The 2002–03 season was

Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is a professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, befor ...

's 11th season in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and their 25th consecutive season in the top division of

English football Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...

Season summary

After several seasons of underachievement, Southampton recorded a final placing of 8th, their highest placing in the Premier League. The club also reached the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

final to face an

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 ...

side which had narrowly missed out on the Premiership trophy; although Southampton lost by a single goal, as Arsenal had already qualified for the Champions League Southampton qualified for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

the following season. A slow start to the season saw Southampton languishing in the relegation zone after eight matches played, but a run of eight wins and only two losses from the next fifteen matches saw Southampton rocket up the league table, peaking in fifth place. Unfortunately, the charge for European qualification through the league soon fizzled out as Southampton only won four of their last fifteen matches, dragging them down to eighth place - nonetheless, this was Southampton's highest-ever finish in the Premier League. The low point of this run was a 6–1 loss against a below-strength

side preparing for the

final. This did not bode well for the Saints, as they had also managed to reach the final, but as it transpired in the final Arsenal barely edged past Southampton, winning 1–0. Despite the disappointment of not winning the FA Cup, Southampton were rewarded with their cup run with a place in the UEFA Cup, as Arsenal had already qualified for the Champions League. Key to Southampton's high finish was good home form - Southampton only lost two home games all season, against Manchester United and Liverpool. The good season gave Southampton hope of a more sustained charge at European qualification the next season.

Premier League

FA Cup

League Cup

Squad statistics

Transfers

In

Out

Loan in

Loan out

References

;General * * * * * Note: User must manually select option ''2002/2003'' from dropdown menu and select 'Go'. * Note: User must manually select option ''2002/2003'' from dropdown menu and select 'Go'. * Note: User must manually select option ''2002/2003'' from dropdown menu and select 'Go'. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Southampton F.C. season Southampton F.C. seasons

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...