	Ben Willetts


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	Rob Edwards
—	DF	ENG	Leon Hylton
—	DF	ENG	Danny Jackman
—	DF	ENG	Andrew Marfell
—	DF	ENG	Cameron Stuart
—	DF	IRL	Seán Dillon
—	MF	ENG	Ryan Amoo
—	MF	ENG	Alexis Nicolas
—	MF	ENG	Jay Smith
—	MF	IRL	Keith Fahey
—	FW	ENG	Michael Husbands
—	FW	IRL	Peter Hynes

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Continential
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	DEN	Peter Schmeichel	36	1	29	1	1	0	2	0	4	0
12	GK	FIN	Peter Enckelman	14	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	4+1	0
Defenders
2	DF	WAL	Mark Delaney	39	0	30	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
3	DF	ENG	Alan Wright	32	0	23	0	1	0	1	0	7	0
4	DF	SWE	Olof Mellberg	36	0	32	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
5	DF	TUR	Alpay Özalan	24	0	14	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
11	DF	IRL	Steve Staunton	38	0	30+3	0	1	0	2	0	2	0
31	DF	ENG	Jlloyd Samuel	26	0	17+6	0	1	0	0	0	0+2	0
Midfielders
6	MF	NED	George Boateng	48	1	37	1	1	0	1+1	0	8	0
7	MF	ENG	Ian Taylor	18	4	7+9	3	1	1	1	0	0	0
10	MF	ENG	Paul Merson	27	3	18+3	2	1	0	0	0	5	1
14	MF	FRA	David Ginola	13	2	0+5	0	0	0	1+1	0	3+3	2
15	MF	ENG	Gareth Barry	28	0	16+4	0	0+1	0	0	0	6+1	0
17	MF	ENG	Lee Hendrie	39	4	25+4	2	1	0	2	0	7	2
18	MF	ENG	Steve Stone	32	1	14+8	1	0+1	0	1	0	5+3	0
20	MF	MAR	Mustapha Hadji	32	3	17+6	2	0+1	0	2	0	3+3	1
21	MF	GER	Thomas Hitzlsperger	12	1	11+1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	MF	MAR	Hassan Kachloul	31	2	17+5	2	0	0	2	0	6+1	0
Forwards
8	FW	COL	Juan Pablo Ángel	35	16	26+3	12	1	0	1	0	2+2	4
9	FW	ENG	Dion Dublin	30	6	9+12	4	0	0	1+1	1	5+2	1
16	FW	ENG	Peter Crouch	7	2	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	CRO	Boško Balaban	11	0	0+8	0	0	0	1+1	0	1	0
22	FW	ENG	Darius Vassell	44	14	30+6	12	1	0	0+1	0	2+4	2
Players transferred out during the season

Last updated: 30 May 2002
Source: Competitions

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions^[7]

No.	Pos.	Name	MS	Notes
1	GK	Peter Schmeichel	36
2	RB	Mark Delaney	39
4	CB	Olof Mellberg	36
11	CB	Steve Staunton	35
3	LB	Alan Wright	32
17	RM	Lee Hendrie	35
10	CM	Paul Merson	24	Alpay Özalan has 24 starts
6	CM	George Boateng	47
30	LM	Hassan Kachloul	25
8	CF	Juan Pablo Ángel	30
22	CF	Darius Vassell	33

Transfers

In

#	Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
30	MF	Hassan Kachloul	Southampton	Free	June 2001
20	MF	Mustapha Hadji	Coventry City	£2,500,000 + Julian Joachim	July 2001
1	GK	Peter Schmeichel	Sporting CP	Free	July 2001
4	DF	Olof Mellberg	Racing Santander	£5,000,000	July 2001
19	FW	Boško Balaban	Dinamo Zagreb	£5,800,000	August 2001
16	FW	Peter Crouch	Portsmouth	£5,000,000	March 2002

Out

#	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
12	FW	Julian Joachim	Coventry City	Swap	July 2001
1	GK	David James	West Ham United	£3,500,000	July 2001
4	DF	Gareth Southgate	Middlesbrough	£6,500,000	July 2001
13	DF	Neil Cutler	Stoke City	Free	July 2001
19	FW	Richard Walker	Blackpool	£50,000	December 2001
14	MF	David Ginola	Everton	Free	February 2002
27	MF	Michael Standing	Bradford City	Free	March 2002

References

^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/1780820.stm
^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/aston-villa/2001-2002/results
^ http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2001-2002/faprem/avilla.htm
^ Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana.
^ Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
^ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, and later represented Wales internationally.
^ http://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2002/

[1] ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/1780820.stm

[2] ttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/aston-villa/2001-2002/results

[3] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2001-2002/faprem/avilla.htm

[4] Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana.

[5] Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.

[6] Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, and later represented Wales internationally.

[7] ttp://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2002/

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