The 2002–03 season saw Brighton & Hove Albion compete in the Football League First Division where they finished in 23rd position with 45 points and were relegated to the Second Division.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Coventry City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 50 | |
| 21 | Stoke City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 45 | 69 | −24 | 50 | |
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 56 | 73 | −17 | 46 | Relegation to 2003–04 Second Division |
| 23 | Brighton & Hove Albion (R) | 46 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 45 | |
| 24 | Grimsby Town (R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 48 | 85 | −37 | 39 |
Brighton & Hove Albion's score comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 August 2002 | Burnley | A | 3–1 | 14,738 | Melton, Brooker, Zamora |
| 2 | 13 August 2002 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | 6,816 | |
| 3 | 17 August 2002 | Norwich City | H | 0–2 | 6,730 | |
| 4 | 24 August 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 2,522 | |
| 5 | 26 August 2002 | Walsall | H | 0–2 | 6,519 | |
| 6 | 31 August 2002 | Portsmouth | A | 2–4 | 19,031 | Cullip, Brooker |
| 7 | 7 September 2002 | Millwall | A | 0–1 | 8,822 | |
| 8 | 14 September 2002 | Gillingham | H | 2–4 | 6,733 | Carpenter, Hart |
| 9 | 17 September 2002 | Stoke City | H | 1–2 | 6,369 | Carpenter |
| 10 | 21 September 2002 | Rotherham United | A | 0–1 | 6,696 | |
| 11 | 28 September 2002 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–2 | 6,547 | Zamora |
| 12 | 5 October 2002 | Watford | A | 0–1 | 15,305 | |
| 13 | 19 October 2002 | Sheffield United | H | 2–4 | 6,810 | Hart, Barrett |
| 14 | 26 October 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–5 | 21,769 | |
| 15 | 2 November 2002 | Bradford City | H | 3–2 | 6,319 | Zamora (2), Rodger |
| 16 | 11 November 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 23,016 | Zamora |
| 17 | 16 November 2002 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 6,845 | Mayo |
| 18 | 23 November 2002 | Preston North End | A | 2–2 | 13,068 | Rodger, Sidwell |
| 19 | 27 November 2002 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–3 | 29,137 | Sidwell, Jones |
| 20 | 30 November 2002 | Reading | H | 0–1 | 6,817 | |
| 21 | 7 December 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 18,008 | Hart |
| 22 | 10 December 2002 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 6,377 | Zamora |
| 23 | 14 December 2002 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 25,789 | |
| 24 | 20 December 2002 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 6,592 | |
| 25 | 26 December 2002 | Norwich City | A | 1–0 | 20,687 | Sidwell |
| 26 | 28 December 2002 | Burnley | H | 2–2 | 6,502 | Sidwell (2) |
| 27 | 11 January 2003 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 15,951 | |
| 28 | 18 January 2003 | Portsmouth | H | 1–1 | 6,848 | Zamora |
| 29 | 1 February 2003 | Walsall | A | 0–1 | 8,413 | |
| 30 | 4 February 2003 | Wimbledon | H | 2–3 | 6,111 | Brooker, Zamora |
| 31 | 8 February 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 4–1 | 6,754 | Brooker, Zamora, Hart, Blackwell |
| 32 | 15 February 2003 | Bradford City | A | 1–0 | 11,520 | Zamora |
| 33 | 22 February 2003 | Millwall | H | 1–0 | 6,751 | Rougier |
| 34 | 1 March 2003 | Gillingham | A | 0–3 | 9,178 | |
| 35 | 5 March 2003 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 21,023 | |
| 36 | 8 March 2003 | Rotherham United | H | 2–0 | 6,468 | Zamora, Hurst (o.g.) |
| 37 | 15 March 2003 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–0 | 6,830 | Brooker |
| 38 | 18 March 2003 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | 19,357 | Carpenter |
| 39 | 22 March 2003 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–2 | 26,078 | Rougier, Marshall (o.g.) |
| 40 | 25 March 2003 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–0 | 6,789 | |
| 41 | 4 April 2003 | Reading | A | 2–1 | 16,133 | Brooker, Kitson |
| 42 | 12 April 2003 | Preston North End | H | 0–2 | 6,669 | |
| 43 | 19 April 2003 | Leicester City | A | 0–2 | 31,909 | |
| 44 | 21 April 2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–1 | 6,928 | Zamora |
| 45 | 26 April 2003 | Watford | H | 4–0 | 6,841 | Zamora, Blackwell, Kitson, Oatway |
| 46 | 4 May 2003 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–2 | 6,369 | Zamora, Cullip |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | 14 January 2003 | Norwich City | A | 1–3 | 17,205 | Pethick |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 11 September 2002 | Exeter City | H | 2–1 | 5,200 | Wilkinson, Cullip |
| R2 | 24 September 2002 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–3 | 13,266 | Hammond |
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1 | GK |  Michel Kuipers
|
21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2 | DF |  Paul Watson
|
45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Kerry Mayo
|
41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Danny Cullip
|
44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 3 |
| 5 | DF | Dean Blackwell
|
18(3) | 2 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18(4) | 2 |
| 6 | DF | Guy Butters
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Geoff Pitcher
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Paul Rogers
|
1(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(4) | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Gary Hart
|
27(9) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28(9) | 4 |
| 10 | MF | Charlie Oatway
|
18(11) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21(11) | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Paul Brooker
|
32(5) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35(5) | 6 |
| 12 | MF | Richard Carpenter
|
42(2) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45(2) | 3 |
| 14 | DF | Robbie Pethick
|
25(1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27(1) | 1 |
| 13 | GK | Ben Roberts
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | DF |  Nathan Jones
|
16(12) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 17(13) | 1 |
| 16 | DF | David Lee
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Shaun Wilkinson
|
4(8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5(8) | 1 |
| 18 | GK | Will Packham
|
0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Dan Marney
|
6(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7(6) | 0 |
| 20 | DF |  Ívar Ingimarsson
|
15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Steve Melton
|
6(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 7(3) | 1 |
| 21 | FW | Chris McPhee
|
0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0(4) | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Adam Virgo
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Dean Hammond
|
1(3) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2(3) | 1 |
| 24 | DF | Adam Hinshelwood
|
4(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(3) | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Bobby Zamora
|
35 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 14 |
| 26 | DF | Dan Harding
|
0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Paul Kitson
|
7(3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(3) | 2 |
| 28 | FW |  Graham Barrett
|
20(10) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21(10) | 1 |
| 29 | MF | John Piercy
|
1(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(4) | 0 |
| 30 | MF | Simon Rodger
|
27(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27(2) | 2 |
| 30 | GK | Andy Petterson
|
6(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(1) | 0 |
| 32 | GK | John Keeley
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | Dave Beasant
|
16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Steve Sidwell
|
11(1) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 5 |
| 34 | DF | Daniel Webb
|
0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 |
| 34 | MF |  Tony Rougier
|
5(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 2 |
