2003–04 Sunderland A.F.C. season

Sunderland
2003–04 season
ChairmanBob Murray
ManagerMick McCarthy
StadiumStadium of Light
First Division3rd
Play-offsSemi-finals
FA CupSemi-finals
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerMarcus Stewart (16)

During the 2003–04 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Season Summary

While the dismal ending to the previous season, combined with losses in their opening two matches lead to fears that Sunderland might spend the season battling a second successive relegation, a run of 7 wins from their next 10 matches quickly ended any such fears. A couple of spells of indifferent form meant that the club didn't convincingly challenge for automatic promotion until the closing stages of the season, and then another poor run of form in the season's closing stages, including the loss of a six-pointer to fellow promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, just as quickly ended any such hopes. Sunderland were still considered favourites going into the play-offs, but a loss on penalties to Crystal Palace, who had gate-crashed the play-offs on the final day of the season, meant a second season in Division One (or, as it would be re-branded the following season, the Championship).

Transfers

In

Summer

Date Pos Name From Fee
4 August 2003 MF Northern Ireland Jeff Whitley England Manchester City Free[1]
5 August 2003 DF Republic of Ireland Gary Breen England West Ham United Free[2]
25 September 2003 MF England Tommy Smith England Watford Free[3]
3 October 2003 MF Republic of Ireland Alan Quinn England Sheffield Wednesday Loan[4]
30 October 2003 MF England Stewart Downing England Middlesbrough Loan[5]

January

Date Pos Name From Fee
7 January 2004 MF England Kevin Cooper England Wolverhampton Wanderers Loan[6]
6 February 2004 FW Jamaica Darren Byfield England Rotherham United Swap with Michael Proctor[7]
12 March 2004 DF England Colin Cooper England Middlesbrough Loan[8]
24 March 2004 MF Wales Carl Robinson England Portsmouth Loan[9]

Out

Summer

Date Pos Name To Fee
1 June 2003 MF Sweden Stefan Schwarz Retired Retired
11 June 2003 DF Republic of Ireland Cliff Byrne England Scunthorpe United Free[10]
1 July 2003 FW France David Bellion England Manchester United Free[11]
3 July 2003 GK Austria Jurgen Macho England Chelsea Free[12]
9 July 2003 FW France Lilian Laslandes France Nice Free[13]
9 July 2003 DF Switzerland Bernt Haas[notes 1] England West Bromwich Albion £400,000[14]
24 July 2003 MF England Gavin McCann England Aston Villa £2.25 million[15]
31 July 2003 DF England Jody Craddock England Wolverhampton Wanderers £1.75 million[16]
8 August 2003 GK Denmark Thomas Sorensen England Aston Villa £2.25 million[17]
14 August 2003 FW England Kevin Phillips England Southampton £3.25 million[18]
20 August 2003 MF Argentina Nicolás Medina Spain Leganés Season-long loan[19]
23 August 2003 FW Norway Tore André Flo Italy Siena Undisclosed[20]
29 August 2003 MF United States Claudio Reyna England Manchester City £2.5 million[21]
29 August 2003 DF Brazil Emerson Thome England Bolton Wanderers Free[22]
1 September 2003 MF Republic of Ireland Kevin Kilbane[notes 2] England Everton £1 million[23]
1 September 2003 DF England Michael Gray Scotland Celtic Four-month loan (September to December)[24]
25 September 2003 FW Republic of Ireland Keith Graydon England Scarborough Free[25]
3 October 2003 FW Republic of Ireland Michael Reddy England Sheffield Wednesday Loan[26]
3 October 2003 FW England Chris Brown England Doncaster Rovers Loan[27]
23 October 2003 GK Norway Thomas Myhre England Crystal Palace Loan
13 November 2003 DF England Craig James England Darlington Loan[28]

January

Date Pos Name From Fee
27 January 2004 DF England Michael Gray England Blackburn Rovers Free[29]
6 February 2004 FW Northern Ireland Neil Teggart England Darlington Loan[30]
6 February 2004 FW England Michael Proctor England Rotherham United Swap for Darren Byfield[31]
25 February 2004 MF England Jonjo Dickman England York City Loan[32]
15 March 2004 GK Northern Ireland Michael Ingham Wales Wrexham Loan[33]
19 March 2004 DF England Craig James England Port Vale Loan[34]
25 March 2004 MF England Chris Black England Doncaster Rovers Free[35]

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[36]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Estonia EST Mart Poom
2 DF England ENG Stephen Wright
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR George McCartney
4 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jason McAteer[notes 3]
5 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Breen[notes 4]
6 DF England ENG Ben Clark
7 MF England ENG Matt Piper
8 MF Northern Ireland NIR Jeff Whitley[notes 5]
9 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Kyle
10 FW England ENG Marcus Stewart
11 FW England ENG Tommy Smith
12 MF Wales WAL John Oster[notes 6]
13 GK Northern Ireland NIR Michael Ingham[notes 7]
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Sean Thornton
16 DF England ENG Darren Williams
17 FW Jamaica JAM Darren Byfield[notes 8]
18 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Phil Babb[notes 9]
20 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Thomas Butler
21 MF England ENG Paul Thirlwell
22 DF Sweden SWE Joachim Björklund
24 MF Wales WAL Carl Robinson (on loan from Portsmouth)
25 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Colin Healy
30 MF England ENG Grant Leadbitter
33 DF Argentina ARG Julio Arca
36 DF England ENG Simon Ramsden
40 GK Norway NOR Thomas Myhre

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. Pos. Nation Player
11 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Kevin Kilbane (to Everton)
14 FW England ENG Michael Proctor (to Rotherham United)
14 DF England ENG Colin Cooper (on loan from Middlesbrough)
17 DF England ENG Michael Gray (to Blackburn Rovers)
19 FW England ENG Kevin Phillips (to Southampton)
19 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Quinn (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday)
19 MF England ENG Kevin Cooper (on loan from Wolves)
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF England ENG Chris Black (to Doncaster Rovers)
24 MF United States USA Claudio Reyna (to Manchester City)
24 MF England ENG Stewart Downing (on loan from Middlesbrough)
29 FW Norway NOR Tore André Flo (to Siena)
34 DF England ENG Craig James (to Port Vale)
37 DF Brazil BRA Emerson Thome (to Bolton Wanderers)
42 MF Argentina ARG Nicolás Medina (on loan to Leganés)

Reserves

The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF England ENG Jonjo Dickman
27 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Richie Ryan
28 DF England ENG Patrick Collins
31 FW England ENG Chris Brown
32 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Mark Rossiter
35 DF England ENG Chris Scott
No. Pos. Nation Player
38 MF Northern Ireland NIR Chris Kingsberry
39 FW Northern Ireland NIR Neil Teggart
41 GK England ENG Ben Alnwick
42 GK Scotland SCO Euan McLean
43 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Michael Reddy
— DF England ENG Sean Taylor

Results

Sunderland's score comes first.

Win Draw Loss

League Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
12 August 2003 First round Mansfield Town Field Mill 2-1 5,665 Kyle, Artell (own goal)
23 September 2003 Second round Huddersfield Town Stadium of Light 2-4 13,516 Kyle (2)

FA Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
2 January 2004 Third round Hartlepool United Stadium of Light 1-0 40,816 Arca
24 January 2004 Fourth round Ipswich Town Portman Road 2-1 21,406 Smith, Arca
14 February 2004 Fifth round Birmingham City Stadium of Light 1-1 24,966 Kyle
25 February 2004 Fifth round replay Birmingham City St Andrew's 2-0 (after extra time) 25,645 Smith (2)
7 March 2004 Quarter-final Sheffield United Stadium of Light 1-0 37,115 Smith
4 April 2004 Semi-final Millwall Old Trafford 0-1 56,112

Football League First Division

Main article: 2003–04 Football League First Division

League table

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
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 22 13 11 62 45  +17 79 13 8 2 33 15  +18 9 5 9 29 30  −1

Last updated: 4 December 2018.
Source: 11v11

Results by matchday

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHAHAHAAHHAHHHAAAHAHHAAHHAHAAAAHHHAHHAHAHAAHHA
ResultLLWWWWLDWWWDWDLDWDLDDDLWWWWLDLWDWDWWWWWLLLDDWW
Position21231787489554444554558661085444679977643333333433
Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 2003 Nottingham Forest City Ground 0-2 23,529
16 August 2003 Millwall Stadium of Light 0-1 24,877
23 August 2003 Preston North End Deepdale 2-0 14,080 Thornton, Stewart
25 August 2003 Watford Stadium of Light 2-0 23,600 Wright, Stewart (pen)
30 August 2003 Bradford City Valley Parade 4-0 14,116 Thornton, Stewart, Arca, Breen
13 September 2003 Crystal Palace Stadium of Light 2-1 27,324 Kyle, Stewart (pen)
16 September 2003 Stoke City Britannia Stadium 1-3 15,005 Kyle
20 September 2003 Derby County Pride Park 1-1 22,535 Poom
26 September 2003 Reading Stadium of Light 2-0 22,420 Arca, Oster
30 September 2003 Ipswich Town Stadium of Light 3-2 24,840 Breen, Oster, Kyle
4 October 2003 Sheffield United Bramall Lane 1-0 27,008 Kyle
14 October 2003 Cardiff City Stadium of Light 0-0 26,835
18 October 2003 Walsall Stadium of Light 1-0 36,278 Stewart
21 October 2003 Rotherham United Stadium of Light 0-0 24,506
25 October 2003 Norwich City Carrow Road 0-1 16,427
1 November 2003 West Bromwich Albion The Hawthorns 0-0 26,135
4 November 2003 Gillingham Priestfield Stadium 3-1 9,066 Downing, Oster, Stewart
8 November 2003 Coventry City Stadium of Light 0-0 27,247
22 November 2003 Crewe Alexandra Gresty Road 3-0 9,807
29 November 2003 Burnley Stadium of Light 1-1 29,852 Kyle
2 December 2003 Wigan Athletic Stadium of Light 1-1 22,167 Downing (pen)
8 December 2003 Coventry City Highfield Road 1-1 12,913 Downing
13 December 2003 West Ham United Boleyn Ground 2-3 30,329 Oster, McAteer
20 December 2003 Wimbledon Stadium of Light 2-1 22,334 Proctor, Stewart (pen)
26 December 2003 Bradford City Stadium of Light 3-0 29,639 McAteer, Smith, Kyle
28 December 2003 Rotherham United Millmoor 2-0 11,455 Stewart (2, 1 pen)
10 January 2004 Nottingham Forest Stadium of Light 1-0 26,340 Arca
17 January 2004 Millwall The Den 1-2 13,048 Stewart
7 February 2004 Watford Vicarage Road 2-2 16,798 Stewart, Byfield
21 February 2004 Cardiff City Ninian Park 0-4 17,337
3 March 2004 Walsall Bescot Stadium 3-1 7,185 Arca, Stewart, Kyle
10 March 2004 Preston North End Stadium of Light 3-3 27,181 Stewart (pen), Thornton, Mears (own goal)
13 March 2004 West Ham United Stadium of Light 2-0 29,533 Whitley, Kyle
16 March 2004 Stoke City Stadium of Light 1-1 24,510 Byfield
20 March 2004 Reading Madjeski Stadium 2-0 18,019 Byfield, Smith
23 March 2004 Gillingham Stadium of Light 2-1 23,262 Byfield, Thornton
27 March 2004 Derby County Stadium of Light 2-1 30,838 Smith, Oster
6 April 2004 Wimbledon National Hockey Stadium 2-1 4,800 Byfield, Stewart
9 April 2004 Sheffield United Stadium of Light 3-0 27,472 Breen, Smith, Kyle
12 April 2004 Ipswich Town Portman Road 0-1 26,801
18 April 2004 West Bromwich Albion Stadium of Light 0-1 32,201
21 April 2004 Crystal Palace Selhurst Park 0-3 18,291
24 April 2004 Wigan Athletic JJB Stadium 0-0 11,380
1 May 2004 Crewe Alexandra Stadium of Light 1-1 25,311 Whitley
4 May 2004 Norwich City Stadium of Light 1-0 35,174 Robinson
9 May 2004 Burnley Turf Moor 2-1 18,252 Breen, Kyle

Football League First Division play-offs

Date Leg Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
14 May 2004 Leg 1 Crystal Palace Selhurst Park 2–3 25,287 Kyle, Stewart (pen)
17 May 2004 Leg 2 Crystal Palace Stadium of Light 2–1 (4–4 on aggregate, Sunderland lost 5–4 on penalties) 34,536 Kyle, Stewart

Goal scorers

Position Nation Number Name League League Cup FA Cup Total
FW England 10 Marcus Stewart 16 0 0 16
FW Scotland 9 Kevin Kyle 12 3 1 16
MF England 11 Tommy Smith 4 0 4 8
MF Argentina 33 Julio Arca 4 0 2 6
FW Jamaica 17 Darren Byfield 5 0 0 5
MF Wales 12 John Oster 5 0 0 5
MF Republic of Ireland 15 Sean Thornton 4 0 0 4
DF Republic of Ireland 5 Gary Breen 4 0 0 4
MF England 24 Stewart Downing 3 0 0 3
MF Republic of Ireland 4 Jason McAteer 2 0 0 2
MF Northern Ireland 8 Jeff Whitley 2 0 0 2
/ / / Own goals 1 1 0 2
MF Wales 24 Carl Robinson 1 0 0 1
DF England 2 Stephen Wright 1 0 0 1
GK Estonia 1 Mart Poom 1 0 0 1
FW England 14 Michael Proctor 1 0 0 1
/ / / Totals 62 4 7 73

References

  1. ^ "Whitley joins Sunderland". 4 August 2003.
  2. ^ "Breen seals Sunderland move". 5 August 2003.
  3. ^ "McCarthy happy with Smith". 25 September 2003.
  4. ^ "Quinn, Reddy swap places". 3 October 2003.
  5. ^ "Downing joins Sunderland". 30 October 2003.
  6. ^ "Black Cats sign Cooper". 7 January 2004.
  7. ^ "Sunderland bag Byfield". 6 February 2004.
  8. ^ "Cooper joins Sunderland". 12 March 2004.
  9. ^ "Black Cats sign Robinson". 24 March 2004.
  10. ^ "Iron sign Byrne". 11 June 2003.
  11. ^ "Bellion joins Man Utd". July 2003.
  12. ^ "Macho to join Chelsea". 21 May 2003.
  13. ^ "Nice land Laslandes". 9 July 2003.
  14. ^ "Baggies complete Haas signing". 9 July 2003.
  15. ^ "Villa complete McCann deal". 24 July 2003.
  16. ^ "Wolves sign Craddock". 31 July 2003.
  17. ^ "Sorensen joins Villa". 8 August 2003.
  18. ^ "Southampton land Phillips". 14 August 2003.
  19. ^ "Medina off to Spain". 20 August 2003.
  20. ^ "Flo completes Siena move". 23 August 2003.
  21. ^ "Man City sign Reyna". 29 August 2003.
  22. ^ "Thome heads to Bolton". 29 August 2003.
  23. ^ "Everton capture Kilbane". September 2003.
  24. ^ "Celtic move delights Gray". September 2003.
  25. ^ "Seasiders sign Graydon". 25 September 2003.
  26. ^ "Quinn, Reddy swap places". 3 October 2003.
  27. ^ "Doncaster seal Brown deal". 4 October 2003.
  28. ^ "James joins Quakers". 13 November 2003.
  29. ^ "Blackburn seal Gray deal". 27 January 2004.
  30. ^ "Black Cats reject windfall". 6 February 2004.
  31. ^ "Sunderland bag Byfield". 6 February 2004.
  32. ^ "York seal Dickman deal". 24 February 2004.
  33. ^ "Wrexham land Ingham". 15 March 2004.
  34. ^ "James joins Vale on loan". 19 March 2004.
  35. ^ "Penney poised for promotion". 29 March 2004.
  36. ^ "FootballSquads - Sunderland - 2003/04".

McCarthy vows to keep Arca - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/3349923.stm

Sunderland want Jon Stead - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/3410371.stm

Notes

  1. ^ Haas was born in Vienna, Austria, but also qualified to represent Switzerland internationally and made his international debut for Switzerland in 1996.
  2. ^ Kilbane was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for Republic of Ireland in September 1997.
  3. ^ McAteer was born in Tranmere, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 1994.
  4. ^ Breen was born in Barnet, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 1996.
  5. ^ Whitley was born in Ndola, Zambia, but was raised in England and also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his father. He represented England at U-17 level and Northern Ireland at U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1997.
  6. ^ Oster was born in Boston, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and represented them at U-18 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Wales in 1997.
  7. ^ Ingham was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and represented them at U-18 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in June 2005.
  8. ^ Byfield was born in Sutton Coldfield, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 2003.
  9. ^ Babb was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.