2002–03 Bradford City A.F.C. season

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

Bradford City
2002–03 season
ChairmanGordon Gibb
ManagerNicky Law
StadiumValley Parade
First Division19th
FA CupThird round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Andy Gray (15)
All:
Andy Gray (15)
Highest home attendance19,088 (vs. Portsmouth, 4 May)
Lowest home attendance10,615 (vs. Wimbledon, 9 November)
Average home league attendance12,500

Season summary

Just after the end of the previous season, Bradford had been placed into administration, as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital, "six weeks of madness" in the transfer market in 2000 and the collapse of the sale of Benito Carbone (on weekly wages of £40,000) to Middlesbrough. The only way for Bradford, £13 million into debt, to move forward was to going into administration to try and save the club and find a buyer. Cuts had to be made, the most drastic being the cancelling of the contracts of sixteen members of the professional squad, leaving manager Nicky Law with five professionals with a handful of senior appearances among them and sixteen scholars.

After a summer of uncertainty, on 1 August the administrators managed to get creditors to accept a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, which would reschedule debts and reinstate the players, who had gone unpaid since April. One player not to return was Benito Carbone, who sacrificed a large chunk of the money owed to him on his contract and moved back to Italy. Chairman Richmond resigned from the board of directors on 10 August, after a reign of eight years. He was replaced as chairman by theme park magnate and new co-owner Gordon Gibb, who, along with Julian Rhodes, had completed a take-over of the club at the 11th hour before Bradford were due to lose their Football League status.

On 30 August, agreement was finally reached with the Professional Footballers' Association over payment owed to the players. With agreement having already been made with the creditors, this now allowed the Football League to return Bradford City's share in the League, effectively bringing the club out of administration.

With a transfer embargo in place, manager Nicky Law had to show an eye for a bargain and unearthed some raw talent. Youngsters Danny Forrest and Simon Francis emerged while Law worked the loan system to cope with an horrific list of injuries.

Bradford eventually finished the season in 19th place; given all that had happened off the field, this was to be considered a success.

Claus Jorgensen scored in eight consecutive away matches.

Final league table
Main article: 2002–03 Football League First Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 Walsall 46 15 9 22 57 69 −12 54
18 Derby County 46 15 7 24 55 74 −19 52
19 Bradford City 46 14 10 22 51 73 −22 52
20 Coventry City 46 12 14 20 46 62 −16 50
21 Stoke City 46 12 14 20 45 69 −24 50
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2003. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Bradford City's score comes first[1]

Legend
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
11 August 2002Wolverhampton WanderersH0–013,223
13 August 2002Crystal PalaceA1–115,205Tod
17 August 2002Stoke CityA1–212,424Gray
24 August 2002Grimsby TownH0–010,914
26 August 2002Ipswich TownA2–125,457Evans, Proctor
31 August 2002Rotherham UnitedH4–212,385Ward (2), Uhlenbeek, Proctor
14 September 2002WalsallA1–04,678Gray
17 September 2002Leicester CityA0–424,651
21 September 2002BurnleyH2–214,561Gray, Proctor
24 September 2002Coventry CityH1–111,655Evans
28 September 2002PortsmouthA0–318,459
5 October 2002Preston North EndH1–113,215Proctor
12 October 2002Derby CountyH0–013,385
19 October 2002Sheffield WednesdayA1–217,191Warnock
26 October 2002Norwich CityH2–112,888Reid (2)
29 October 2002ReadingA0–112,110
2 November 2002Brighton & Hove AlbionA2–36,319Gray (2, 1 pen)
9 November 2002WimbledonH3–510,615Facey, Standing (2)
16 November 2002Nottingham ForestA0–319,653
23 November 2002Sheffield UnitedH0–513,364
30 November 2002MillwallA0–18,510
7 December 2002GillinghamH1–310,711
14 December 2002Nottingham ForestH1–012,245Molenaar
21 December 2002WatfordA0–112,579
26 December 2002Stoke CityH4–214,575Gray (2, 1 pen), Handyside (own goal), Jørgensen
28 December 2002Wolverhampton WanderersA2–125,812Jørgensen, Gray
18 January 2003Rotherham UnitedA2–36,939Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
25 January 2003Grimsby TownA2–15,582Gray, Jørgensen
1 February 2003Ipswich TownH2–012,080Jørgensen, Forrest
8 February 2003WimbledonA2–21,178Jørgensen, Ward
15 February 2003Brighton & Hove AlbionH0–111,520
22 February 2003Coventry CityA2–012,525Gray, Jørgensen
1 March 2003WalsallH1–210,893Forrest
4 March 2003Leicester CityH0–011,531
8 March 2003Crystal PalaceH2–111,016Atherton, Francis
15 March 2003Derby CountyA2–123,735Jørgensen, Lawrence
18 March 2003Sheffield WednesdayH1–114,452Gray (pen)
22 March 2003ReadingH0–111,385
25 March 2003BurnleyA2–011,095Jørgensen, Gray
29 March 2003Norwich CityA2–318,536Forrest, Jørgensen (pen)
5 April 2003MillwallH0–110,676
19 April 2003WatfordH2–111,145Jørgensen, Gray (pen)
21 April 2003GillinghamA0–16,281
26 April 2003Preston North EndA0–113,652
29 April 2003Sheffield UnitedA0–318,297
4 May 2003PortsmouthH0–519,088

FA Cup
Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R34 January 2003West Bromwich AlbionA1–319,909Danks

League Cup
Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R110 September 2002WrexhamA1–22,232Cadamarteri

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 England ENG Gary Walsh
2 DF England ENG Peter Atherton
3 DF England ENG Andy Myers
4 MF England ENG Tom Kearney
5 DF England ENG David Wetherall (captain)
6 DF England ENG Mark Bower
8 FW England ENG Danny Cadamarteri
9 FW England ENG Ashley Ward
10 MF Wales WAL Paul Evans
11 FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray
12 DF Netherlands NED Robert Molenaar
14 DF Suriname SUR Gus Uhlenbeek
15 MF Spain ESP Juanjo
16 MF England ENG Michael Standing
17 GK Northern Ireland NIR Aidan Davison
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF England ENG Lewis Emanuel
19 MF Faroe Islands FRO Claus Bech Jørgensen
20 DF Scotland SCO Andy Tod
21 MF England ENG Andy Lee
22 DF England ENG Wayne Jacobs
24 MF Australia AUS Paul Reid
34 DF England ENG Simon Francis
35 FW England ENG Mark Danks
38 FW England ENG Danny Forrest
39 FW England ENG Kevin Sanasy
41 MF England ENG Tom Penford
43 FW England ENG Ben Muirhead
45 FW Netherlands NED Laurens ten Heuvel (on loan from Sheffield United)

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
7 MF Jamaica JAM Jamie Lawrence (to Walsall)
10 FW Italy ITA Benito Carbone (to Como)
11 MF Scotland SCO Eoin Jess (to Nottingham Forest)
13 GK England ENG Steve Banks (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
14 MF Scotland SCO Gary Locke (to Kilmarnock)
23 FW England ENG Michael Proctor (on loan from Sunderland)
25 DF England ENG Stephen Warnock (on loan from Liverpool)
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 GK England ENG Dave Beasant (to Wigan Athletic)
27 MF England ENG Harpal Singh (on loan from Leeds United)
28 FW Grenada GRN Delroy Facey (on loan from Bolton Wanderers)
29 GK Wales WAL Boaz Myhill (on loan from Aston Villa)
34 FW England ENG Damian Hatton (retired)
37 FW England ENG Graeme Tomlinson (to Bedford Town)
42 GK England ENG Neil Bennett (to Rochdale)

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
30 GK Iceland ISL Stefán Logi Magnússon
31 MF England ENG Craig Fishlock
32 DF England ENG Robert Morgan
33 DF England ENG Keith Brodie
No. Pos. Nation Player
36 GK England ENG Nicky Beach
40 FW England ENG Daniel Ekoku
44 DF England ENG Frazer McHugh
46 DF England ENG Jake Wright

Transfers

In

Out

References
  1. "Bradford City results for the 2002-2003 season". statto.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
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