2003–04 in English football

The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of Association football in England.

Overview

Arsenal completed the season without losing a league match.

Leeds United avoided going into administration, but were unable to avoid relegation and lost their place in the Premiership along with Leicester City and Wolves.

Norwich City won promotion to the Premiership as Champions after nine years in Division 1. They were joined by runners-up West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace who beat West Ham in the play-off final. Wimbledon completed their relocation to Milton Keynes and moved into the former England National Hockey Stadium, which would be used as a temporary home until a new stadium was built at Denbigh North. At the end of the season, following the Dons' relegation, club directors changed its name to Milton Keynes Dons. Bradford City and Walsall joined them in relegation to League 1.

Plymouth Argyle were Division Two champions and ensured that they would be playing in the second tier of English football for the first time in 11 years. QPR joined them together with Brighton who won the play-off. At the bottom Rushden & Diamonds were relegated to Division Three along with Grimsby Town who suffered a second consecutive relegation after losing the last game of the season. Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers were also relegated. In the same division, Oldham Athletic were in financial difficulties but they avoide going into administration after a takeover bid was confirmed.

Doncaster Rovers became Division Three champions to earn their second successive promotion, having been Conference play-off winners the previous season. They had not played above the league's lowest tier for nearly 20 years; they were joined by Hull City, Torquay United and play-off winners Huddersfield Town. Carlisle United were relegated to the Conference from Division Three. They had spent all but two of the previous 17 seasons in the league's fourth tier. York City followed them out of the Football League after a poor second half of the season. Chester City and Shrewsbury Town were promoted to the Football League from the Football Conference.

Telford United, who had been members of the Conference for every season since its formation in 1979, went out of business at the end of a season in which they had reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. The club was quickly reformed as A.F.C. Telford United and joined the Northern Premier League.

Diary of the season

National team

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition England scorers
20 August 2003 Portman Road, Ipswich  Croatia 3–1 F David Beckham (pen), Michael Owen, Frank Lampard
6 September 2003 Skopje City Stadium, Skopje  Macedonia 2–1 ECQ Wayne Rooney, David Beckham (pen)
10 September 2003 Old Trafford, Manchester  Liechtenstein 2–0 ECQ Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney
11 October 2003 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul  Turkey 0–0 ECQ
16 November 2003 Old Trafford, Manchester  Denmark 2–3 F Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole
14 February 2004 Estádio Algarve, Faro  Portugal 1–1 F Ledley King
31 March 2004 Nya Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg  Sweden 0–1 F
1 June 2004 City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester  Japan 1–1 FA Michael Owen
5 June 2004 City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester  Iceland 6–1 FA Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney (2), Darius Vassell (2), Wayne Bridge
13 June 2004 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon  France 1–2 ECF Frank Lampard
17 June 2004 Estádio Cidade, Coimbra   Switzerland 3–0 ECF Wayne Rooney (2), Steven Gerrard
21 June 2004 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon  Croatia 4–2 ECF Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney (2), Frank Lampard
24 June 2004 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon  Portugal 1–1 (FT), 2–2 (aet), 5–6 (P) ECF Michael Owen, Frank Lampard

Honours

Competition Winner
FA Premier League Arsenal
FA Cup Manchester United
Carling Cup Middlesbrough
Football League Trophy Blackpool
Football League First Division Norwich City
Football League Second Division Plymouth Argyle
Football League Third Division Doncaster Rovers
FA Community Shield Manchester United

European qualification

Competition Qualifiers Reason for qualification
UEFA Champions League Arsenal 1st in FA Premier League
Chelsea 2nd in FA Premier League
UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round Manchester United 3rd in FA Premier League
Liverpool 4th in FA Premier League
UEFA Cup Newcastle United 5th in FA Premier League
Middlesbrough League Cup Winners
Millwall In lieu of FA Cup winners
(qualification awarded as FA Cup runners-up because FA Cup winners Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League)

League tables

FA Premier League

Despite the Premiership title picture being a three-horse race for much of the campaign, Arsenal remained unbeaten all season long and clinched the title with 90 points and an 11-point gap over runners-up Chelsea, who had been most people's favourites for the title after a £100million summer spending spree. After losing defender Rio Ferdinand to an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test in September, defending champions Manchester United turned in some lacklustre performances during the second half of the season, which put paid to their hopes of retaining their crown and restricting them to a third-place finish, some 15 points behind Arsenal. Solace came in the form of a record 11th FA Cup triumph, defeating Millwall 3-0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium.

Liverpool were the final team to qualify for the Champions League, finishing in fourth place, but leaving them 30 points behind Arsenal and slightly closer to the relegation zone than the title winners, and manager Gerard Houllier was sacked shortly after the season's end.

League Cup winners Middlesbrough qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history, joined by fifth-placed Newcastle United, who edged out Aston Villa - who had recovered from as low as eighteenth place in November - on goal difference. Seventh-placed Charlton Athletic and eighth-placed Bolton Wanderers both achieved their highest league finishes since the 1950s, while ninth-placed Fulham (many people's pre-season relegation favourites) defied the odds under 33-year-old manager Chris Coleman and achieved the highest league finish of their history. Birmingham City, in their second season since promotion, also enjoyed a solid year, finishing tenth.

Portsmouth, also considered favourites for relegation pre-season, finished a respectable 13th in their first top-flight season for 16 years, despite finishing behind bitter rivals Southampton, who recovered from the sudden resignation of Gordon Strachan in March to finish 12th.

Newly promoted Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers both went down after just one season (Wolves not gaining one away win all season), while Leeds United's Premiership status was crushed under a multimillion-pound debt which had been mounting relentlessly for the best part of three years, as their relegation ultimately became a matter of when rather than if, ending their top-flight membership after 14 successive seasons among the elite.

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

Leading goalscorer: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) – 30

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

Football League First Division

The top three led the division for most of the season, but Sunderland could not shake off their poor start and lost out to Norwich, who returned to the Premiership after nearly a decade, and West Brom, who bounced back to the Premiership after relegation the previous season. Crystal Palace achieved one of the most unlikely promotions of recent times, spending the entire first half of the season in the relegation zone under manager Steve Kember before surging into the play-off places under new manager Iain Dowie.

Wimbledon's move to Milton Keynes took its toll on the club, and they finished bottom of the table in an abysmal final season for the club before it was renamed as MK Dons. Bradford fared little better, despite the presence of former England captain Bryan Robson in the manager's chair. Walsall made a respectable start to the season before slumping somewhat later on, and finally crashing into the relegation zone; just a single point from any of their last three games would have ensured survival.

Millwall qualified for the UEFA Cup for finishing as runners-up in the FA Cup, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League.

Pos Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1. Norwich City 46 28 10 8 79 39  +40 94
2. West Bromwich Albion 46 25 11 10 64 42  +22 86
3. Sunderland 46 22 13 11 62 45  +17 79
4. West Ham United 46 19 17 10 67 45  +22 74
5. Ipswich Town 46 21 10 15 84 72  +12 73
6. Crystal Palace 46 21 10 15 72 61  +11 73
7. Wigan Athletic 46 18 17 11 60 45  +15 71
8. Sheffield United 46 20 11 15 65 56  +9 71
9. Reading 46 20 10 16 55 57  -2 70
10. Millwall 46 18 15 13 55 48  +7 69
11. Stoke City 46 18 12 16 58 55  +3 66
12. Coventry City 46 17 14 15 67 54  +13 65
13. Cardiff City 46 17 14 15 68 58  +10 65
14. Nottingham Forest 46 15 15 16 61 51  +10 60
15. Preston North End 46 15 14 17 69 71  -2 59
16. Watford 46 15 12 19 54 68  -14 57
17. Rotherham United 46 13 15 18 53 61  -8 54
18. Crewe Alexandra 46 14 11 21 57 66  -9 53
19. Burnley 46 13 14 19 60 77  -17 53
20. Derby County 46 13 13 20 53 67  -14 52
21. Gillingham 46 14 9 23 48 67  -19 51
22. Walsall 46 13 12 21 45 65  -20 51
23. Bradford City 46 10 6 30 38 69  -31 36
24. Wimbledon (later MK Dons) 46 8 5 33 41 89  -48 29

Leading goalscorer: Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace) – 27

Football League Second Division

Plymouth Argyle finished top of the division, though they lost manager Paul Sturrock to Southampton. Queens Park Rangers grabbed the second spot from under the noses of Bristol City, who proceeded to lose the play-off final to Brighton & Hove Albion, another side who bounced back from relegation the previous season.

Tony Adams, previously suggested by many as a possible future manager of Arsenal and England, failed to keep Wycombe Wanderers up, ending their ten-year spell in the division. Notts County nearly went bankrupt during the course of the season and the effect on the club was evident, as they slipped into Division Three (or League Two, as it would be called the next season). Rushden & Diamonds' years of success came to a grinding halt as they suffered their first-ever relegation and crashed out of the division after being promoted the previous year. Grimsby Town filled the final relegation spot, resulting in their second consecutive relegation; they had looked safe in the final weeks, but ultimately went down after a poor sequence of results combined with revivals by Chesterfield and Stockport County.

PWDLFAGDPts
C1Plymouth Argyle46261288541+4490
P 2Queens Park Rangers46221778045+3583
  3Bristol City462313105837+2182
P 4Brighton & Hove Albion462211136443+2177
  5Swindon Town462013137658+1873
  6Hartlepool United462013137661+1573
  7Port Vale462110157363+1073
  8Tranmere Rovers461716135956+367
  9A.F.C. Bournemouth461715145651+566
 10Luton Town461715146966+366
 11Colchester United461713165256−464
 12Barnsley461517145458−462
 13Wrexham46179205060−1060
 14Blackpool461611195865−759
 15Oldham Athletic461221136660+657
 16Sheffield Wednesday461314194864−1853
 17Brentford461411215269−1753
 18Peterborough United461216185858052
 19Stockport County461119166270−852
 20Chesterfield461215194971−2251
R21Grimsby Town461311225581−2650
R22Rushden & Diamonds46139246074−1448
R23Notts County461012245078−2842
R24Wycombe Wanderers46619215075−2537

Leading goalscorer: Leon Knight (Brighton & Hove Albion) and Stephen McPhee (Port Vale) – 25

Football League Third Division

Doncaster Rovers earned a second successive promotion, showing that the club was firmly back on track after the years of struggle and scandal that the club had endured in the late 90s. Hull City were another team who had suffered much strife in the previous decade, but this time their extensive investment in players finally paid off, and they were promoted as runners-up. Torquay United, traditionally strugglers, snatched the third automatic promotion spot from Huddersfield on the last day of the season. Huddersfield Town would make up for this by beating Mansfield in the play-off final, earning an immediate return after the previous year's relegation.

York City were in play-off contention for a large part of the campaign, but a disastrous end to the season saw them lose 16 of their last 20 games, costing them their 80-year-old League status. Conversely, Carlisle United started the season horrendously, but a late run saw them finish 23rd. A few years ago this would have seen them complete an amazing escape from relegation, but with the introduction of two relegation places from the League it was no longer sufficient, and they dropped into the Conference, becoming the first former top-flight team to suffer this indignity.

PWDLFAGDPts
C1Doncaster Rovers46271187937+4292
P 2Hull City46251388244+3888
P 3Torquay United462312116844+2481
P 4Huddersfield Town462312116852+1681
  5Mansfield Town46229157662+1475
  6Northampton Town46229155851+775
  7Lincoln City461917106847+2174
  8Yeovil Town46235187057+1374
  9Oxford United461817115544+1171
 10Swansea City461514175861−359
 11Boston United461611195054−459
 12Bury461511205464−1056
 13Cambridge United461414185567−1256
 14Cheltenham Town461414185771−1456
 15Bristol Rovers461413195061−1155
 16Kidderminster Harriers461413194559−1455
 17Southend United461412205163−1254
 18Darlington461411215361−853
 19Leyton Orient461314194865−1753
 20Macclesfield Town461313205469−1552
 21Rochdale461214204958−950
 22Scunthorpe United461116196972−349
R23Carlisle United46129254669−2345
R24York City461014223566−3144

Leading goalscorer: Steve MacLean (Scunthorpe United) – 23

National league system

Cup competitions

Competition Winners
FA Trophy Hednesford Town
FA Vase Winchester City
FA National League System Cup Mid Cheshire League

Football Conference

Northern Premier League

Southern League

Isthmian League

Other leagues

League Champions Notes
Step 3 Leagues Northern Premier League First Division Hyde United  
Southern League Midland/West Division Redditch United (promoted to Conference North after playoffs)
Southern League South/East Division King's Lynn  
Isthmian League Division One North Yeading  
Isthmian League Division One South Lewes (promoted to Conference South after playoffs)
Step 4 Leagues Northern League Dunston Federation Brewery  
North West Counties League Clitheroe  
Northern Counties East League Ossett Albion  
Midland Alliance Rocester  
United Counties League Spalding United  
Eastern Counties League A.F.C. Sudbury  
Isthmian League Division Two Leighton Town  
Essex Senior League Concord Rangers  
Spartan South Midlands League Beaconsfield SYCOB  
Combined Counties League AFC Wimbledon  
Hellenic League Brackley Town  
Western League Bideford  
Wessex League Winchester City  
Sussex County League Chichester City United  
Kent League Cray Wanderers  

Transfer deals

Summer transfer window

The summer transfer window ran from the end of the previous season until 31 August 2003.

January transfer window

The mid-season transfer window runs from 1 to 31 January 2004.

For subsequent transfer deals see 2004-05 in English football.

Retirements

Famous debutants

Retirements

Deaths

References

  1. Harris, Nick (31 July 2003). "Premiership clubs top of Europe's financial tree". The Independent (London). Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  2. Harris, Nick. "'No chance' of Old Firm switching to Premiership". The Independent (London). Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  3. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004 Historical league standings at 27th August 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  4. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 30th August 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  5. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004 Historical league standings at 27th September 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  6. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 30th September 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  7. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 25th October 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  8. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 25th October 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  9. "Top clubs boot out insolvency penalties.". The Independent (London). Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  10. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 30th November 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  11. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 29th November 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  12. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 28th December 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  13. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 28th December 2003". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  14. McKenzie, Andrew (9 January 2004). "Osgood backing for Hughes". BBC News. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  15. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 31st January 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  16. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 31st January 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  17. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 28th February 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  18. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 21st February 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  19. "Southampton wait on boss". BBC News. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  20. "Saints unveil Sturrock". BBC News. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  21. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 28th March 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  22. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 27th March 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  23. "Arsenal clinch title". BBC News. 25 April 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  24. "Nationwide League Division One 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 24th April 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  25. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 24th April 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  26. "Barclaycard Premiership 2003/2004. Historical league standings at 1st May 2004". Retrieved 27 Apr 2013.
  27. "Bolton 4–1 Leeds". BBC News. 2 May 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  28. "Houllier exits Liverpool". BBC News. 24 May 2004. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  29. "Sporting Heroes".
  30. "Sporting Heroes".
  31. "Sporting Heroes".
  32. "Sporting Heroes".
  33. "Seaman retires as City turn to James.". The Independent (London). Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  34. "Irwin emotional at the end". BBC News. 15 May 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.