2001–02 Carlisle United F.C. season

For the second season in a row, Carlisle made a poor start, only winning one of their first eleven matches. This time, however, Carlisle were given a cushion from the only relegation spot thanks to the truly dreadful form of Halifax Town, allowing new manager Roddy Collins time to experiment with the team and tactics, and find a formula that worked. From the start of December, Carlisle's form experienced a major improvement, and by March not only were the club experiencing their best season since relegation from the Second Division in 1998 and in absolutely no danger of relegation, but supporters were daring to dream of a top-half finish.

Any such dreams would ultimately be ended by the protracted takeover discussions between long-serving chairman Michael Knighton and prospective new owner John Courtenay. This led to the shock sacking of Collins after he publicly accused Knighton of undermining his position and not being serious about selling the club, and in turn resulted in Knighton's relationship with the fans, already strained at best, completely disintegrating, leading to a mass-boycott of their final six matches of the season. Caretaker manager Billy Barr could only win one of those six matches, leading to Carlisle slumping to 17th place, though this was still a much better finish than any of their previous three seasons. After the season ended, Knighton finally sold up to Courtenay, whose first decision was to reinstate Collins as manager.

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