2001–02 Stockport County F.C. season
# 2001–02 Stockport County F.C. season

During the 2001–02 English football season, Stockport County competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

The 2001–02 season turned out to be the Stockport's worst ever season at the time. With Stockport already bottom of the league, a 4–0 home defeat to Millwall saw manager Kilner sacked. Shortly after he was replaced with former England international Carlton Palmer. A 2–1 win over Norwich gave them some hope, but Stockport then went on to lose 11 matches in a row, another unwanted club record. The Hatters picked up just 3 more wins during the rest of the season (one of these being another unforgettable 2–1 victory over Manchester City, having been 1–0 down with just 5 minutes left) finishing the season with just 26 points, going down on 16 March, the quickest post-war relegation.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Manchester City (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 108 | 52 | +56 | 99 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 46 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 89 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 43 | +33 | 86 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Millwall | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 69 | 48 | +21 | 77 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Birmingham City (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 70 | 49 | +21 | 76 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Norwich City | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 75 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 75 | |
| 8 | Preston North End | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 71 | 59 | +12 | 72 | |
| 9 | Wimbledon | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 67 | |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 66 | |
| 11 | Coventry City | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 66 | |
| 12 | Gillingham | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 64 | |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 60 | |
| 14 | Watford | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 59 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 69 | 76 | −7 | 55 | |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 50 | 51 | −1 | 54 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 60 | 72 | −12 | 53 | |
| 18 | Walsall | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 51 | 71 | −20 | 51 | |
| 19 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 50 | |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 49 | 71 | −22 | 50 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 49 | |
| 22 | Crewe Alexandra (R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 47 | 76 | −29 | 49 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Barnsley (R) | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 59 | 86 | −27 | 48 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Stockport County (R) | 46 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 42 | 102 | −60 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Stockport County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 11 August 2001 | Coventry City | H | 0–2 | 9,329 | |
| 18 August 2001 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–4 | 15,760 | Fradin |
| 25 August 2001 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | 5,090 | |
| 27 August 2001 | Birmingham City | A | 1–2 | 18,478 | Kuqi (pen) |
| 8 September 2001 | Barnsley | A | 2–2 | 11,192 | Flynn, Taylor |
| 15 September 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | 20,742 | Kuqi, Taylor |
| 18 September 2001 | Sheffield United | H | 1–2 | 5,137 | Roget (pen) |
| 22 September 2001 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–3 | 7,834 | Hardy (2), Wilbraham |
| 25 September 2001 | Bradford City | A | 4–2 | 12,940 | Hurst (2), Taylor (2) |
| 29 September 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–2 | 17,584 | Flynn |
| 13 October 2001 | Manchester City | A | 2–2 | 34,214 | Hurst, Kuqi (pen) |
| 16 October 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–2 | 6,052 | Fradin |
| 20 October 2001 | Rotherham United | H | 0–1 | 6,616 | |
| 24 October 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | 6,679 | |
| 27 October 2001 | Millwall | H | 0–4 | 5,371 | |
| 30 October 2001 | Walsall | H | 0–2 | 4,553 | |
| 3 November 2001 | Preston North End | A | 0–6 | 13,776 | |
| 10 November 2001 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 12,576 | Robinson (own goal) |
| 15 November 2001 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 6,551 | Hurst, Palmer |
| 24 November 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–5 | 17,365 | |
| 27 November 2001 | Gillingham | H | 0–2 | 4,854 | |
| 1 December 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–1 | 5,308 | |
| 8 December 2001 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 4,673 | Wilbraham |
| 15 December 2001 | Burnley | A | 2–3 | 15,526 | McSheffrey, Kuqi (pen) |
| 22 December 2001 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 13,887 | |
| 26 December 2001 | Barnsley | H | 1–3 | 6,885 | Kuqi |
| 29 December 2001 | Birmingham City | H | 0–3 | 5,827 | |
| 1 January 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–4 | 20,541 | |
| 13 January 2002 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 5,541 | |
| 19 January 2002 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 12,448 | |
| 29 January 2002 | Gillingham | A | 3–3 | 7,217 | Beckett (2), Ross |
| 2 February 2002 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–3 | 6,513 | Palmer |
| 9 February 2002 | Rotherham United | A | 2–3 | 6,413 | Hardiker, Delaney |
| 23 February 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–4 | 8,481 | Beckett |
| 26 February 2002 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–3 | 6,836 | Palmer |
| 2 March 2002 | Sheffield United | A | 0–3 | 15,642 | |
| 5 March 2002 | Bradford City | H | 1–0 | 4,148 | Beckett |
| 9 March 2002 | Burnley | H | 0–2 | 6,410 | |
| 16 March 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 1–3 | 5,224 | Daly |
| 19 March 2002 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 9,537 | Hardiker (2) |
| 23 March 2002 | Preston North End | H | 0–2 | 6,139 | |
| 30 March 2002 | Millwall | A | 0–3 | 13,570 | |
| 1 April 2002 | Watford | H | 2–1 | 4,086 | McLachlan, Beckett |
| 6 April 2002 | Walsall | A | 0–1 | 6,322 | |
| 13 April 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–1 | 8,706 | Wilbraham, Beckett (2) |
| 21 April 2002 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 20,897 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 16 January 2002 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–4 | 5,821 | Daly (pen) |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 21 August 2001 | Carlisle United | H | 3–0 | 2,075 | Kuqi, Taylor (2) |
| R2 | 12 September 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 (lost 7–8 on pens) | 5,432 | Taylor |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | WAL | Lee Jones |
| 2 | DF | FIN | Petri Helin |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Peter Clark |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Dave Challinor |
| 6 | FW | ENG | Kevin Ellison |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Carlton Palmer |
| 10 | DF | ENG | John Hardiker |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Colin Woodthorpe |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Ali Gibb |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Andy Dibble |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Karim Fradin |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Leo Roget |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Neil Hardy |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Aaron Lescott |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Aaron Wilbraham |
| 20 | MF | ENG | David Smith |
| 21 | MF | SWE | Jonas Larsson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Keith Briggs |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Luke Beckett |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Glyn Hancock |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Neil Ross |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Peter Wild |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Andy Welsh |
| 30 | FW | IRL | Jon Daly |
| 31 | GK | WAL | Sam Turner |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Robert Clare |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Andy Thomas |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Fraser McLachlan |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Anthony Kielthy |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Phil Carratt |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Mark Byrne |
| 38 | FW | ENG | Chris Williams |
| 41 | GK | ENG | James Spencer |
| 42 | FW | ENG | David Holt |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Ian Lawson (to Bury) |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Lee Sandford (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers (on loan from Leicester City) |
| 8 | MF | NED | Richard Sneekes (to Hull City) |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Jason van Blerk (to Wrexham) |
| 25 | GK | FRA | Pegguy Arphexad (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Glynn Hurst (to Chesterfield) |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Shefki Kuqi (to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | SWE | Fredrik Bryngelsson (Released) |
| 14 | MF | FIN | Jarkko Wiss (to Hibernian) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Scott Taylor (to Blackpool) |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Gary McSheffrey (on loan from Coventry City) |
| 5 | DF | WAL | Mike Flynn (to Barnsley) |
| 23 | MF | IRL | Damien Delaney (on loan from Leicester City) |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Gary Maguire (Released) |
