2003–04 Football League

The Football League
Season2003–04
ChampionsNorwich City
PromotedNorwich City
West Bromwich Albion
Crystal Palace
RelegatedCarlisle United
York City
New Clubs in LeagueYeovil Town
Doncaster Rovers

The 2003–04 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 105th completed season of The Football League.

This was the last season of the Football League with the Nationwide Building Society as title sponsor, and the last in which the divisions were known as the First, Second and Third Divisions: from the following season they would be known as the Championship, League One and League Two respectively.

Norwich City won the First Division, thus returning to the Premier League for the first time since 1994–95. Also promoted to the top flight were West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace. Plymouth Argyle won the Second Division, while Doncaster Rovers won the Third.

Final league tables and results

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,[1] with home and away statistics separated. Play-off results are from the same website.

First Division

Main article: 2003–04 Football League First Division
First Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsNorwich City
PromotedNorwich City
West Bromwich Albion
Crystal Palace
RelegatedWalsall
Bradford City
Wimbledon
UEFA CupMillwall
Matches played552
Goals scored1,435 (2.6 per match)
Top goalscorerAndrew Johnson
(27 goals)[2]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Norwich City (C, P) 46 28 10 8 79 39 +40 94 Promotion to the FA Premier League
2 West Bromwich Albion (P) 46 25 11 10 64 42 +22 86
3 Sunderland 46 22 13 11 62 45 +17 79 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
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 (O, P) 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 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
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 58 +3 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 (R) 46 13 12 21 45 65 −20 51 Relegation to Football League One
23 Bradford City (R) 46 10 6 30 38 69 −31 36
24 Wimbledon (R) 46 8 5 33 41 89 −48 29 Renamed Milton Keynes Dons in Football League One
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the FA Cup winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup went to Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

Play-offs

Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 2004
Semi-finals
1st leg – 14/15 May; 2nd leg – 17/18 May 2004 		Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
29 May 2004
        
3rd Sunderland 2 2 4 (4)
6th Crystal Palace (pens.) 3 1 4 (5)
6th Crystal Palace 1
4th West Ham United 0
4th West Ham United 0 2 2
5th Ipswich Town 1 0 1

Maps

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Locations of the 2003–04 First Division teams
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Locations of the London teams in the 2003–04 First Division

Top scorers

Rank Player Club League
1 England Andrew Johnson Crystal Palace 28
2 England Marlon Harewood West Ham United /
Nottingham Forest		 25
3 Wales Robert Earnshaw Cardiff City 21
4 England Dean Ashton Crewe Alexandra 19
= England Robbie Blake Burnley 19
6 England Nathan Ellington Wigan Athletic 18
7 England Darren Bent Ipswich Town 17
= Jamaica Ricardo Fuller Preston North End 17
9 England Marcus Stewart Sunderland 16
10 Northern Ireland David Healy Preston North End 15
= England Martin Butler Rotherham United 15
= Northern Ireland Steve Jones Crewe Alexandra 15

[3]

Second Division

Football League Second Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsPlymouth Argyle
PromotedPlymouth Argyle
Queens Park Rangers
Brighton & Hove Albion
RelegatedGrimsby Town
Notts County
Rushden & Diamonds
Wycombe Wanderers
Matches played552
Goals scored1,460 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorerLeon Knight (Brighton & Hove Albion), 25
Stephen McPhee (Port Vale), 25 [2]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Plymouth Argyle (C, P) 46 26 12 8 85 41 +44 90 Promotion to Football League Championship
2 Queens Park Rangers (P) 46 22 17 7 80 45 +35 83
3 Bristol City 46 23 13 10 58 37 +21 82 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Brighton & Hove Albion (O, P) 46 22 11 13 64 43 +21 77
5 Swindon Town 46 20 13 13 76 58 +18 73
6 Hartlepool United 46 20 13 13 76 61 +15 73
7 Port Vale 46 21 10 15 73 63 +10 73
8 Tranmere Rovers 46 17 16 13 59 56 +3 67
9 Bournemouth 46 17 15 14 56 51 +5 66
10 Luton Town 46 17 15 14 69 66 +3 66
11 Colchester United 46 17 13 16 52 56 −4 64
12 Barnsley 46 15 17 14 54 58 −4 62
13 Wrexham 46 17 9 20 50 60 −10 60
14 Blackpool 46 16 11 19 58 65 −7 59
15 Oldham Athletic 46 12 21 13 66 60 +6 57
16 Sheffield Wednesday 46 13 14 19 48 64 −16 53
17 Brentford 46 14 11 21 52 69 −17 53
18 Peterborough United 46 12 16 18 58 58 0 52
19 Stockport County 46 11 19 16 62 70 −8 52
20 Chesterfield 46 12 15 19 49 71 −22 51
21 Grimsby Town (R) 46 13 11 22 55 81 −26 50 Relegation to Football League Two
22 Rushden & Diamonds (R) 46 13 9 24 60 74 −14 48
23 Notts County (R) 46 10 12 24 50 78 −28 42
24 Wycombe Wanderers (R) 46 6 19 21 50 75 −25 37
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Main article: Football League One play-offs § 2004
Semi-finals
1st leg – 15/16 May; 2nd leg – 19/20 May 2004 		Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
30 May 2004
        
4th Brighton & Hove Albion (pens.) 1 1 2 (4)
5th Swindon Town 0 2 2 (3)
4th Brighton & Hove Albion 1
3rd Bristol City 0
3rd Bristol City 1 2 3
6th Hartlepool United 1 1 2

Maps

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Locations of the 2003–04 Second Division teams
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Locations of the London teams in the 2003–04 Second Division

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Leon Knight Brighton & Hove Albion 26
2 Scotland Stephen McPhee Port Vale 25
3 Republic of Ireland Paul Heffernan Notts County 20
= England Sam Parkin Swindon Town 20
5 England Tommy Mooney Swindon Town 19
6 England Kevin Gallen Queens Park Rangers 17
7 Ivory Coast Eugene Dadi Tranmere Rovers 16
= England Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers 16
= England Scott Taylor Blackpool 16
10 Jamaica Onandi Lowe Rushden & Diamonds 15

[4]

Third Division

Football League Third Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsDoncaster Rovers
PromotedDoncaster Rovers
Hull City
Torquay United
Huddersfield Town
Relegated to ConferenceCarlisle United
York City
New clubs in the leagueDoncaster Rovers
Yeovil Town
Matches played552
Goals scored1,398 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerSteven MacLean (Scunthorpe United), 23[2]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Doncaster Rovers (C, P) 46 27 11 8 79 37 +42 92 Promotion to Football League One
2 Hull City (P) 46 25 13 8 82 44 +38 88
3 Torquay United (P) 46 23 12 11 68 44 +24 81
4 Huddersfield Town (O, P) 46 23 12 11 68 52 +16 81 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs
5 Mansfield Town 46 22 9 15 76 62 +14 75
6 Northampton Town 46 22 9 15 58 51 +7 75
7 Lincoln City 46 19 17 10 68 47 +21 74
8 Yeovil Town 46 23 5 18 70 57 +13 74
9 Oxford United 46 18 17 11 55 44 +11 71
10 Swansea City 46 15 14 17 58 61 −3 59
11 Boston United 46 16 11 19 50 54 −4 59
12 Bury 46 15 11 20 54 64 −10 56
13 Cambridge United 46 14 14 18 55 67 −12 56
14 Cheltenham Town 46 14 14 18 57 71 −14 56
15 Bristol Rovers 46 14 13 19 50 61 −11 55
16 Kidderminster Harriers 46 14 13 19 45 59 −14 55
17 Southend United 46 14 12 20 51 63 −12 54
18 Darlington 46 14 11 21 53 61 −8 53
19 Leyton Orient 46 13 14 19 48 65 −17 53
20 Macclesfield Town 46 13 13 20 54 69 −15 52
21 Rochdale 46 12 14 20 49 58 −9 50
22 Scunthorpe United 46 11 16 19 69 72 −3 49
23 Carlisle United (R) 46 12 9 25 46 69 −23 45 Relegation to Football Conference
24 York City (R) 46 10 14 22 35 66 −31 44
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 2004
Semi-finals
1st leg – 15/16 May; 2nd leg – 19/20 May 2004 		Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
31 May 2004
        
4th Huddersfield Town 2 2 4
7th Lincoln City 1 2 3
4th Huddersfield Town (pens.) 0 (4)
5th Mansfield Town 0 (1)
5th Mansfield Town (pens.) 2 1 3 (5)
6th Northampton Town 0 3 3 (4)

[1]

Maps

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Locations of the 2003–04 Third Division teams

Top scorers

Rank Player Club League
1 Scotland Steven MacLean Scunthorpe United 23
2 Scotland David Graham Torquay United 22
3 England Leon Constantine Southend United 21
4 England Liam Lawrence Mansfield Town 19
5 England Gregg Blundell Doncaster Rovers 18
= England Ben Burgess Hull City 18
7 England Gary Fletcher Lincoln City 17
= England Lee Trundle Swansea City 17
9 England Matthew Tipton Macclesfield Town 16
= England Jon Stead Huddersfield Town 16

[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "England 2003–04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. ^ a b c "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  3. ^ "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  4. ^ "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  5. ^ soccernet.espn.go.com