2003–04 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa

2003–04 season

Chairman

Doug Ellis

Manager

6th

Top goalscorer

Juan Pablo Angel (16)

Average home league attendance

36,621

Home colours

Away colours

← 2002–03

2004–05 →

During the 2003–04 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League.

Season summary

Former Leeds United manager David O'Leary was appointed Villa manager in the summer of 2003. Under O'Leary, Villa made a very sluggish start to the campaign and found themselves in the relegation zone after winning just two of their first 13 league fixtures. They were still in the bottom three in mid-December before O'Leary galvanized them and they gradually climbed the table. Villa had a fantastic second half of the season and, with two matches remaining, had a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. After extending their unbeaten run to eight games by drawing at Southampton, defeat against Manchester United at Villa Park consigned them to sixth place. The Villains finished five points short of a Champions League place and were edged out of a UEFA Cup spot on goal difference by Newcastle United. Nevertheless, it was still a great achievement by O'Leary, who appeared to get the best out of the likes of Gareth Barry, Lee Hendrie, Jlloyd Samuel and 16-goal Juan Pablo Angel. The Colombian was the club's leading scorer, while Darius Vassell bagged 9 goals to cement his place in England's Euro 2004 squad. Thomas Sorensen and Gavin McCann both had excellent seasons after moving from Sunderland, while Nolberto Solano quickly became a fans' favourite after his mid-season move from Newcastle. Among the men to represent Villa for the last time during 2003-04 was Dion Dublin, who netted 48 goals in 155 league games. O'Leary's side reached the last four of the Football League Cup by knocking out Wycombe Wanderers, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. The semi-final first leg, at Bolton, ended in a disappointing 5-2 defeat. Villa Park goals by Thomas Hitzlsperger and Samuel were not quite enough to prevent the Trotters from clinching a place in the final. Manchester United came from behind to knock Villa out of the FA Cup in a third round tie at Villa Park. Despite narrowly missing out on qualifying for Europe, the mood around Villa Park was extremely positive in the summer of 2004. With the likes of Liam Ridgewell, Steven Davis, Peter Whittingham and the Moore brothers (Stefan and Luke) forcing open the first team door, David O'Leary had an abundance of young talent at his disposal.

Final league table

Main article: 2003-04 FA Premier League

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1.	Arsenal	38	26	12	0	73	26	+47	90
2.	Chelsea	38	24	7	7	67	30	+37	79
3.	Manchester United	38	23	6	9	64	35	+29	75
4.	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	55	37	+18	60
5.	Newcastle United	38	13	17	8	52	40	+12	56
6.	Aston Villa	38	15	11	12	48	44	+4	56
7.	Charlton Athletic	38	14	11	13	51	51	0	53
8.	Bolton Wanderers	38	14	11	13	48	56	-8	53
9.	Fulham	38	14	10	14	52	46	+6	52
10.	Birmingham City	38	12	14	12	43	48	-5	50
11.	Middlesbrough	38	13	9	16	44	52	-8	48
12.	Southampton	38	12	11	15	44	45	-1	47
13.	Portsmouth	38	12	9	17	47	54	-7	45
14.	Tottenham Hotspur	38	13	6	19	47	57	-10	45
15.	Blackburn Rovers	38	12	8	18	51	59	-8	44
16.	Manchester City	38	9	14	15	55	54	+1	41
17.	Everton	38	9	12	17	45	57	-12	39
18.	Leicester City	38	6	15	17	48	65	-17	33
19.	Leeds United	38	8	9	21	40	79	-39	33
20.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	7	12	19	38	77	-39	33

Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Relegated to the Championship

First team squad

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Thomas Sørensen
2	DF	Mark Delaney
3	DF	Jlloyd Samuel
4	DF	Olof Mellberg
6	MF	Gareth Barry
7	MF	Lee Hendrie
8	MF	Gavin McCann
9	FW	Dion Dublin
10	FW	Darius Vassell
11	MF	Nolberto Solano
12	MF	Thomas Hitzlsperger

No.	Position	Player
13	GK	Stefan Postma
14	FW	Marcus Allback
15	DF	Ulises de la Cruz
16	FW	Peter Crouch
17	MF	Peter Whittingham
18	FW	Juan Pablo Angel
23	FW	Stefan Moore
24	DF	Liam Ridgewell
27	DF	Ronny Johnsen
31	FW	Luke Moore

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.	Position	Player
5	DF	Alpay Özalan (to Incheon United)
19	FW	Boško Balaban (to Club Brugge)
20	MF	Mustapha Hadji (to Espanyol)
25	GK	Peter Enckelman (to Blackburn Rovers)
26	MF	Mark Kinsella (to West Bromwich Albion)

No.	Position	Player
28	DF	Danny Jackman (to Stockport County)
	GK	Boaz Myhill^[1] (to Hull City)
	DF	Jonathan Bewers (to Notts County)
	DF	Ryan Amoo (to Northampton Town)

Reserve squad

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

No.	Position	Player
21	MF	Steven Davis
22	MF	Hassan Kachloul
29	MF	Rob Edwards
30	MF	Stephen Cooke
39	GK	Wayne Henderson

Transfers

In

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
24 July 2003	MF	Gavin McCann	Sunderland	£2,250,000
8 August 2003	GK	Thomas Sorensen	Sunderland	£2,250,000

January

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
30 January 2004	MF	Nolberto Solano	Newcastle United	£1,500,000

Out

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 June 2003	MF	Ian Taylor	Released (joined Derby County on 26 June 2003)	Free
1 June 2003	DF	Alan Wright	Released (joined Middlesbrough on 4 August 2003)	Free
23 October 2003	DF	Alpay Ozalan	Released (later joined Incheon United)	Free
7 December 2003	GK	Peter Enckelman	Blackburn Rovers	Month-long loan
4 December 2003	FW	Bosko Balaban	Released (later joined Club Brugge)	Free
11 December 2003	GK	Boaz Myhill	Hull City	£50,000
23 December 2003	DF	Danny Jackman	Stockport County	£70,000

January

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
15 January 2004	MF	Mark Kinsella	West Bromwich Albion	Undisclosed
3 February 2004	MF	Mustapha Hadji	Espanyol	Free
13 March 2004	GK	Wayne Henderson	Tamworth	Loan
25 March 2004	MF	Jonathan Bewers	Notts County	Free
25 March 2004	MF	Ryan Amoo	Northampton Town	Free

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
22 July 2003	FC TPS Turku	A	3 – 0	Angel (2), Vassell	Friendly
24 July 2003	Pitea	A	8 – 0	Allback (3), Crouch (3), Alpay, Hendrie	Friendly
26 July 2003	Umea	A	4 – 0	Vassell, Hendrie, Hitzlsperger, McCann	Friendly
28 July 2003	Bodens BK	A	4 – 2	Mellberg, Vassell, Makumbu (og), Crouch	Friendly
1 August 2003	Walsall	A	1 – 2	Vassell	Friendly
2 August 2003	Tamworth	A	4 – 1	Kachloul (2), Cooke, Crouch	Friendly
5 August 2003	Scunthorpe	A	5 – 0	Allback (3), Angel, De la Cruz	Friendly
9 August 2003	Leeds	N	2 – 2	Kachloul, Hitzlsperger (Aston Villa win 4–2 on pens)	Friendly
10 August 2003	St Patricks	N	6 – 0	Angel (3), Allback, Whittingham, Hitzlsperger	Friendly

Season results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result F–A	Competition	Scorers	Attendance
16/08/2003	Portsmouth	A	[ 1–2]	Premier League	Barry (pen)	20,101
24/08/2003	Liverpool	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		42,573
27/08/2003	Arsenal	A	[ 0–2]	Premier League		38,010
30/08/2003	Leicester City	H	3–1	Premier League	Angel (2), Thatcher (og)	32,274
14/09/2003	Manchester City	A	1–4	Premier League	Angel	46,687
20/09/2003	Charlton Athletic	H	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Alpay, Samuel	31,410
23/09/2003	Wycombe Wanderers	A	5–0	League Cup	Angel (3) (1 pen), Whittingham, Vassell	6,072
27/09/2003	Chelsea	A	[ 0–1]	Premier League		41,182
05/10/2003	Bolton	H	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Angel	30,229
19/10/2003	Birmingham	A	[ 0–0]	Premier League		29,546
25/10/2003	Everton	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		36,146
29/10/2003	Leicester	H	[ 1–0]	League Cup	Hitzlsperger	26,729
10/11/2003	Newcastle	A	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Dublin	51,975
08/11/2003	Middlesbrough	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		29,898
23/11/2003	Tottenham	A	[ 1–2]	Premier League	Allback	33,140
29/11/2003	Portsmouth	H	[ 1–0]	Premier League	Dublin	31,285
03/12/2003	Crystal Palace	H	3–0	League Cup	Symons (og), McCann, Angel	24,258
06/12/2003	Manchester United	A	0–4	Premier League		67,621
14/12/2003	Wolves	H	3–2	Premier League	Angel (2), Barry	36,964
17/12/2003	Chelsea	H	[ 2–1]	League Cup	Angel, McCann	30,414
20/12/2003	Blackburn Rovers	A	[ 2–0]	Premier League	S. Moore, Angel	20,722
26/12/2003	Leeds United	A	[ 0–0]	Premier League		38,513
28/01/2003	Fulham	H	3–0	Premier League	Angel, Vassell (2)	35,617
04/01/2004	Man Utd	H	[ 1–2]	FA Cup	Barry	40,371
06/01/2004	Portsmouth	H	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Angel, Vassell	28,625
10/01/2004	Liverpool	A	[ 0–1]	Premier League		43,771
18/01/2004	Arsenal	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		39,380
21/01/2004	Bolton	A	2–5	League Cup	Angel (2)	16,302
27/12/2004	Bolton Wanderers	H	[ 2–0]	League Cup	Hitzlsperger, Samuel	36,883
31/01/2004	Leicester City	A	5–0	Premier League	Vassell, Crouch (2), Dublin	31,056
07/02/2004	Leeds United	H	[ 2–0]	Premier League	Angel (pen), Johnsen	39,171
11/02/2004	Fulham	A	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Angel, Vassell	16,153
22/02/2004	Birmingham	H	2–2	Premier League	Vassell, Hitzlsperger	40,061
28/02/2004	Everton	A	[ 0–2]	Premier League		39,353
14/03/2004	Wolves	A	4–0	Premier League	Hitzlsperger, Mellberg, Angel (2)	29,386
20/03/2004	Blackburn Rovers	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		37,532
27/03/2004	Charlton Athletic	A	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Vassell, Samuel	26,250
04/04/2004	Manchester City	H	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Angel	37,602
10/04/2004	Bolton Wanderers	A	[ 2–2]	Premier League	Crouch, Hendrie	26,374
12/04/2004	Chelsea	H	3–2	Premier League	Vassell (pen), Hitzlsperger, Hendrie	41,112
18/04/2004	Newcastle United	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		40,786
24/04/2004	Middlesbrough	A	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Barry, Crouch	31,322
02/05/2004	Tottenham Hotspur	H	[ 1–0]	Premier League	Angel	42,573
08/05/2004	Southampton	A	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Angel	32,054
15/05/2004	Manchester United	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		42,573

References

↑ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States.

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2003–04 in English football

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FA competitions

Premier League and
Football League

Football Conference

Football Conference

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Charlton Athletic Chelsea Everton Fulham Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Portsmouth Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers

First Division	Bradford City Burnley Cardiff City Coventry City Crewe Alexandra Crystal Palace Derby County Gillingham Ipswich Town Millwall Norwich City Nottingham Forest Preston North End Reading Rotherham United Sheffield United Stoke City Sunderland Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wigan Athletic Wimbledon

Second Division	Barnsley Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Chesterfield Colchester United Grimsby Town Hartlepool United Luton Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Rushden & Diamonds Sheffield Wednesday Stockport County Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers

Third Division	Boston United Bristol Rovers Bury Cambridge United Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Darlington Doncaster Rovers Huddersfield Town Hull City Kidderminster Harriers Leyton Orient Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oxford United Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Swansea City Torquay United Yeovil Town York City

Football Conference	Accrington Stanley Aldershot Town Barnet Burton Albion Chester City Dagenham & Redbridge Exeter City Farnborough Town Forest Green Rovers Gravesend & Northfleet Halifax Town Hereford United Leigh RMI Margate Morecambe Northwich Victoria Scarborough Shrewsbury Town Stevenage Borough Tamworth Telford United Woking

Others	AFC Wimbledon Gateshead Newport County

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