Chairman Peter Ridsdale Stadium Elland Road FA Cup Third round | Manager David O'Leary Premier League 5th League Cup Fourth round | |
The 2001–02 season saw Leeds United A.F.C. compete in the FA Premier League (known as the Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
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Season summary
Leeds topped the Premiership for much of the first half of the season, but - despite the wealth of options available to manager David O'Leary - they only finished fifth, meaning they would be competing in the UEFA Cup the next season. Some contribute their downfall to their FA Cup third round exit at Ninian Park; table-topping Leeds played mid-table Division 2 side Cardiff City but suffered a 2–1 defeat with goals from Graham Kavanagh and Scott Young. Leeds did not look like the same team after this, and didn't win another game for nearly two months. While they won seven of their last ten games, their poor mid-season run ultimately proved to be too much to recover from, and they finished five points adrift of Newcastle United, who occupied the final Champions League spot.
After the end of the season, chairman Peter Ridsdale decided that enough was enough and sacked O'Leary after four years and tens of millions of pounds in new signings had failed to translate into silverware; many also believe the infamous book "Leeds United: On Trial", written by O'Leary himself, destroyed morale in the dressing-room and accelerated his departure from the club. In came former England manager Terry Venables as his successor.
Plans were unveiled on 5 September for a new 50,000-seat stadium at Skelton to replace Elland Road, with Ridsdale hoping to have it ready by the summer of 2004. In fact, Ridsdale was aware that millions of pounds had been staked on Champions League qualification - by not qualifying in successive years, the club was heading for financial meltdown.
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.