2002–03 Fulham F.C. season

Fulham
2002–03 season
Chairman	Mohamed Al-Fayed
Manager	Jean Tigana (until 17 April); Chris Coleman (from 17 April)
Stadium	Loftus Road
FA Premier League	14th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Fourth round
UEFA Intertoto Cup	Winner
UEFA Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Steed Malbranque (6); All: ; Steed Malbranque (13)
Highest home attendance	18,800 (vs. Arsenal, 3 November, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance	4,717 (vs. Sochaux, 31 July, Intertoto Cup)
Average home league attendance	16,707
	← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 season was Fulham F.C.'s 105th season in professional football and second consecutive season in the FA Premier League. It was also the first season in over 115 years where Fulham did not play at Craven Cottage. Due to pending decisions on re-vamping the cottage, all home games (apart from two early-season fixtures) were played at Loftus Road, the home of Queens Park Rangers. Jean Tigana remained as Fulham manager up until his sacking in April 2003. Former Fulham player Chris Coleman had not long been retired from the game since suffering a career-ending injury in a car crash when he was appointed caretaker manager for the rest of the season.

Concerning the league, it was another relatively disappointing season for Fulham. Finishing in 14th place, it was seeming Fulham were finding top-flight football more of a struggle than was originally anticipated two years ago. However, an invitation to the Intertoto Cup after the 2001–02 campaign meant that Fulham could play European football for the first time in their history. Upon entering, Fulham went on to be one of the three winners of the competition, allowing them into the first round draw of the UEFA Cup. Performing better than most expected, Fulham reached the third round before being knocked out by German club Hertha BSC.

First-team 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
1	GK	NED	Edwin van der Sar
2	DF	IRL	Steve Finnan
4	DF	WAL	Andy Melville
6	MF	JPN	Junichi Inamoto (on loan from Gamba Osaka)
7	FW	FRA	Steve Marlet
8	MF	ENG	Lee Clark
9	FW	ARG	Facundo Sava
10	MF	SCO	John Collins
11	FW	POR	Luís Boa Morte
12	GK	NIR	Maik Taylor^[2]
13	GK	ENG	Ross Flitney
14	MF	FRA	Steed Malbranque^[3]
15	FW	JAM	Barry Hayles^[4]
16	DF	ENG	Zat Knight
17	DF	FRA	Martin Djetou (on loan from Parma)
18	MF	FRA	Sylvain Legwinski


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	FW	DEN	Bjarne Goldbæk
20	FW	FRA	Louis Saha
21	GK	ARG	Martín Herrera
23	MF	ENG	Sean Davis
24	DF	FRA	Alain Goma
25	DF	MAR	Abdeslam Ouaddou
26	DF	ENG	Jon Harley
27	DF	CMR	Pierre Womé (on loan from Bologna)
31	MF	ENG	Darren Pratley
33	FW	ENG	Calum Willock^[5]
34	FW	GHA	Elvis Hammond
36	DF	ENG	Mark Hudson
38	FW	ENG	Luke Cornwall
39	DF	ENG	Dean Leacock
40	MF	LVA	Andrejs Štolcers

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
3	DF	ENG	Rufus Brevett (to West Ham United)
5	DF	WAL	Chris Coleman (retired)
30	GK	ENG	Glyn Thompson (to Northampton Town)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
31	MF	USA	Eddie Lewis (to Preston North End)
35	DF	SCO	Kieran McAnespie (to Plymouth Argyle)

Transfers

Summer

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ARG	Facundo Sava (from Gimnasia – £2,000,000)
—	GK	ARG	Martín Herrera (from Alavés – free)
—	DF	FRA	Martin Djetou (two-year loan from Parma)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	JPN	Junichi Inamoto (season-long loan from Gamba Osaka)
—	DF	CMR	Pierre Womé (season-long loan from Bologna)

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	USA	Marcus Hahnemann (released)
—	MF	WAL	Paul Trollope (to Northampton Town – free)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	USA	Eddie Lewis (to Preston North End – undisclosed)

Winter

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ENG	Luke Cornwall (one-month loan to Lincoln City)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	Rufus Brevett (to West Ham United - undisclosed)

League table

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts	Comments
1	Manchester United	38	25	8	5	74	34	40	83	Champions League group stage
2	Arsenal	38	23	9	6	85	42	43	78	Champions League group stage
3	Newcastle United	38	21	6	11	63	48	15	69	Champions League Third qualifying round
4	Chelsea	38	19	10	9	68	38	30	67	Champions League Third qualifying round
5	Liverpool	38	18	10	10	61	41	20	64	UEFA Cup first round¹
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	12	10	52	43	9	60	UEFA Cup first round¹
7	Everton	38	17	8	13	48	49	-1	59
8	Southampton	38	13	13	12	43	46	-3	52	UEFA Cup first round²
9	Manchester City	38	15	6	17	47	54	-7	51	UEFA Cup qualifying round
10	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	8	16	51	62	-11	50
11	Middlesbrough	38	13	10	15	48	44	4	49
12	Charlton Athletic	38	14	7	17	45	56	-11	49
13	Birmingham City	38	13	9	16	41	49	-8	48
14	Fulham	38	13	9	16	41	50	-9	48
15	Leeds United	38	14	5	19	58	57	1	47
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	38	10	12	16	42	59	-17	42	Relegated to Division 1
19	West Bromwich Albion	38	6	8	24	29	65	-36	26
20	Sunderland	38	4	7	27	21	65	-44	19

Results

Premier League

17 August 2002 (2002-08-17) 1	Fulham	4–1	Bolton Wanderers	Fulham, London
15:00 BST	Saha 11' (pen.) Legwinski 34', 79' Marlet 38'	Report	Ricketts 3' (pen.)	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,338 Referee: Alan Wiley

24 August 2002 (2002-08-24) 2	Middlesbrough	2–2	Fulham	Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
15:00 BST	Maccarone 32', 51'	Report	Davis 89' Sava 90'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 28,588 Referee: Mike Dean

31 August 2002 (2002-08-31) 3	West Bromwich Albion	1–0	Fulham	West Bromwich, West Midlands
15:00 BST	Moore 48'	Report		Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 25,461 Referee: Rob Styles

11 September 2002 (2002-09-11) 4	Fulham	3–2	Tottenham Hotspur	Fulham, London
19:45 BST	Inamoto 68' Malbranque 84' (pen.) Legwinski 90'	Report	Richards 36' Sheringham 44'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,757 Referee: Mark Halsey

14 September 2002 (2002-09-14) 5	Sunderland	0–3	Fulham	Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
15:00 BST		Report	Inamoto 34' Hayles 54' Marlet 78'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 35,432 Referee: Chris Foy

23 September 2002 (2002-09-23) 6	Fulham	0–0	Chelsea	Fulham, London
20:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,503 Referee: Paul Durkin

28 September 2002 (2002-09-28) 7	Everton	2–0	Fulham	Liverpool, Merseyside
15:00 BST	Gravesen 45' Campbell 45+2'	Report		Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 34,371 Referee: Steve Dunn

6 October 2002 (2002-10-06) 8	Fulham	1–0	Charlton Athletic	Fulham, London
13:00 BST	Sava 36'	Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 14,775 Referee: Jeff Winter

19 October 2002 (2002-10-19) 9	Fulham	1–1	Manchester United	Fulham, London
	Marlet 35'	Report	Solskjær 62'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 18,103 Referee: Mike Dean

23 October 2002 (2002-10-23) 10	Fulham	0–1	West Ham United	Fulham, London
	Knight 90'	Report	Di Canio 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 15,858 Referee: Rob Styles

27 October 2002 (2002-10-27) 11	Southampton	4–2	Fulham	Southampton, Hampshire
	Beattie 27' (pen.), 42' (53) Ormerod 72'	Report	Clark 15' Malbranque 25'	Stadium: St. Mary's Attendance: 26,188 Referee: Mark Halsey

3 November 2002 (2002-11-03) 12	Fulham	0–1	Arsenal	Fulham, London
		Report	Marlet 31' (o.g.)	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 18,800 Referee: Jeff Winter

9 November 2002 (2002-11-09) 13	Aston Villa	3–1	Fulham	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Ángel 20' Allbäck 66' Leonhardsen 83'	Report	Boa Morte 51'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 29,563 Referee: Andy D'Urso

17 November 2002	Birmingham City	0–0	Fulham	Birmingham, West Midlands
15:00 GMT (UTC)			Brevett 37' Marlet 79'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 26,164 Referee: Matt Messias

23 November 2002	Fulham	3–2	Liverpool	Fulham, London
	Sava 5', 68' Davis 38'	Report	Hamann 62' Baroš 86'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 18,144 Referee: Graham Poll

7 December 2002	Fulham	1–0	Leeds United	Loftus Road
	Djetou 10'	Report		Stadium: Fulham, London Attendance: 17,494 Referee: Paul Durkin

15 December 2002	Fulham	0–1	Birmingham City	Fulham, London
14:00 GMT (UTC)		[ Report]	Kirovski 7' Purse 70'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 14,962 Referee: Andy D'Urso

21 December 2002	Newcastle United	2–0	Fulham	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside
15:00	Solano 8' Bellamy 70'	Report	Womé 66'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 51,576 Referee: Alan Wiley

28 December 2002	Fulham	0–1	Manchester City	Fulham, London
15:00		[ Report]	Anelka 15'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 17,937

29 January 2003	Manchester City	4–1	Fulham	Manchester
15:00	Anelka 21' Benarbia 47' Foé 61' Wright-Phillips 70'	[ Report]	Malbranque 2'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 33,260 Referee: Steve Bennett

1 February 2003	Arsenal	2–1	Fulham	Islington, London
	Pirès 17', 90'		Malbranque 29'	Stadium: Highbury

12 April 2003	Liverpool	2–0	Fulham	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Heskey 36' Owen 59'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 42,120 Referee: Alan Wiley

19 April 2003	Fulham	2–1	Newcastle United	Fulham, London
15:00	Lewinski 69' Clark 86'	Report	Shearer 39' Griffin 63'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 17,900 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

22 April 2003	Leeds United	2–0	Fulham	Leeds, West Yorkshire
	Viduka 4', 49'	Report		Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 37,220 Referee: Neale Barry

League Cup

6 November 2002 (2002-11-06) 3	Fulham	3–1	Bury	Fulham, London
	Štolcers 40', 53' Clark 73'	Report	Newby 90'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 6,700 Referee: David Pugh

4 December 2002 (2002-12-04) 4	Wigan Athletic	2–1	Fulham	Wigan, Greater Manchester
	Ellington 20', 28'	Report	Boa Morte 86'	Stadium: JJB Stadium Attendance: 7,651 Referee: Mark Halsey

FA Cup

5 January 2003 (2003-01-05) 3	Fulham	3–1	Birmingham City	Fulham, London
	Sava 11' Goldbæk 23' Saha 46'	Report	John 90'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 9,203 Referee: Neale Barry

26 January 2003 (2003-01-26) 4	Fulham	3–0	Charlton Athletic	Fulham, London
	Malbranque 59', 66' (pen.), 87' (pen.)	(Report)	Fish 86'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 12,203 Referee: Paul Durkin

16 February 2003 (2003-02-16) 5	Fulham	1–1	Burnley	Fulham, London
	Malbranque 45'	Report	Moore 4'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 13,062 Referee: Graham Poll

26 February 2002 (2002-02-26) 5R	Burnley	3–0	Fulham	Burnley, Lancashire
	Taylor 27' Moore 35' Diallo 52'	Report	Davis 49'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 11,635 Referee: Phil Dowd

UEFA Intertoto Cup

6 July 2002 (2002-07-06) 2 Leg 1	Fulham	0–0	Haka	London, England
15:00		Report		Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 7,908 Referee: Ladislav Gadosi

14 July 2002 (2002-07-14) 2 Leg 2	Haka	1–1	Fulham	Valkeakoski, Finland
19:00	Ristilä 66'	Report	Marlet 47'	Stadium: Tehtaan Kenttä Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Emil Laursen

20 July 2002 (2002-07-20) 3 Leg 1	Fulham	1–0	Egaleo	London, England
17:00	Saha 77'	Report		Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 5,199 Referee: Ver Eecke

27 July 2002 (2002-07-27) 3 Leg 2	Egaleo	1–1	Fulham	Athens, Greece
21:00	Chloros 24'	Report	Marlet 34'	Stadium: Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Ruud Bossen

31 July 2002 (2002-07-31) Semi-final Leg 1	Fulham	1–0	Sochaux	London, England
19:45	Davis 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 4,717 Referee: Sorin Corpodean

7 August 2002 (2002-08-07) Semi-final Leg 2	Sochaux	0–2	Fulham	Montbéliard, France
21:30		Report	Legwinski 64' Hayles 72'	Stadium: Stade Auguste Bonal Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Franz-Xaver Wack

13 August 2002 (2002-08-13) Final Leg 1	Bologna	2–2	Fulham	Bologna, Italy
20:30	Signori 53' (pen.), pen.'	Report	Inamoto 63' Legwinski 87'	Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Attendance: 23,620 Referee: Eduardo Iturralde González

27 August 2002 (2002-08-27) Final Leg 2	Fulham	3–1	Bologna	London, England
19:30	Inamoto 12', 47', 50'	Report	Locatelli 34'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 13,756 Referee: Massimo Busacca

UEFA Cup

19 September 2002 (2002-09-19) 1 Leg 1	Hajduk Split	0–1	Fulham	Split, Croatia
		Report	Malbranque 50'	Stadium: Poljud Stadium Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Fernando Carmona Mendez

3 October 2002 (2002-10-03) 1 Leg 2	Fulham	2–2	Hajduk Split	London, England
	Marlet 24' Malbranque 44'	(Report)		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Stefano Farina

31 October 2002 (2002-10-31) 2 Leg 1	Dinamo Zagreb	0–3	Fulham	Zagreb, Croatia
	Polovanec	Report	Boa Morte 35' Marlet 59' Hayles 77'	Stadium: Maksimir Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Eduardo Iturralde González

14 November 2002 (2002-11-14) 2 Leg 2	Fulham	2–1	Dinamo Zagreb	London, England
	Malbranque 89' Boa Morte 90'	Report	Olić 52'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 7,700 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

26 November 2002 (2002-11-26) 3 Leg 1	Hertha BSC	2–1	Fulham	Berlin, Germany
	Beinlich 26' Sava 68' (o.g.)	Report	Marlet 53'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 14,477 Referee: Dick Van Egmond

12 December 2002 (2002-12-12) 3 Leg 2	Fulham	0–0	Hertha BSC	London, England
		Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 15,161 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

References

^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/2957495.stm
^ Taylor was born in Hildesheim, West Germany (now Germany), but qualifies to represent any of the home nations internationally as he holds a British passport; he made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1999.
^ Malbranque was born in Mouscron, Belgium, but also qualifies to represent France internationally; he represented them at U-21 level and would be called up to the senior international side in February 2004, but he would not play.
^ Hayles was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in June 2001, having previously represented the Cayman Islands internationally despite being ineligible to do so.
^ Willock was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and would make his international debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2004.

External links

[1] ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/2957495.stm

[2] Taylor was born in Hildesheim, West Germany (now Germany), but qualifies to represent any of the home nations internationally as he holds a British passport; he made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1999.

[3] Malbranque was born in Mouscron, Belgium, but also qualifies to represent France internationally; he represented them at U-21 level and would be called up to the senior international side in February 2004, but he would not play.

[4] Hayles was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in June 2001, having previously represented the Cayman Islands internationally despite being ineligible to do so.

[5] Willock was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualifies to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and would make his international debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2004.

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