2002–03 Coventry City F.C. season
During the 2002–03 English football season, Coventry City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. It was the club's second consecutive season at that level.
Season summary
In the 2002–03 season, midway through the campaign, McAllister's men still stood a good chance of making the Division One play-offs, but they won only one league game after the turn of 2003 and finished 20th in the final table - just two places above the relegation zone.Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | F | A | GD | Pts | ||||
| 1 | Portsmouth | 46 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 23 | 97 | 45 | +52 | 98 | ||||
| 2 | Leicester City | 46 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 33 | 28 | 73 | 40 | +33 | 92 | ||||
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 38 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 29 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 80 | ||||
| 4 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 28 | 25 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 79 | ||||
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 40 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 41 | 25 | 81 | 44 | +37 | 76 | ||||
| 6 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 57 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 27 | 82 | 50 | +32 | 74 | ||||
| 7 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 49 | 39 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 31 | 25 | 80 | 64 | +16 | 70 | ||||
| 8 | Norwich City | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 32 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 69 | ||||
| 9 | Millwall | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 59 | 69 | –10 | 66 | ||||
| 10 | Wimbledon | 46 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 39 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 37 | 45 | 76 | 73 | +3 | 65 | ||||
| 11 | Gillingham | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 31 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 34 | 56 | 65 | –9 | 62 | ||||
| 12 | Preston North End | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 41 | 68 | 70 | –2 | 61 | ||||
| 13 | Watford | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 33 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 44 | 54 | 70 | –16 | 60 | ||||
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 35 | 59 | 52 | +7 | 59 | ||||
| 15 | Rotherham United | 46 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 27 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 37 | 62 | 62 | ±0 | 59 | ||||
| 16 | Burnley | 46 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 44 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 45 | 65 | 89 | –24 | 55 | ||||
| 17 | Walsall | 46 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 57 | 69 | –12 | 54 | ||||
| 18 | Derby County | 46 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 22 | 42 | 55 | 74 | –19 | 52 | ||||
| 19 | Bradford City | 46 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 51 | 73 | –22 | 52 | ||||
| 20 | Coventry City | 46 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 31 | 46 | 62 | –16 | 50 | ||||
| 21 | Stoke City | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 44 | 45 | 69 | –24 | 50 | ||||
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 32 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 27 | 41 | 56 | 73 | –17 | 46 | ||||
| 23 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 31 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 36 | 49 | 67 | –18 | 45 | ||||
| 24 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 39 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 46 | 48 | 85 | –37 | 39 |
- Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
- NB: In the Football League goals scored takes precedence over goal difference.
| Key | |
| Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League | |
| Promoted to FA Premier League | |
| Participated in play-offs | |
| Promoted to Premier League through play-offs | |
| Relegated |
Results
Coventry City's score comes firstLegend
Football League First Division
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 2003 | Cardiff City | A | 2-2 | 16,013 | Mills, McAllister |
| R3R | 15 January 2003 | Cardiff City | H | 3-0 | 11,997 | Fowler, Holdsworth, Bothroyd |
| R4 | 25 January 2003 | Rochdale | A | 0-2 | 9,156 |
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 11 September 2002 | Colchester United | H | 3-0 | 6,075 | McSheffrey, McAllister, Mills |
| R2 | 2 October 2002 | Rushden & Diamonds | H | 8-0 | 8,570 | McSheffrey, Mills, Bothroyd, Betts |
| R3 | 6 November 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 0-3 | 8,102 |