The 2001–02 season was the 122nd season of competitive
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in England.
Events
Arsenal cruise to title glory
In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought
Premiership title races for years,
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
won the championship by a seven-point margin. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the season when they beat defending champions
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
1–0 at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
. Four days earlier, they had also won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
with a 2–0 victory over
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
.
Their top scorer,
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
, was on target 24 times in the league alone.
One downside to the season was Arsenal's failure to progress to the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
.
Sir Alex puts off his retirement
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
announced in February that he would be postponing his retirement as Manchester United manager by at least
three more seasons after he signed a new contract as manager. The news came just after United completed an impressive revival in the Premiership which saw them rise from ninth to first in the space of two months.
On 8 December, United stood ninth in the Premiership – 11 points behind
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, who had a game in hand – and had lost five of their seven previous games in the aftermath of a 1–0 defeat at home to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. Even a
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
place appeared beyond reach. An eight-match winning run, however, saw United cruise to the top of the Premiership and they were soon challenging a three-horse race with Liverpool and Arsenal. They remained in the title race until the penultimate game of the season, when they lost 1–0 at home to Arsenal and surrendered the title crown to their opponents.
United's failure was largely put down to the inability to find a suitable replacement for
Jaap Stam, the Dutch central defender who had been sold to
Lazio
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for £16.25 million just after the start of the season. Another disappointment was the failure of
Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...
, at £28.1 million the most expensive player ever to sign for an English club, to never live up to his hefty price tag. On a positive note, Dutch striker
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven.
A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
lived up to his £19 million price tag by scoring 34 goals in all competitions during his first season at Old Trafford, breaking the club record that had been set by
Dennis Viollet
Dennis Sydney Viollet (20 September 1933 – 6 March 1999) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team. He was famous as one of the Busby Babes and survived the Munich air disa ...
40 seasons earlier.
After the season concluded, rumours began to circulate that Ferguson was about to break the English transfer record once again and sign
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
central-back
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...
in the hope that his side would return to their winning ways in
2002–03.
Ipswich fall from grace
A year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup and earning
George Burley
George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...
the Manager of the Year award,
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
dropped back into
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
. The
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
side had looked doomed by
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
after winning just one of their first 18 Premiership games. Then came a turnaround in form which saw them win seven out of eight fixtures and climb to 12th place, suggesting that they were safe. But another decline set in, and this time Ipswich were unable to halt it. Their relegation was confirmed with a 5–0 defeat away to runners-up Liverpool on the final day of the season.
Joining Ipswich in Division One would be already doomed
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
and
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, both going down after six seasons in the Premiership, the last of which had seen three different men take charge of the team.
West Brom and Birmingham back in the big time
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
and
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, who had last played in the top flight in
1985–86, were finally promoted back to the top division with Albion as Division One runners-up and Birmingham as playoff winners. In an ironic twist, Albion had overtaken another local rival in
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, which had been out of the top flight even longer, in the race for the run for second place by winning seven of their final nine league games. Birmingham's triumph was sealed by a penalty-shoot out win over
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
at the Millennium Stadium. They followed champions
Manchester City, managed by
Kevin Keegan, into the Premiership.
Back to back for Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
secured successive title winning promotions. This was a massive turnaround for the fortunes of the club which had between 1996 and 1998 finished second bottom of the football league and were on the verge of going out of business.
The Battle of Bramall Lane
One of the seven Albion in their promotion run came on 16 March 2002, against
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. This match would turn recent English football history, .
ITV Digital crisis plunges league clubs into turmoil
The collapse of debt-ridden ITV Digital in May 2002 plunged many Football League clubs into turmoil. The likes of Bradford City, Bury, Nottingham Forest, Watford, Barnsley, Lincoln City and Port Vale filed for
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
, fearful that the drastic loss of revenue would put them out of business.
Of all the troubled clubs, Bradford City's situation was the most precarious. The West Yorkshire club had debts of £36million and had failed to meet a deadline for a takeover deal. It seemed inevitable that the Bantams, who had gone into liquidation in 1983, would endure a total collapse and lose their place in the Football League. Their only hope was for the Football League to ignore their financial plight and allow them a place in Division One for the 2002–03 season.
Dario reaches managerial milestone
On 20 November 2001,
Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...
took charge of his 1,000 competitive game in charge of
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in Division One. Gradi had arrived at Crewe in June 1983, and he reached this landmark just four months into a season which had already seen a total of more than 20 managerial changes in the Premiership, Division One, Division Two and Division Three. Crewe ended the season by being relegated to Division Two but the club's directors showed no intention of parting company with the longest-serving manager at any
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
club.
Wimbledon get go-ahead for Milton Keynes move
Just after the end of the Division one season, a three-man panel of The FA gave permission for
Wimbledon FC
Wimbledon Football Club was an English association football, football club formed in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, south-west London, in 1889 and based at Plough Lane (1912–98), Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991. Founded as Wimbledon Old Centr ...
to move from their historic South London home to
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
. The move sparked outrage among Wimbledon supporters, who formed their own club –
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...
– in response to the controversial plans of chairman
Charles Koppel.
League tables
FA Premier League
Arsenal won their second Premier League title in five seasons, as well as their second
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
in the same period, after a remarkable season in which they fought with the rest of the top six for the title right up until the final stages. They scored in every Premier League game, were unbeaten away from home, and finished the league season with 13 successive wins – and also had the satisfaction of clinching the title with a win over Manchester United at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
in their penultimate game. Liverpool's second-place finish was their highest for 11 years, ironically ending Manchester United's top-two run which had started after theirs had ended. United had rallied well and led the league for a while after losing six league games between mid September and early December, but a few dropped points in the final two months of the season meant that they just couldn't get the better of Arsenal in the title race. Newcastle United, meanwhile, finished fourth in their third season under the management of 69-year-old
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
, their highest finish for five years.
Leeds United and Chelsea had to settle for UEFA Cup qualification after losing ground in the closing stages of the title race. Though it wasn't obvious at the time, Leeds's failure to qualify for the Champions League would trigger a financial implosion that would eventually see them relegated to the third tier and almost be expelled from the Football League within five years.
For the first time in 12 years, and the first time since the foundation of the Premier League, all three newly promoted top division sides avoided relegation. Blackburn Rovers fared the best, finishing 10th and winning the League Cup, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Fulham survived relatively comfortably, though a 13th-place finish was considered underwhelming, as their being managed by the highly regarded
Jean Tigana
Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...
and a substantial investment in players had caused most pundits to tip them to challenge for the European spots. Bolton Wanderers' strong start to the season meant that they survived in 16th place, despite their lackluster form for much of the rest of the season.
Leicester City's final season at
Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...
, their home for 111 years, ended in relegation after just five league wins. Joining them in Division One were their local rivals Derby County, who had coincidentally been promoted alongside them six years earlier. Derby had finished not far above the relegation zone in the previous two campaigns, but Leicester had been a top 10 side as recently as two years before their relegation, when they had also won their second League Cup in four seasons.
Last to go down were Ipswich Town, who had revived themselves mid-season after a disastrous start, but were unable to halt it after another slide towards the end of the campaign and any hopes of survival were ended on the final day of the season when they were crushed by Liverpool, just one year after qualifying for Europe (albeit they would return to Europe via the Fair Play Award). Sunderland, who had fallen just one place short of Europe in the last two seasons, came just one place away from relegation.
Leading goalscorer:
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
(Arsenal), 24
First Division
Manchester City managed to make an immediate return from the previous season's relegation, and returned to the Premier League as champions. West Bromwich Albion built on their surprise play-off appearance the previous year, achieving automatic promotion to the top-flight for the first time since 1986 at the expense of local rivals Wolves, who had looked all set for promotion just weeks earlier, but went out of the playoffs against Norwich. The play-offs were won by Birmingham City, finally earning promotion after two successive disappointments, and also returning to the top flight for the first time since 1986.
Burnley finished seventh for the second season running, only missing out on the playoffs on goal difference. Local rivals Preston finished eighth, with former Scotland manager
Craig Brown now at the helm after
David Moyes left for Everton.
Stockport County endured a dismal season despite the high-profile appointment of
Carlton Palmer
Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965) is an English football manager, former footballer and football television pundit whose last management role was as manager of Grantham Town.
As a player, he was a midfielder from 1984 to 2005, play ...
as manager, and fell into Division Two. Barnsley also went down, despite a play-off final appearance only two years previously. The final relegation spot was filled by Crewe, who for once were unable to pull off a survival act.
Top Goalscorer:
Shaun Goater
Leonard Shaun Goater, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 25 February 1970) is a Bermuda, Bermudian former professional Association football, footballer, coach and pundit, he currently works as a youth coach at Manchester City F.C., Manchest ...
(
Manchester City) – 28
Second Division
Brighton earned a second successive championship, despite the loss of manager
Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...
early in the season – however, they would also have to cope with the loss of replacement manager Peter Taylor after the season ended. Reading earned the runners-up spot after four seasons in Division Two, and the play-offs were won by Stoke City who, despite this success, sacked manager
Gudjon Thordarson immediately afterwards (leaving Reading in the odd position of being the only top six side to start the 2002–03 season with the same manager that they had at the start of the 2001–02 season).
QPR came out of administration at the end of a season where they finished a respectable eighth in their first campaign at this level since the 1960s, featuring in the race for a playoff place until the penultimate game of the season. Wigan Athletic finished a disappointing tenth after successive playoff appearances, but kept faith in manager
Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town.
Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a ...
to deliver promotion in his second season at the helm.
Cambridge United were cut adrift early in the season, and never looked to have much chance of surviving. Long-time Division Two members Wrexham never recovered from a bad start, and also went down. Bury suffered a financial crisis off the pitch and the effects of this ultimately affected the team's performance and sent them down to the League's bottom tier. The final relegation spot was filled by
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
.
Leading goalscorer:
Bobby Zamora (Brighton and Hove Albion) – 28
Third Division
Plymouth and Luton were involved in a close fight for the divisional title for the whole season; ultimately Plymouth won out, with Luton taking the runners-up spot and making an immediate return to Division Two after going down the previous season. The third automatic spot was closely contested between Mansfield and Cheltenham; Mansfield were the ultimate victors despite some poor results late in the season, but Cheltenham would win promotion anyway through the play-offs.
This was the final season where only a single team would drop out of the League into the Conference. Ultimately there proved to be little drama about who would go down, as it became obvious from the first few weeks that Halifax Town were doomed, never managing to earn enough wins to have any serious chance of survival.
Leading goalscorer:
Steve Howard
Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength.
Club career Early career
Howard began his career at non- ...
(Luton Town) – 24
Diary of the season
*21 June 2001 –
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
sign
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
defender
John Arne Riise
John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes.
With 110 caps, Riise is ...
from
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
for £4.6 million.
*25 June 2001 –
Newcastle United pay £6million to
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
for winger
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...
.
*26 June 2001 – After a year with
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel Laurent Petit (born 22 September 1970) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder at club level for Arsenal, Barcelona, Monaco, and Chelsea. He represented France at international level in two FIFA ...
returns to England to join
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in a £7.5 million deal.
*4 July 2001 –
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
pay a club record £4.75million for
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
striker
Jason Euell
Jason Joseph Euell (born 6 February 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as either a forward or a midfielder.
He spent much of his career playing in the Premier League, with all but one season between 1995 and 2007 in the top f ...
.
*9 July 2001 – Goalkeeper
Ian Walker, who has spent his entire 13-year playing career at
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, joins
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
for £2.5 million.
*11 July 2001 –
Rory Delap
Rory John Delap (born 6 July 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he made 11 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Delap started his career at Carlisle United and impressed en ...
becomes
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
's most expensive player in a £4 million move from
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
sign
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
defender
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016.
Southgate won the League Cup ...
for £6 million. Also on his way out of
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
is goalkeeper
David James, in a £3.5 million move to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
.
*12 July 2001 –
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
break the English transfer fee record by paying
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£28.1 million for
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
midfielder
Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...
.
*17 July 2001 –
Everton sign Canadian striker
Tomasz Radzinski
Tomasz Radzinski (born 14 December 1973) is a former professional soccer player who played as a striker and winger. He featured for clubs including North York Rockets in Canada, Germinal Ekeren, Anderlecht (where he won the national champions ...
from
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
for £4.5 million.
*20 July 2001 –
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
sell
Christian Ziege
Christian Ziege (; born 1 February 1972) is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau.
A defender, he started his playing career at FC Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup be ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
for £4 million.
*27 July 2001 – Manchester United sign
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
goalkeeper
Roy Carroll
Roy Eric Carroll (born 30 September 1977) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for his spells at Wigan Athletic, Manchester United (where he won a Premier League winners medal and the 20 ...
from
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
for £2.5 million.
*1 August 2001 –
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
sign
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
from
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
for £5 million.
*2 August 2001 –
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
striker
John Hartson joins
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
for £6 million.
*8 August 2001 – Coventry City pay £5 million (a record for a Division One club) for
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
striker
Lee Hughes
Lee Hughes (born 22 May 1976) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Stourport Swifts.
A strong striker with excellent finishing abilities, Hughes represented the England semi-professional team once in 1996. ...
.
*4 August 2001 –
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
goalkeeper
Aaron Flahavan
Aaron Adam Flahavan (15 December 1975 – 5 August 2001) was an English Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth.
Life and career
Flahavan played for the Southam ...
, 25, is killed in a car crash just outside
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
.
*16 August 2001 –
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
move into their new 12,500-seat
Kassam Stadium
The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam.
The Kassam Stadium currently hosts League One (third t ...
after six years of waiting, but their arrival is soured by a 2–1 home defeat against
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
in
Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...
.
*17 August 2001 – Everton sell defender
Michael Ball
Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
to
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
for £6.5 million.
*18 August 2001 – The Premier League season begins with newly promoted Bolton Wanderers winning 5–0 at Leicester City.
*19 August 2001 –
**Former
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
,
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
,
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
,
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
and
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
goalkeeper
Les Sealey
Leslie Jesse Sealey (29 September 1957 – 19 August 2001) was an English professional footballer and coach.
He played as a goalkeeper, most notably in the top flight for Coventry City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and West Ham United. ...
dies of a heart attack at the age of 43.
**Defending league champions Manchester United are host to Fulham in their first top flight game since 1968. United win 3–2, with new signing
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven.
A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
scoring twice for United while
Louis Saha
Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, h ...
scores both of Fulham's consolation goals.
*25 August 2001 –
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
lose 2–0 to
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in their first competitive game at the new 32,689-seat
St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of Premier League club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest football stadium ...
. Bolton completed a three-match winning start to the season by beating Liverpool 2–1 at the
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming righ ...
.
*27 August 2001 –
Jaap Stam, who recently revealed in his autobiography that
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
approached him without his club's permission when signing him three years ago, joins
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
for £16.25 million.
*31 August 2001 – The first month of the league season ends with newly promoted Bolton Wanderers, tipped by many to go straight back down this season, as Premier League leaders with three straight wins including a 5–0 away win over bottom placed Leicester City. Everton, Leeds United, Arsenal and Manchester United complete the top five, while Leicester City are joined in the bottom three by Middlesbrough and Southampton
In the race to reach the Premier League,
Manchester City,
Bradford City A.F.C., Bradford City,
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
and
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
are level on points at the top of Division One, with
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
a point behind them in sixth place.
*8 September 2001 – Liverpool's slow start to the season continues as Aston Villa beat them 3–1 at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
in the Premier League.
*12 September 2001 – All
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
fixtures are cancelled following yesterday's
terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
in the United States of America.
*13 September 2001 –
Cardiff City pay £1.7 million for
Stoke City striker
Peter Thorne in one of Division Two's biggest transfer fees yet.
*21 September 2001 – Tottenham Hotspur pay Southampton £8.1 million for defender
Dean Richards.
*27 September 2001 –
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
signs a new four-year contract with
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, with a £70,000 weekly wage making him the most highly paid player in the club's history.
*29 September 2001 –
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
surrender a 3–0 home lead over
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the FA Premier League and end up losing the game 5–3.
*30 September 2001 –
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
sack manager
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
after 15 months in charge. His team have finished September in bottom place (they were top of the league this time last year before a late season slump dragged them into the bottom half of the table), in the Premier League relegation zone along with Derby County and West Ham United. At the top end of the table, Arsenal lead over Manchester United on goal difference, while Leeds United, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland complete the top five
Wolverhampton Wanderers lead Division One, with Burnley in second place.
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, Norwich City,
Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace and Manchester City complete the top six
*6 October 2001 – A late equalizer by
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
against
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
gains England automatic qualification for next summer's
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
. However, the game is marred by a series of
hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
incidents in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
on the day among fans of Manchester United, Manchester City and Stoke City.
*7 October 2001 –
Jim Smith resigns after six years as manager of
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
and is replaced by his assistant
Colin Todd
Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
.
*9 October 2001 –
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
knock holders Liverpool out of the Worthington Cup 2–1 at the third round stage. This was the first ever victory at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
for the Mariners. The winning goal was scored in the last minute of extra time, a stunning long-range strike by Liverpudlian
Phil Jevons
Phillip Jevons (born 1 August 1979) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a forward who played between 1996 and 2014 for Everton, Grimsby Town, Hull City, Yeovil Town, Bristol City, Huddersfield ...
.
*10 October 2001 –
Dave Bassett
David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...
is named as
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
's new manager, with
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
manager
Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...
being appointed as his assistant.
*13 October 2001 –
** – Liverpool boss
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, U ...
is taken to hospital after complaining about chest pains, during the home draw against Leeds United. He undergoes emergency heart surgery and leaves
Phil Thompson
Philip Bernard Thompson (born 21 January 1954) is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and ...
in sole control at Anfield, until April.
*** – Blackburn Rovers match their Premier League record win by demolishing West Ham United 7–1 at
Ewood Park.
*17 October 2001 – Just over two weeks after being sacked by Leicester City,
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
returns to management with
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
.
*18 October 2001 – Leeds United sign midfielder
Seth Johnson
Seth Art Maurice Johnson (born 12 March 1979) is an English retired footballer. He spent his career at Crewe Alexandra, Derby County and Leeds United, and played one international for England in 2000.
Club career
Johnson attended Westcliff P ...
from Derby County for £7 million.
*20 October 2001 – Liverpool boost their hopes of a first top division title since 1990 by beating Leicester City 4–1 at
Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...
, with
Robbie Fowler scoring a hat-trick.
*22 October 2001 –
Bertie Mee
Bertram Mee OBE (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Derby County and Mansfield Town. Mee was also a manager, noted for leading Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971.
Playing career
Bor ...
, the manager of
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
's 1971 double-winning team, dies aged 82.
*27 October 2001 – Aston Villa go top of the Premier League with a 3–2 home win over Bolton Wanderers.
*31 October 2001 – October finishes with Aston Villa top of the Premier League for the first time in nearly three years. The top five is completed by Leeds United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. Leicester City, still with only one win this season, remain bottom of the Premier League with Derby County and Southampton also in the relegation zone
Wolverhampton Wanderers remain top of Division One, with second place now occupied by a
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
side who are aiming for an immediate return to the Premier League under new player-manager
Roland Nilsson
Nils Lennart Roland Nilsson (born 27 November 1963) is a Swedish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg. As a player, Nilsson played 116 games for Sweden, mak ...
. The playoff zone is occupied by Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Manchester City and
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
*4 November 2001 – Arsenal suffer a shock 4–2 league home defeat to Charlton Athletic.
*19 November 2001 – Out of favour striker
Paul Kitson
Paul Kitson (born 9 January 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and West Ham United, as well as in the Football League with
Leicester Cit ...
scores a hat-trick for West Ham United in a 4–4 deaw at Charlton Athletic in the Premier League.
*23 November 2001 –
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
, bottom of the Premier League after finishing fifth last season, pay Blackburn Rovers £3 million for striker
Marcus Bent
Marcus Nathan Bent (born 19 May 1978) is a retired English professional footballer. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker played 573 games and scored 113 goals for fourteen different clubs. His numerous transfer fees ...
.
*25 November 2001 – Manchester United's dismal run of form continues with a 3–1 defeat at Arsenal.
*29 November 2001 –
Robbie Fowler ends a decade at Liverpool in an £11 million move to Leeds United.
*30 November 2001 – Liverpool are the month-end Premier League leaders, with Leeds United, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Aston Villa completing the top five. Manchester United, however, occupy a disappointing sixth place – the result of a series of dismal performances in recent weeks. Ipswich Town, who finished fifth in the league last season, are now bottom of the table with just one win so far, while Leicester City and Derby County remain in the drop zone – but only level on goal difference with Southampton
Burnley are the new leaders of Division One, having leapfrogged Wolverhampton Wanderers into second place. Norwich City, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace complete the top six
*1 December 2001 –
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
writes off Manchester United's chances of a unique fourth successive league title triumph after the latest of several defeats sees them lose 3–0 at home to Chelsea.
*5 December 2001 – Southampton buy striker
Brett Ormerod
Brett Ryan Ormerod (born 18 October 1976) is an English retired professional footballer. A forward, he made 340 appearances in the Football League, including 215 for Blackpool, for whom he is the only player to have scored in all of the top four ...
from
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
for £1.75 million.
*8 December 2001 –
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
lose 1–0 at home to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, completing a dismal run of six defeats from seven Premiership fixtures, leaving them ninth in the league – 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
*12 December 2001 – After weeks of predominantly dismal results, Manchester United get back to their winning ways with a comprehensive 5–0 win over struggling Derby County.
*13 December 2001 – Division One promotion chasers
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
sign
Rangers striker
Kenny Miller
Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic.
Miller began his career at ...
for £3 million after a successful loan spell.
*22 December 2001 – Ipswich Town record only their second league win over the season by beating Tottenham 2–1 at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
. Manchester United's revival continues as they beat Southampton 6–1 at Old Trafford.
*23 December 2001 – Liverpool sign
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
striker
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level.
In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...
from
Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''.
...
for £3.5 million.
*26 December 2001 – The highlight of
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
sees Manchester United extend their revival and winning run to four games with a 2–0 win at Everton.
*29 December 2001 –
Andy Cole signs for Blackburn Rovers in an £8million deal after seven years at Manchester United.
*30 December 2001 – Manchester United make it five league wins in a row as they beat Fulham 3–2 at
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...
, with
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...
scoring twice.
*31 December 2001 – 2001 draws to a close with Arsenal leading the Premier League on goal difference ahead of Newcastle United, with third placed Leeds United just a point off the top, while fourth placed Liverpool are two points off the top with a game in hand. A resurgent Manchester United are now fifth and just three points off the top, three weeks after being ninth in the league and 11 points off the top
Burnley continue to lead the way in Division One, a point ahead of their nearest rivals Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Norwich City,
Millwall F.C., Millwall and Birmingham City complete the top six
*1 January –
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
scores twice as a 3–1 win over Newcastle United extend Manchester United's winning run to six games.
*4 January/5 January 2002 – The third round of the FA Cup produces some memorable results. Derby County lose 3–1 at home to Division Three strugglers Bristol Rovers, which is yet more trauma for a club who are deep in the Premier League relegation mire. Leeds United, chasing the Premier League title, are knocked out of the FA Cup by Division Two side Cardiff City. Manchester United, meanwhile, beat Aston Villa 3–2 after being 2–0 down with 15 minutes remaining.
*13 January 2002 – A 3–1 win at Southampton takes Manchester United top of the Premier League on goal difference after seven successive wins lifted them from ninth place.
*14 January 2002 –
Colin Todd
Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
is sacked after three months as Derby County manager.
*19 January 2002 – Manchester United extend their winning run to eight league games with a 2–1 home win over Blackburn.
*22 January 2002 – Manchester United boost their attack with a £7.5 million move for
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
an striker
Diego Forlán
Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...
from
Independiente of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
*24 January 2002 –
John Gregory resigns after four years as manager of
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
.
*30 January 2002 –
John Gregory returns to management six days after leaving
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
when he is named as the new manager of
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
.
*31 January 2002 – January ends with top place in the Premier League going to Manchester United, who were ninth in the table less than two months ago. In second place are Arsenal, who are four points behind with two games in hand. Bracketed together, one point behind Arsenal, are Liverpool and Newcastle United. Leeds United complete the top five. A terrible month for Leicester City has left them bottom of the table and eight points adrift of safety, with Derby County just one places and two points above them. Ipswich Town remain in the drop zone despite a recent run of good results, while a mere three points separate the next seven clubs – Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Everton, West Ham United and Sunderland
The race to get into the Premier League is now led by Manchester City, who are six points ahead of their nearest rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers at the top of Division One. West Bromwich Albion, Millwall, Burnley and Crystal Palace complete the top six
*2 February 2002 – Manchester United's 4–1 home win over Sunderland extends their winning run in the league to nine games.
*4 February 2002 – Newcastle United pay
Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest £5 million for winger
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Ho ...
.
*5 February 2002 – Division One leaders
Manchester City pay a club record £5 million for
Preston North End striker
Jon Macken.
*24 February 2002 –
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
beat
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
2–1 at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
to win the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
for the first time in their history.
*28 February 2002 – Sir Alex Ferguson changes his mind about retiring as Manchester United manager at the end of the season and signs a new contract which will keep him at the club for at least another three seasons. His team are still top of the Premier League, followed by Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea. Leicester City are sinking deeper into relegation trouble at the other end of the table, while an upturn in fortunes for Derby County is suggesting that John Gregory is their saviour. Blackburn Rovers, meanwhile, have little time to saviour their recent League Cup glory; they are still in the relegation zone
The race to get into the Premier League is similarly tense, with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City leading the way but facing strong pressure from an improving West Bromwich Albion side. The top six is completed by Millwall, Burnley and Coventry City, while Birmingham City are moving closer to the playoff zone after a slow start to the season
*3 March 2002 – Manchester United are held to a surprise 2–2 draw at Derby County, with
Malcolm Christie
Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Initially playing at non-league level for Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough, he went on to play in the Premier League for bo ...
, a self-confessed United supporter, scoring both of Derby's goals.
*13 March 2002 –
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
is sacked by
Everton after nearly four years as manager; they are reportedly interested in recruiting
David Moyes from Preston North End as his successor.
*15 March 2002 – David Moyes is appointed manager of Everton
*16 March 2002 – Everton beat Fulham 2–1 at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
in their first match under the management of David Moyes
Liverpool and Manchester United both win their games today to keep the title challenge fierce. In Division One, meanwhile, Stockport suffered the earliest post-war relegation by any other team after they lost 3-1 away to Wimbledon.
*17 March 2002 – Arsenal continue to keep up the heat in the title challenge with a 2–1 win at Aston Villa.
*20 March 2002 –
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, U ...
returns to Liverpool after a six-month spell out. He watches his side defeat Roma in the
UEFA Champions League, Champions League.
*23 March 2002 – Manchester United's title hopes are dented by a 1–0 home defeat by Middlesbrough.
*24 March 2002 – Liverpool boost their title hopes when a last gasp goal by
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer (, born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he play ...
gives them a 1–0 home win over Chelsea.
*27 March 2002 –
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
sign 6' 7" striker
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...
from
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
for £5million.
*30 March 2002 – On the day of
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
's death, Manchester United remain firmly in the hunt for the Premier League title with a thrilling 4–3 win over Leeds United at
Elland Road
Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England.
The g ...
. However, Arsenal and Liverpool both win their games, keeping the title challenge heated.
*31 March 2002 – The Premier League title race remains in full swing as March draws to a close. Liverpool are now top, Manchester United are second, and Arsenal are third, though Arsenal are two points off the top with two games in hand. The threat from the other top six clubs – Chelsea, Leeds United and Newcastle United – is now virtually non existent. Meanwhile, Leicester City's relegation is looking almost certain, while they and Derby County have been joined in the relegation zone by an Ipswich Town side whose resurgence in late winter appeared to have saved their Premier League status
Manchester City lead the way in Division One, with Wolverhampton Wanderers still second but just three points ahead of nearest rivals West Bromwich Albion. Just three points separate the next six teams – Burnley, Millwall, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Preston North End and Norwich City
*1 April 2002 – Arsenal go top of the Premier League with a 1–0 win at Charlton.
*4 April 2002 –
Dave Bassett
David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...
becomes director of football at
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
and he hands managerial duties over to his assistant
Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...
.
*5 April 2002 - Manchester City returned to Premiership after only a season out after
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
suffered a 1–0 away defeat at Millwall.
*6 April 2002 –
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
's relegation is confirmed as they lost 1–0 at home to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, whose crucial win keeps their title challenge alive. Arsenal remain in the lead with a 2–1 home win over Tottenham. A relegation crunch game at the Reebok Stadium sees Bolton beat Ipswich 4–1, with
Fredi Bobic
Fredi Bobic ( sl, Fredi Bobič, born 30 October 1971) is a German football executive and former player who played as a striker. He is the sporting director of Bundesliga club Hertha BSC.
Club career
Bobic was born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia, ...
scoring a hat-trick.
Manchester City secured the Division One title after thrashing Barnsley 5–1 at Maine Road.
*21 April 2002 –
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
clinch promotion to the FA Premier League with a 2–0 win over
Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace which ends their 16-year exile from the top flight.
*30 April 2002 – April draws to a close with Arsenal top of the Premier League with Manchester United and Liverpool still in contention, while Leicester City and Derby County have both been relegated. Ipswich Town occupy the last relegation place but will need to win their final game of the season and hope that Sunderland lose theirs if Premier League football is to be played at
Portman Road
Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...
and not the
Stadium of Light next season
*2 May 2002 – 45 police officers are injured when
Millwall F.C., Millwall fans riot at the end of the Division One playoff fixture against
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
*4 May 2002 –
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
clinch the eighth FA Cup victory of their history with a 2–0 win over
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
.
*8 May 2002 –
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
beat defending champions Manchester United 1–0 at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
to complete their second double in five seasons.
*10 May 2002 –
Marlon King
Marlon Francis King (born 26 April 1980) is a Jamaican former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Born and raised in south London, he started his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet. He played for Barnet, Gillingham ...
, 22-year-old
Gillingham striker, is jailed for 18 months for driving a stolen car.
*12 May 2002 – On the final day of the Premier League season, Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 5–0 to confirm second place (their first top two finish since 1991). That heavy defeat meant that the Tractor Boys’ were relegated and it also resulted in Manchester United being forced to settle for third place – leaving them outside the top two for the first time since 1991 and they also fail to finish winners or runners-up of a major competition for the first time since 1989. Sunderland confirm their survival with a 1–1 home draw against already relegated Derby County. Bottom club Leicester City finish the season with only their fifth league win, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in their final game at
Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...
, their home for 111 years, before relocation to the
Walkers Stadium
King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...
.
*19 May 2002 –
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
win promotion to the Premier League on penalties in the Division One playoff final, while fellow promoted side Manchester City sign
Sylvain Distin from
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
for £4 million.
*21 May 2002 – The Premier League and
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
officials announce their opposition to
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's plans to operate a
transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
system which could see mid-season transfers only permitted to take place during one month of the season
A record eight black players are capped by England in the World Cup warm-up match in South Korea which ends in a 1–1 dra
*30 May 2002 – Leicester City sell
Robbie Savage
Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, now a football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield.
During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, ...
to
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
for £1.25 million.
*2 June 2002 – England open their World Cup campaign with a 1–1 draw against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
in Group F.
*7 June 2002 – A
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
penalty gives England a 1–0 win over
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in their second World Cup fixture. Manchester City prepare for their Premier League comeback by paying a club record £13 million for Paris Saint-Germain striker
Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
, who spent most of last season on loan at Liverpool.
*12 June 2002 – England secure qualification for the last 16 of the World Cup with a 0–0 draw against
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
*15 June 2002 – England defeat
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
3–0 in the World Cup second round.
*21 June 2002 – Despite taking a 23rd-minute lead thanks to
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
, England's World Cup campaign ends in the quarter-finals with a 2–1 defeat to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
*22 June 2002 – Newcastle United pay £8.5 million for 19-year-old
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
midfielder
Hugo Viana
Hugo Miguel Ferreira Gomes Viana (; born 15 January 1983) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
After starting out at Sporting CP he moved abroad at the age of 19, going on to have unassuming spell ...
from
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
.
*25 June 2002 – Liverpool sign
El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (; born 15 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer. Throughout his career, Diouf played as a winger or a forward.
Having started his professional football career in France with Sochaux, Rennes ...
from
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
for £10 million.
Promoted teams
''From Division One to The Premier League:''
:
Manchester City
:
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
:
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
''From Division Two to Division One:''
:
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
:
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
:
Stoke City
''From Division Three to Division Two:''
:
Plymouth Argyle
:
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
:
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
:
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
''From The
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
to Division Three:''
:
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...
Relegated teams
''From The Premier League to Division One:''
:
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
:
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
:
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
''From Division One to Division Two:''
:
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
:
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
:
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
''From Division Two to Division Three:''
:
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
:
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
:
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
:
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
''From Division Three to The Football Conference:''
:
Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...
Transfer deals
;1 August 2001
*
Christian Ziege
Christian Ziege (; born 1 February 1972) is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau.
A defender, he started his playing career at FC Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup be ...
from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, £4m
;2 August 2001
*
John Hartson from
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
to
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
, £6.5m
;3 August 2001
*
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player.
A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio, and also played for Middlesbrough, ...
from
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
to
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
, free
;9 August 2001
*
Jon Harley
Jon Harley (born 26 September 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer.
A left-back, he played for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Fulham F.C., Fulham in the Premier League, Wimbledon F.C., Wimbledon, Sheffield United ...
from
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, £3.5m
*
Lee Hughes
Lee Hughes (born 22 May 1976) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Stourport Swifts.
A strong striker with excellent finishing abilities, Hughes represented the England semi-professional team once in 1996. ...
from
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
to
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
, £5m
;10 August 2001
*
Laurent Robert
Pierre Laurent Robert (born 21 May 1975) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a left winger, and represented the France national team.
Robert began his professional career in his native France before making a move to English ...
from
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
to
Newcastle United, £10.5m
*
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
from
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, £7m
*
Boudewijn Zenden
Boudewijn Zenden (; born 15 August 1976) also known by his nickname "Bolo", is a Dutch former footballer who played as a left winger or as an attacking midfielder.
Named the 1997 Dutch Football Talent of the Year, Zenden played for four teams in ...
from
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
to
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, £7.5m
;14 August 2001
*
Steed Malbranque
Steed Claude Malbranque (born 6 January 1980) is a French former professional footballer.
Malbranque started his professional career with Olympique Lyonnais, before moving to England in 2001, where he had spells with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur an ...
from
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, £5m
;16 August 2001
*
Kasey Keller
Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...
from
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, free
;24 August 2001
*
Boško Balaban
Boško Balaban (born 15 October 1978) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a striker. Balaban also played for the Croatia national team.
Club career Early career
Born in Rijeka, he started playing for local club HNK Rijeka and appear ...
from
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
to
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, £6m
;31 August 2001
*
Jerzy Dudek from
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...
to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, £4.85m
*
Don Hutchison
Donald Hutchison (born 9 May 1971) is a former professional footballer. Hutchison is a football television pundit and commentator for Talksport and ESPN FC.
As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpoo ...
from
Sunderland to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, £5m
*
Chris Kirkland
Christopher Edmund Kirkland (born 2 May 1981) is an English football coach and former professional goalkeeper who is now the head goalkeeping coach at Colne. As a player, he made 321 league and cup appearances in an 18-year professional career ...
from
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, £6m
;3 September 2001
*
Laurent Blanc
Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...
from
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, free
*
Steve Marlet
Steve Marlet (born 10 January 1974) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was capped 23 times and scored six goals for the French national team, winning the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003 and featuring at E ...
from
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, £13.5m
;14 September 2001
*
Tomáš Řepka
Tomáš Řepka (born 2 January 1974) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender for Baník Ostrava, Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, West Ham United and České Budějovice, and the Czech national team. Currently, Řepka is p ...
from
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, £5.5m
;24 September 2001
*
Dean Richards from
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, £8.1m
;19 October 2001
*
Seth Johnson
Seth Art Maurice Johnson (born 12 March 1979) is an English retired footballer. He spent his career at Crewe Alexandra, Derby County and Leeds United, and played one international for England in 2000.
Club career
Johnson attended Westcliff P ...
from
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
to
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, £7m
;30 November 2001
*
Robbie Fowler from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, £11m
;7 December 2001
*
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna (born July 20, 1973) is an American former professional soccer player and current executive. He most recently served as sporting director of Austin FC.
A former midfielder, he spent most of his professional career in Europe, pla ...
from
Rangers to
Sunderland, £4.5m
;24 December 2001
*
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level.
In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...
from
Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''.
...
to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
;29 December 2001
*
Andy Cole from
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
to
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, £7.5m
;23 January 2002
*
Diego Forlán
Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...
from
Independiente to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, £7.5m
;30 January 2002
*
Abel Xavier
Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (; born 30 November 1972) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and ...
from
Everton to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, £800,000
;8 February 2002
*
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Ho ...
from
Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest to
Newcastle United, £5m
;18 February 2002
*
Kolo Touré
Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Co ...
from
ASEC Mimosas
The Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, literally Mimosas Commerce Employees' Sporting Association, is an Côte d'Ivoire, Ivorian Association football, football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ''ASEC Mimosas A ...
to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, Undisclosed
;6 March 2002
*
Jon Macken from
Preston North End to
Manchester City, £4m
;18 March 2002
*
Paul Gascoigne from
Everton to
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, free
;28 March 2002
*
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...
from
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, £4m
;18 April 2002
*
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp (born 25 June 1973) is an English former professional footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is a pundit at Sky Sports and an editorial sports columnist at the ''Daily Mail''. A technically skillful and creat ...
from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, free
For subsequent transfer deals see
2002–03 in English football.
Managerial changes
August
* 3 August 2001 –
Roy Evans
Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool. He eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become the team manager. While predominantly plyi ...
and
Neil Ruddock
Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television personality who is a club director at Enfield.
As a player he was a central defender from 1986 to 2003, and was voted the 17th "hardest football ...
take over at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
, replacing
Andy King Andrew or Andy King may refer to:
* Andrew King (astrophysicist) (born 1947), British astrophysicist
* Andrew King (architect), Canadian architect and cross-disciplinary artist
* Andrew King (mayor) (born 1960 or 1961), former mayor of Hamilton, Ne ...
(sacked 1 August)
September
* 13 September –
Colin Addison
Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...
takes over at
Swansea City, replacing
John Hollins
John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...
(sacked 12 September)
October
* 8 October –
Denis Smith takes over at
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, replacing
Brian Flynn
* 8 October –
Colin Todd
Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
takes over at
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
, replacing
Jim Smith (resigned same day)
* 10 October –
Dave Bassett
David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...
takes over at
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, replacing
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politi ...
(sacked 30 September)
* 10 October – Coach
Gary Brazil
Gary Nicholas Brazil (born 19 September 1962) is an English former professional footballer and football manager, who is now academy manager at Nottingham Forest. He scored 160 goals in 658 league and cup games in an 18-year professional career. ...
takes over at
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, replacing
Jocky Scott
John Alexander "Jocky" Scott (born 14 January 1948) is a Scottish football coach and former player.
During his playing career he played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Seattle Sounders and Scotland.
An extensive management career followed with spells a ...
(sacked 10 October)
* 12 October –
Alan Little takes over at
Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...
, replacing
Paul Bracewell
Paul William Bracewell (born 19 July 1962) is an English former professional football player and manager.
Bracewell played as a midfielder. He was a member of the Everton side that won the League title in 1985 and 1987 as well as the Europe ...
(resigned 30 August)
* 15 October –
Paul Brush
Paul Brush (born 22 February 1958) is an English former professional footballer and coach who played in the Football League for West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Southend United. He is best known for his time with West Ham United, for whom h ...
takes over at
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
, replacing
Tommy Taylor
Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster.
Career
Taylor was born in Smithies, ...
* 16 October –
Roland Nilsson
Nils Lennart Roland Nilsson (born 27 November 1963) is a Swedish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg. As a player, Nilsson played 116 games for Sweden, mak ...
takes over at
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
, replacing
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Cove ...
(resigned 10 September)
* 17 October – Peter Taylor takes over at
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
* 22 October – Gordon Strachan takes over at
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, replacing
Stuart Gray (sacked 21 October)
* 22 October – Caretaker manager
Rob Newman takes over at
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
, replacing
David Webb (resigned 9 October)
* 25 October –
Kevin Broadhurst takes over at
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
, replacing
Kevin Wilson (sacked 26 September)
* 25 October – Tommy Taylor takes over at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
until the end of the season, replacing
Gary Bennett (resigned 24 October)
* 30 October –
John Cornforth
Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel l ...
takes over at
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
, replacing
Noel Blake (sacked 23 September)
November
* 6 November –
Carlton Palmer
Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965) is an English football manager, former footballer and football television pundit whose last management role was as manager of Grantham Town.
As a player, he was a midfielder from 1984 to 2005, play ...
takes over at
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
, replacing
Andy Kilner
Andrew William Kilner (born 11 October 1966) is an English former professional footballer and manager. He began his career with Burnley, progressing through the club's youth system and making his professional debut in 1986 before being released ...
(sacked 29 October)
* 7 November –
Mick Wadsworth
Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player.
Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Tr ...
takes over at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
* 8 November –
David Moss takes over at
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
* 9 November –
Steve Parkin takes over at
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, replacing
Nigel Spackman
Nigel James Spackman (born 2 December 1960) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player he was as a midfielder from 1980 to 1998, notably for Liverpool, Chelsea and Rangers. He also ...
(sacked 25 October)
* 14 November –
Terry Yorath
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...
takes over at
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
, replacing
Peter Shreeves
Peter Shreeves (born 30 November 1940) is a Welsh former football player, manager and coach.
Career
Shreeves was born in Neath in South Wales where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II, but was brought up i ...
(left 17 October)
* 30 November –
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player foll ...
takes over at
Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace, replacing
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
(resigned 2 November)
* 30 November –
Ian Atkins
Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...
takes over at
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
, replacing
Mark Wright (resigned)
December
* 11 December – John Hollins takes over at
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
, replacing Steve Parkin
* 12 December – Steve Bruce takes over at
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, replacing Trevor Francis (left 15 October)
* 22 December – Andy King is reappointed at Swindon Town, replacing Roy Evans (resigned as Director of Football 20 December)
* 28 December –
Garry Thompson takes over at
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
for the second time, replacing
Gerry Francis (resigned 24 December)
* 28 December –
Paul Groves takes over at
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
, replacing Lennie Lawrence (resigned)
January
* 1 January –
Nicky Law takes over at
Bradford City A.F.C., Bradford City, replacing
Jim Jefferies (resigned 24 December)
* 6 January –
John Taylor takes over at
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
, replacing
John Beck (resigned 22 November)
* 7 January –
Billy Dearden
William Dearden (born 11 February 1944) is an English former footballer and manager who is now chief scout at Sheffield United. As a player, he scored 101 goals in 404 league games in a 16-year career in the English Football League.
A strike ...
takes over at Notts County, replacing Gary Brazil (steps back down to coach)
* 9 January – Assistant manager
Stuart Watkiss
Stuart Watkiss (born 8 May 1966) is an English football coach and former professional player who is the assistant coach of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
As a player, he was a defender and notably played in the Football League with Wolv ...
takes over at
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
, replacing Billy Dearden (resigned 6 January)
* 23 January –
Colin Lee
Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard.
Playing career
Lee began his football career ...
takes over at
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, replacing
Ray Graydon
Raymond Jack Graydon (born 21 July 1947) is an English former footballer and manager. In a 16-year professional career in the English Football League and North American Soccer League he scored 139 goals in 484 league and cup appearances.
A win ...
(sacked 22 January)
* 30 January –
John Gregory takes over at Derby County, replacing Colin Todd (sacked 14 January after just 98 days as manager)
February
* 5 February –
Non-executive director
A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...
Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...
takes over as manager at
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, replacing John Gregory (resigned 24 January)
* 18 February – Director of Football
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence (born 12 December 1947) is an English former football manager, player and football consultant who is non-executive director at EFL League Two side Hartlepool United.
Lawrence was a semi-professional at Croydon, Carshalto ...
takes over as manager at
Cardiff City, replacing
Alan Cork
Alan Graham Cork (born 4 March 1959) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker for several clubs, most notably Wimbledon (where he spent 14 years, played in all four divisions of the Football League and gained an FA C ...
(resigned)
* 22 February –
Dave Rushbury takes over at
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
, replacing
Nicky Law (resigned 1 January)
March
* 14 March –
David Moyes takes over at
Everton, replacing
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
(left 12 March)
* 25 March – Director of Football
Harry Redknapp takes over at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, replacing
Graham Rix
Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. He is the current manager of Fareham Town.
He played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Cae ...
(sacked)
;April
* 4 April –
Micky Adams
Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...
takes over at Leicester City, replacing Dave Bassett (becomes Director of Football)
* 4 April –
Jan Mølby
Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in Engl ...
takes over at
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, replacing
Brian Little (left 27 February)
* 24 April –
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player.
McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...
takes over at Coventry City, replacing Roland Nilsson (sacked 16 April)
* 25 April –
Ray Graydon
Raymond Jack Graydon (born 21 July 1947) is an English former footballer and manager. In a 16-year professional career in the English Football League and North American Soccer League he scored 139 goals in 484 league and cup appearances.
A win ...
takes over at Bristol Rovers, replacing Garry Thompson (sacked 9 April)
* 25 April –
Ian Britton takes over at
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
, replacing Jan Molby (resigned 4 April)
* 29 April –
Craig Brown takes over at
Preston North End, replacing David Moyes (left 14 March)
May
* 5 May – Caretaker
Keith Alexander takes over at
Lincoln City, replacing
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside.
As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, ...
(left 25 April)
* 9 May –
Leroy Rosenior
Leroy De Graft Rosenior (born 24 August 1964) is a football coach and pundit. He is a former footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (for whom he appeared as a substitute in the 1986 League Cup Final), Bristol City and Wes ...
takes over at
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
, replacing
Roy McFarland
Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and former player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England.
Playing career
Born in Liverpool, McFarland was a player f ...
(sacked 23 April)
* 27 May –
Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town.
Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...
takes over at
Stoke City, replacing
Gudjon Thordarson (sacked 16 May)
* 29 May –
Paul Simpson takes over at Rochdale, replacing John Hollins (sacked 13 May)
* 30 May – Coach
Graham Allner takes over at
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
, replacing Steve Cotterill (resigned 16 May)
* 31 May – Coach
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...
takes over at Oldham Athletic, replacing Mick Wadsworth (sacked)
June
* June – Stuart Murdoch takes over at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, replacing
Terry Burton
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albrit ...
(left 25 April)
* 28 June – Assistant
Wally Downes takes over at
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
, replacing
Steve Coppell (resigned 6 June)
July
* 1 July –
Mick Wadsworth
Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player.
Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Tr ...
takes over at
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
, replacing
Lou Macari
Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...
* 11 July –
Ray Lewington
Raymond Lewington (born 7 September 1956) is an English retired footballer. He was most recently assistant manager of Watford.
Born in London, he started his playing career in the city at Chelsea. He went on to play for Vancouver Whitecaps, W ...
takes over at
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, replacing
Gianluca Vialli
* July –
Chris Wilder
Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He was most recently the manager of club Middlesbrough ...
takes over at Halifax Town, replacing caretaker
Neil Redfearn
Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, who was most recently head coach of Sheffield United Women.
Redfearn played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest ...
(resigned 23 May), who replaced Alan Little (left 8 April)
* 15 July – Youth director
Martin Hinshelwood
Martin Hinshelwood (born 16 June 1953) is an English association football, football coach and former professional player. He is an academy coach at Lewes F.C., Lewes and was interim Manager at Crawley Town F.C., Crawley Town alongside Gary Alex ...
takes over at Brighton & Hove Albion, replacing Peter Taylor (resigned 29 April)
* July –
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
takes over at
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, replacing
David O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...
(sacked 27 June)
Famous debutants
* Future England Striker
Darren Bent
Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Premier League and Championship for nine clubs, and at senior international level for the England national team.
...
, 17, appears for
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in their 3–1 victory away at
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF (full name Helsingborgs Idrottsförening), commonly referred to as HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, following promotion in the 2021 Superett ...
in the UEFA Cup 2nd Round in November 2001.
* Future England winger
Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He played most of his career as a winger, where he operated predominantly on the left-hand side, though he could play on the right and go inside on to his stronge ...
, 17, appears for
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
in their 1–0 defeat by
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in April 2002.
Retirements
9 November 2001:
Tony Ford, 42-year-old midfielder with one of the highest appearance records of any postwar English footballer, retires from playing after leaving
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
and following their manager
Steve Parkin to
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
as his assistant and deciding that he was not capable of playing second-tier football
19 February 2002:
Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player.
During his playing career as a midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau before joining Lazio of Italy and Chels ...
, 31-year-old midfielder who was Chelsea's record signing for £4.9 million in 1996 and scored for them in
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
final wins in 1997 and 2000, retires after 17 months out of action having failed to recover from a broken leg suffered in a UEFA Cup game in September 2000
21 April 2002:
Stuart Pearce, 40-year-old left back who had been in league football since 1983 and was an England international for more than a decade until his last appearance in 2000, retires at the end of an illustrious career with ended on a high as he helped Manchester City win promotion to the Premier League as Division One champions. His final game was against Portsmouth at
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, in which he missed a penalty that if scored would have been the 100th goal of his professional career that had also taken in spells with Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and West Ham United
10 May 2002:
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...
, 38-year-old right back who signed for Arsenal in January 1988 and played more than 600 games for them, retires after winning his second double in five seasons (and his fourth league title) for the North London club
11 May 2002:
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team.
Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to n ...
, 33-year-old striker who spent his entire professional career at
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
since 1986, retires after scoring 162 goals for them but never managing to win a major trophy or play in a European competition, though he did manage several England appearances in the 1990s
Deaths
*3 July 2001:
Billy Liddell
William Beveridge Liddell (10 January 1922 – 3 July 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played his entire professional career with Liverpool. He signed with the club as a teenager in 1938 and retired in 1961, having scored 228 goals in 534 ap ...
, 79, legendary
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
winger who scored 228 goals in all competitions at the club between 1938 and 1961, although the only major trophy he won with them was the league title in 1947. He was capped 28 times by Scotland national football team, Scotland. During the final years of his life, he was ill with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
*5 August 2001:
Aaron Flahavan
Aaron Adam Flahavan (15 December 1975 – 5 August 2001) was an English Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth.
Life and career
Flahavan played for the Southam ...
, 25,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
goalkeeper who had played 93 first-team games since 1996, died in a car crash in west Hampshire just before the start of the season.
*8 August 2001: Paul Vaessen, 39, former
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
striker whose career was cut short by injury. Most famous for scoring the goal that earned Arsenal a place in the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final.
*19 August 2001:
Les Sealey
Leslie Jesse Sealey (29 September 1957 – 19 August 2001) was an English professional footballer and coach.
He played as a goalkeeper, most notably in the top flight for Coventry City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and West Ham United. ...
, 43, who kept goal for
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in their 1990 FA Cup and 1991 Cup Winners Cup triumphs, died of a heart attack in north London. He had also played for Coventry City, Luton Town, Aston Villa, Birmingham City (on loan), Blackpool and West Ham United, and at the time of his death had been working for West Ham United as goalkeeping coach.
*20 August 2001: Tom Staniforth, 20, Sheffield Wednesday defender, collapsed and died on a night out in York. He was a promising young defender for the club and a son of former footballer Gordon Staniforth.
*1 September 2001: Brian Moore (commentator), Brian Moore, 69, former BBC Radio and ITV (TV network), ITV commentator, died of cancer three years after retiring from football commentary.
*13 September 2001: Alex Scott (footballer born 1937), Alex Scott, 63, played 149 league games as a right-winger for
Everton after signing from
Rangers in February 1963, helping them win the league title that spring and the FA Cup three years later. He returned to his native Scotland in 1967 and was capped 16 times for the national side, scoring five goals.
*17 September 2001: Ray Gill, 76, the record
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
appearance holder for Chester City F.C., Chester City.
*22 October 2001:
Bertie Mee
Bertram Mee OBE (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Derby County and Mansfield Town. Mee was also a manager, noted for leading Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971.
Playing career
Bor ...
, 80,
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
Double (association football), double-winning manager 1970–71, died after a long illness. He also guided Arsenal to European Fairs Cup glory, achieved one year before the double triumph. From 1976 to 1986 he was assistant manager to Graham Taylor at Watford, and remained at the club as a director until his retirement in 1991.
*23 October 2001: Ken Aston, 86, Football World Cup, World Cup Referee (association football), referee who created the red and yellow cards system.
*2 January 2002: Charlie Mitten, 80, was a left winger in Manchester United's FA Cup winning team of 1948 FA Cup Final, 1948, before transferring to Club Santa Fe, Colombia, in 1951, and then returning to England to play for Fulham before retiring as a player in 1956. He later managed Mansfield Town and non-league Altrincham F.C., Altrincham.
*19 January 2002: Jeff Astle, 59,
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
and English national football team, England striker, died suddenly in Burton-upon-Trent. He is best remembered for his appearances on the TV series ''Fantasy Football'' and for scoring Albion's winning goal against Everton in the 1968 FA Cup final.
*4 February 2002: John Bromley (television), John Bromley, 68, journalist & TV executive at ITV who ended BBC's monopoly of sports programming with ''World of Sport (UK TV series), World of Sport'', he is also credited with creating the hit football programme ''Saint and Greavsie'' with Ian St. John & Jimmy Greaves.
*16 February 2002: Sir Walter Winterbottom, 88, the first English national football team, England manager. Managed England from 1946 until 1962, when he made way for Alf Ramsey.
*26 March 2002: Kenneth Wolstenholme, 81, BBC television commentator, who famously commentated England's 1966 World Cup triumph and is best remembered for saying 'They think it's all over ... it is now' when Geoff Hurst scored England's last-minute winner.
*9 April 2002: Roy Dwight, 69, played on the right wing for
Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest in their 1959 FA Cup triumph, but was stretchered off in the final against
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
with a broken leg. He also played for
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
and later
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
and
Millwall F.C., Millwall in a career which yielded 85 league goals in 154 games. He was the uncle of pop legend and
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
chairman Elton John.
*16 April 2002: Billy Ayre, 49, former Halifax Town A.F.C., Halifax,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, Scarborough F.C., Scarborough, Southport F.C., Southport and
Cardiff City manager, died after a long battle with cancer of the lymph node. He guided Blackpool to two successive Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley play-off finals, in 1990–91 in English football, 1990–91 and 1991–92 in English football, 1991–92.
*21 May 2002: Roy Paul, 82, played 270 league games in defence for
Manchester City during the 1950s after signing from Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea, and collected an FA Cup winner's medal in 1956. He was capped 33 times by Wales national football team, Wales.
* 28 May 2002: Wimbledon FC, 114, played 1,052 Football League games between 1977 and 2002 and won the FA Cup in 1988.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2001-02 in English football
2001–02 in English football,