2001–02 FA Premier League

The 2001–02 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the competition. It began with a new sponsor, Barclaycard, and was titled the FA Barclaycard Premiership, replacing the previous sponsor, Carling. The title race turned into a battle among four sides – Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United.

FA Premier League
Season2001–02
Dates18 August 2001 – 11 May 2002
ChampionsArsenal
2nd Premier League title
12th English title
RelegatedIpswich Town
Derby County
Leicester City
Champions LeagueArsenal
Liverpool
Manchester United
Newcastle United
UEFA CupLeeds United
Chelsea
Blackburn Rovers
Ipswich Town
Intertoto CupAston Villa
Fulham
Matches played380
Goals scored1,001 (2.63 per match)
Average goals/game2.6
Top goalscorerThierry Henry (24 goals)
Biggest home winBlackburn Rovers 7–1 West Ham United
(14 October 2001)
Biggest away winIpswich Town 0–6 Liverpool
(9 February 2002)
Highest scoringTottenham Hotspur 3–5 Manchester United
(29 September 2001)
Blackburn Rovers 7–1 West Ham United
(14 October 2001)
Charlton Athletic 4–4 West Ham United
(19 November 2001)
West Ham United 3–5 Manchester United
(16 March 2002)
Newcastle United 6–2 Everton
(29 March 2002)
Longest winning run13 games[1]
Arsenal
Longest unbeaten run21 games[1]
Arsenal
Longest winless run16 games[1]
Leicester City
Longest losing run7 games[1]
Derby County
Highest attendance67,638
Manchester United v Middlesbrough
(23 March 2002)
Lowest attendance15,415
Leicester City v Middlesbrough
(18 September 2001)
Average attendance34,249

Arsenal clinched the title on 8 May 2002 after a convincing win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, in the penultimate game of the season. This new attacking Arsenal side had won the FA Cup five days before and made history by accomplishing their third double, their second under the reign of Arsène Wenger, who showed his commitment by signing a new four-year deal with Arsenal.

The season started on 18 August 2001 and ended on 11 May 2002.

Season summary

At the start of 2002 the title race was wide open, with the likes of Newcastle United and Leeds United contesting at the top of the table along with the usual likes of Arsenal and Manchester United. Newcastle, after back-to-back away wins at Arsenal and Leeds during the Christmas period, confirmed themselves as genuine title challengers and led the league at the turn of the year. Leeds had topped the table at Christmas prior to losing at Elland Road to Newcastle.

Despite being top of the table at the start of December – eleven points clear of Manchester United – Liverpool underwent a severe slump, falling to fifth place, five points behind United. Would-be contenders Chelsea, Newcastle United and Leeds United had by this point disappeared into the chasing pack.

January saw Liverpool travelling to both Highbury and Old Trafford in the space of a fortnight. Liverpool's Danny Murphy scored a late winner to give the Merseyside club all three points against United, and John Arne Riise then salvaged a point for Liverpool against Arsenal, allowing Manchester United to top the table for the first time that season.

In March, Arsenal were installed as strong favourites for the Premiership title after Liverpool's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal's April triumph against Bolton Wanderers brought them to within three points of a second Premier League title under Arsène Wenger.

Fittingly, the Premiership title would be decided at Old Trafford as Arsenal and Manchester United faced one another in a decisive encounter. Arsenal only required a draw to guarantee their second title in five seasons to go with their FA Cup victory against London rivals Chelsea four days previously; United had to win to take the title race to the last day. In the end, Arsenal emerged victorious as their record signing Sylvain Wiltord scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal was confirmed Premiership champions with a game to spare. Manchester United's disappointment was compounded by Liverpool leapfrogging them into second place by virtue of their 4–3 victory against Blackburn Rovers.

On the final day of the season Liverpool confirmed second place by trashing soon to be relegated Ipswich Town 5–0 at Anfield. Arsenal rounded off their successful league campaign in style, beating Everton 4–3 at Highbury. Manchester United limped to a poor draw against Charlton Athletic, completing a disappointing campaign for the deposed league champions.

For the first time in the history of the Premier League, all three promoted teams avoided relegation – Fulham, Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers avoided relegation until 2011–12, when the three promoted teams of 2010–11 coincidentally avoided relegation again, whilst Fulham avoided relegation until the 2013–14 season.

Fulham had splashed out £34 million on new players during the close season, with their owner Mohamed Al-Fayed being one of the wealthiest benefactors in English football. He even boasted that they would win the Premiership title in 2001–02, and most pundits tipped Fulham, managed by former French international Jean Tigana, to push for a place in Europe. However, Fulham finished thirteenth, 47 points away from Arsenal.

Bolton Wanderers went top of the Premiership after winning their first three fixtures of the season, causing an upset by beating Gérard Houllier's Liverpool in the latter stage of the game. Manager Sam Allardyce was boasting that his side were good enough to win their first ever league title, but Bolton's league form slumped after the first two months of the season and they finished 16th place – their survival confirmed in the penultimate game of the season.

Blackburn Rovers were the most successful of the promoted sides. Graeme Souness' men beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the League Cup final to lift the trophy for the first time, and then climbed from 18th place in the Premiership in late February to finish in a secure 10th place – higher than any other newly promoted team that season. Blackburn secured a UEFA Cup place for 2002–03.

Leicester City was the first team officially relegated from the Premiership, finishing bottom of table with just five Premiership wins in their last season at 111-year-old Filbert Street before relocation to the new 32 000-seat Walkers Stadium. The club went through the regime of two managers during the season – Peter Taylor was replaced by Dave Bassett in early October; six months later Bassett joined the club's board to be replaced by former assistant manager Micky Adams.

Just after the start of the 2002–03 season, Leicester's relegation (which cost them extensive television revenue) and the cost of their new stadium had created debts in excess of £30 million, and the club went into administration before being taken over by a new owner. Despite this setback, Leicester gained promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, although they slipped back down again after just one season and Adams had since resigned to make way for new manager Craig Levein.

Next to go down were Derby County, who had been promoted alongside Leicester six years earlier. Manager Jim Smith resigned in early October to be replaced by assistant manager Colin Todd, who was sacked three months later after Derby were knocked out of the FA Cup by Division Three strugglers Bristol Rovers.

The last team to be relegated were Ipswich Town, who had qualified for the UEFA Cup and earned manager George Burley the Manager of the Year award the previous season after finishing fifth. Ipswich made a terrible start to the season, winning just one of their first 18 Premiership games. They then went on a strong run of form, winning seven out of eight games, which looked to have secured their Premiership survival, but they then suffered another setback which George Burley's men were unable to reverse, and their relegation was confirmed on the final day of the season by a 5–0 thrashing at Liverpool.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Fulham, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, returning after a top flight absence of thirty-three, two and three years respectively. This was also Fulham's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Manchester City, Coventry City and Bradford City, who were relegated to the First Division after their one, thirty-four and two-year top flight spells respectively.

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2001–02 Premier League teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Highbury) Arsenal Stadium 38,419
Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park 42,573
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,723
Charlton Athletic London (Charlton) The Valley 27,111
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,055
Derby County Derby Pride Park Stadium 33,597
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,569
Fulham London (Fulham) Craven Cottage 24,600
Ipswich Town Ipswich Portman Road 30,300
Leeds United Leeds Elland Road 40,242
Leicester City Leicester Filbert Street[lower-alpha 1] 22,000
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,522
Manchester United Manchester Old Trafford 68,174
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 35,049
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Southampton Southampton St Mary's Stadium[lower-alpha 2] 32,689
Sunderland Sunderland Stadium of Light 49,000
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,240
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Boleyn Ground 35,647
  1. This was Leicester City's last season at Filbert Street as they were scheduled to relocate to the Walkers Stadium at the end of the season.
  2. Southampton had moved to St Mary's Stadium after spending 103 years at The Dell.

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal France Arsène Wenger England Tony Adams Nike Dreamcast/Sega1
Aston Villa England Graham Taylor England Paul Merson Diadora NTL
Blackburn Rovers Scotland Graeme Souness England Garry Flitcroft Kappa Time
Bolton Wanderers England Sam Allardyce Iceland Guðni Bergsson Reebok Reebok
Charlton Athletic England Alan Curbishley Republic of Ireland Mark Kinsella Le Coq Sportif Redbus
Chelsea Italy Claudio Ranieri France Marcel Desailly Umbro Fly Emirates
Derby County England John Gregory Jamaica Darryl Powell Erreà Pedigree
Everton Scotland David Moyes Scotland David Weir Puma One 2 One
Fulham France Jean Tigana Wales Andy Melville Adidas Pizza Hut
Ipswich Town Scotland George Burley Republic of Ireland Matt Holland Punch TXU Energi
Leeds United Republic of Ireland David O'Leary England Rio Ferdinand Nike Strongbow
Leicester City England Micky Adams Scotland Matt Elliott Le Coq Sportif LG
Liverpool France Gérard Houllier England Jamie Redknapp Reebok Carlsberg
Manchester United Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson Republic of Ireland Roy Keane Umbro Vodafone
Middlesbrough England Steve McClaren England Paul Ince Erreà BT Cellnet
Newcastle United England Bobby Robson England Alan Shearer Adidas NTL
Southampton Scotland Gordon Strachan England Matt Le Tissier Saints Friends Provident
Sunderland England Peter Reid England Michael Gray Nike Reg Vardy
Tottenham Hotspur England Glenn Hoddle England Tim Sherwood Adidas Holsten
West Ham United England Glenn Roeder Northern Ireland Steve Lomas Fila Dr. Martens
  • 1 The Dreamcast logo appeared on Arsenal's home and third shirts while the Sega logo appeared on their away shirt

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Middlesbrough England Bryan Robson
England Terry Venables		 Mutual consent 5 June 2001[2] Pre-season England Steve McClaren 12 June 2001[3]
West Ham United England Glenn Roeder (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 14 June 2001[4] England Glenn Roeder 14 June 2001
Leicester City England Peter Taylor Sacked 30 September 2001 20th England Dave Bassett 10 October 2001
Southampton England Stuart Gray 1 October 2001 12th Scotland Gordon Strachan 1 October 2001
Derby County England Jim Smith Resigned 7 October 2001 19th England Colin Todd 8 October 2001[5]
England Colin Todd Sacked 14 January 2002[6] 19th England John Gregory 30 January 2002
Aston Villa England John Gregory Resigned 24 January 2002[7] 7th England Graham Taylor 5 February 2002
Everton Scotland Walter Smith Sacked 10 March 2002 16th Scotland David Moyes 16 March 2002
Leicester City England Dave Bassett Promoted to director of football position 6 April 2002 20th England Micky Adams 7 April 2002[8]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal (C) 38 26 9 3 79 36 +43 87 Qualification for the Champions League first group stage
2 Liverpool 38 24 8 6 67 30 +37 80
3 Manchester United 38 24 5 9 87 45 +42 77 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 Newcastle United 38 21 8 9 74 52 +22 71
5 Leeds United 38 18 12 8 53 37 +16 66 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
6 Chelsea 38 17 13 8 66 38 +28 64
7 West Ham United 38 15 8 15 48 57 −9 53
8 Aston Villa 38 12 14 12 46 47 −1 50 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
9 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 8 16 49 53 −4 50
10 Blackburn Rovers 38 12 10 16 55 51 +4 46 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
11 Southampton 38 12 9 17 46 54 −8 45
12 Middlesbrough 38 12 9 17 35 47 −12 45
13 Fulham 38 10 14 14 36 44 −8 44 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup second round
14 Charlton Athletic 38 10 14 14 38 49 −11 44
15 Everton 38 11 10 17 45 57 −12 43
16 Bolton Wanderers 38 9 13 16 44 62 −18 40
17 Sunderland 38 10 10 18 29 51 −22 40
18 Ipswich Town (R) 38 9 9 20 41 64 −23 36 UEFA Cup QR and relegation to the First Division[lower-alpha 3]
19 Derby County (R) 38 8 6 24 33 63 −30 30 Relegation to the Football League First Division
20 Leicester City (R) 38 5 13 20 30 64 −34 28
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.
  2. Blackburn Rovers qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
  3. Ipswich Town qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifying as the winners of Premiership Fair Play League by The Football Association, one of the UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AVL BLB BOL CHA CHE DER EVE FUL IPS LEE LEI LIV MUN MID NEW SOU SUN TOT WHU
Arsenal — 3–2 3–3 1–1 2–4 2–1 1–0 4–3 4–1 2–0 1–2 4–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–3 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–0
Aston Villa 1–2 — 2–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–1
Blackburn Rovers 2–3 3–0 — 1–1 4–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–3 2–1 7–1
Bolton Wanderers 0–2 3–2 1–1 — 0–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 0–0 4–1 0–3 2–2 2–1 0–4 1–0 0–4 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–0
Charlton Athletic 0–3 1–2 0–2 1–2 — 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–2 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 4–4
Chelsea 1–1 1–3 0–0 5–1 0–1 — 2–1 3–0 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 4–0 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–4 4–0 4–0 5–1
Derby County 0–2 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 — 3–4 0–1 1–3 0–1 2–3 0–1 2–2 0–1 2–3 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0
Everton 0–1 3–2 1–2 3–1 0–3 0–0 1–0 — 2–1 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–3 2–0 1–0 1–1 5–0
Fulham 1–3 0–0 2–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 — 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 2–3 2–1 3–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 0–1
Ipswich Town 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 1–0 — 1–2 2–0 0–6 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–3 5–0 2–1 2–3
Leeds United 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–0 3–2 0–1 2–0 — 2–2 0–4 3–4 1–0 3–4 2–0 2–0 2–1 3–0
Leicester City 1–3 2–2 2–1 0–5 1–1 2–3 0–3 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–2 — 1–4 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–4 1–0 2–1 1–1
Liverpool 1–2 1–3 4–3 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 5–0 1–1 1–0 — 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–1
Manchester United 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–3 5–0 4–1 3–2 4–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 — 0–1 3–1 6–1 4–1 4–0 0–1
Middlesbrough 0–4 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–2 5–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 — 1–4 1–3 2–0 1–1 2–0
Newcastle United 0–2 3–0 2–1 3–2 3–0 1–2 1–0 6–2 1–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 0–2 4–3 3–0 — 3–1 1–1 0–2 3–1
Southampton 0–2 1–3 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–3 0–1 2–2 2–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 — 2–0 1–0 2–0
Sunderland 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 1–3 0–1 0–1 1–1 — 1–2 1–0
Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–1 2–3 3–1 1–1 4–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–5 2–1 1–3 2–0 2–1 — 1–1
West Ham United 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–5 1–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 —
Source: 11v11
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
Arsenal's Thierry Henry was the top scorer, with 24 goals.
Rank Player Club Goals
1 France Thierry Henry Arsenal 24
2 Netherlands Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Chelsea 23
Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United
England Alan Shearer Newcastle United
5 England Michael Owen Liverpool 19
6 Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær Manchester United 17
7 England Robbie Fowler Liverpool
Leeds United		 15
8 Iceland Eiður Guðjohnsen Chelsea 14
Latvia Marians Pahars Southampton
10 England Andy Cole Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers		 13

Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks
The 2001–02 Premier League season would see Robbie Fowler score his final hat-tricks of his professional career.
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
England Robbie FowlerLiverpoolLeicester City4–1 (A)20 October 2001[9]
England Paul KitsonWest Ham UnitedCharlton Athletic4–4 (A)19 November 2001[10]
Netherlands Ruud van NistelrooyManchester UnitedSouthampton6–1 (H)22 December 2001[11]
England Robbie FowlerLeeds UnitedBolton Wanderers3–0 (A)26 December 2001[12]
Norway Ole Gunnar SolskjærManchester UnitedBolton Wanderers4–0 (A)29 January 2002[13]
Netherlands Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkPChelseaTottenham Hotspur4–0 (H)13 March 2002[14]
Germany Fredi BobicBolton WanderersIpswich Town4–1 (H)6 April 2002[15]
Note: P Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists
Arsenal's Robert Pires was the top assist provider with 15 goals for the club in the 2001–02 Premier League season.
Rank Player Club Assists[16]
1 France Robert Pires Arsenal 15
2 Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 12
Wales Ryan Giggs Manchester United
4 France Laurent Robert Newcastle United 11
5 Peru Nolberto Solano Newcastle United 9
Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær Manchester United
England Mark Venus Ipswich Town
8 England David Beckham Manchester United 8
Italy Benito Carbone Derby County
Middlesbrough
England Steven Gerrard Liverpool

Awards

Monthly awards
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August England Sam Allardyce Bolton Wanderers France Louis Saha Fulham
September England John Gregory Aston Villa Argentina Juan Sebastián Verón Manchester United
October England Glenn Hoddle Tottenham Hotspur England Rio Ferdinand Leeds United
November England Phil Thompson Liverpool England Danny Murphy Liverpool
December England Bobby Robson Newcastle United Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United
January Scotland Gordon Strachan Southampton England Marcus Bent Ipswich Town
February England Bobby Robson Newcastle United Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United
March France Gérard Houllier
England Phil Thompson		 Liverpool Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal
April France Arsène Wenger Arsenal Sweden Freddie Ljungberg

Annual awards
Award Winner Club
Premier League Manager of the Season France Arsène Wenger Arsenal
Premier League Player of the Season Sweden Freddie Ljungberg Arsenal
PFA Players' Player of the Year Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United
PFA Young Player of the Year Wales Craig Bellamy Newcastle United
FWA Footballer of the Year France Robert Pires Arsenal
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Republic of Ireland Shay Given (Newcastle United)
Defence Republic of Ireland Steve Finnan (Fulham) England Rio Ferdinand (Leeds United) Finland Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool) England Wayne Bridge (Southampton)
Midfield France Robert Pires (Arsenal) Republic of Ireland Roy Keane (Manchester United) France Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) Wales Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Attack Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) France Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

See also

References
  1. "English Premier League 2001–02". statto.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. "Robson leaves Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 5 June 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  3. "McClaren is new Boro boss". BBC Sport. 12 June 2001. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
  4. "Roeder confirmed as West Ham boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  5. "Todd's tough test". BBC Sport. 8 October 2001. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  6. "Derby sack Todd". BBC Sport. 14 January 2002. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  7. "Gregory resigns as Villa boss". BBC Sport. 24 January 2002. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  8. "Leicester appoint Adams". BBC Sport. 7 April 2002. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  9. Townsend, Nick (21 October 2001). "Fowler just the trick for 'babysitter'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  10. "Hammers held in thriller". BBC Sport. 19 November 2001. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. "United hit Saints for six". BBC Sport. 22 December 2001. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  12. "Fowler fires Leeds". BBC Sport. 26 December 2001. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  13. Gaunt, Ken. "Bolton 0 Manchester Utd 4". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  14. "Chelsea thrash Spurs". BBC Sport. 13 March 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  15. Hodgson, Guy (7 April 2002). "Ipswich doomed by Bobic". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  16. "Statistical Leaders – 2002". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
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