2003–04 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Wigan Athletic competed in the Football League First Division.

Wigan Athletic
2003–04 season
ChairmanDave Whelan
ManagerPaul Jewell
StadiumJJB Stadium
First Division7th
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerNathan Ellington (18)
Average home league attendance9,505

Season summary

Wigan were playing in Division One for the first time in their history, and after losing their first game many tipped them for a swift departure, but Wigan confounded expectations to go unbeaten for the next 17 games and sat at the top the table by November. A weak finish saw Wigan win only three of their last 10 games to finish seventh in Division One – a last minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw the Latics drop out of the play-off places in favour of eventual play-off winners Crystal Palace.

Final league table
Main article: 2003–04 Football League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
5 Ipswich Town 46 21 10 15 84 72 +12 73 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
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
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

Wigan Athletic's score comes first

Legend
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 2003MillwallA0-210,898
16 August 2003Preston North EndH1-112,073McCulloch
23 August 2003BurnleyA2-013,231Kennedy, Ellington
26 August 2003Ipswich TownH1-08,292Ellington
30 August 2003Rotherham UnitedA3-06,660Jarrett, Ellington, N. Roberts
13 September 2003WimbledonA4-21,054Bullard, Liddell, Horsfield, Ellington
16 September 2003West Bromwich AlbionH1-012,874Horsfield
20 September 2003WatfordH1–09,211McCulloch
27 September 2003Coventry CityA1-114,862Jackson
30 September 2003Cardiff CityA0-015,143
4 October 2003Norwich CityH1-116,160Liddell
11 October 2003Derby CountyA2-219,151Liddell (2)
14 October 2003Stoke CityH2-17,678Horsfield (2)
18 October 2003GillinghamH1-06,696Liddell (pen)
21 October 2003Sheffield UnitedH1–112,032Horsfield
25 October 2003WalsallA0-27,041
1 November 2003Crystal PalaceH5-06,796Liddell (2, 1 pen), Horsfield, Ellington (2)
8 November 2003ReadingA0-113,819
22 November 2003Nottingham ForestH2-210,403Ellington, Liddell
29 November 2003West Ham UnitedA0-434,375
2 December 2003SunderlandA1–122,167De Vos
6 December 2003ReadingH0-27,512
13 December 2003Bradford CityH1-07,256Horsfield
20 December 2003Crewe AlexandraA3-27,873McCulloch, De Vos, Bullard
26 December 2003Rotherham UnitedH1-29,235Ellington
28 December 2003Sheffield UnitedA1-126,056Ellington
10 January 2004MillwallH0–07,047
17 January 2004Preston North EndA4–219,161Roberts, Ellington (2), Teale
31 January 2004BurnleyH0–011,147
7 February 2004Ipswich TownA3–122,093Roberts, Ellington, Teale
14 February 2004Derby CountyH2–09,146Ellington, McCulloch
21 February 2004Stoke CityA1–114,927Ellington
28 February 2004WalsallH1–07,593Ellington
6 March 2004Crewe AlexandraH2–38,367McCulloch (2)
13 March 2004Bradford CityA0–011,744
16 March 2004West Bromwich AlbionA1–226,215Liddell (pen)
20 March 2004Coventry CityH2–18,784Roberts (2)
27 March 2004WatfordA1–113,382Roberts
3 April 2004WimbledonH0–17,622
6 April 2004GillinghamA3–07,410Ellington, Roberts, Mahon
9 April 2004Norwich CityA0–223,446
13 April 2004Cardiff CityH3–08,052Roberts, Ellington
17 April 2004Crystal PalaceA1–118,799Ellington
24 April 2004SunderlandH0–011,380
1 May 2004Nottingham ForestA0–129,172
9 May 2004West Ham UnitedH1–120,669N. Roberts

FA Cup
Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 2004West Ham UnitedH1–211,793Quinn (own goal)

League Cup
Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R112 August 2003Hull CityH2–03,295McCulloch, Jarrett
R223 September 2003FulhamH1–04,874Ellington
R329 October 2003MiddlesbroughH1–28,046Bullard

First-team squad

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 Australia AUS John Filan
2 DF England ENG Paul Mitchell
3 MF Scotland SCO Stephen McMillan
4 DF England ENG Matt Jackson
5 DF Canada CAN Jason De Vos
6 DF England ENG Ian Breckin
7 FW Scotland SCO Andy Liddell
8 FW Wales WAL Neil Roberts
9 FW England ENG Nathan Ellington
10 MF Scotland SCO Lee McCulloch
11 MF Northern Ireland NIR Peter Kennedy
12 MF Wales WAL Michael Flynn
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 GK England ENG Gary Walsh
14 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Mahon
15 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gareth Farrelly
16 MF England ENG Tony Dinning
18 MF England ENG Jason Jarrett
19 DF England ENG Nicky Eaden
20 MF Scotland SCO Gary Teale
21 MF England ENG Jimmy Bullard
24 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Rogers (on loan from Leicester City)
26 DF England ENG Leighton Baines
30 FW Grenada GRN Jason Roberts[1]

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
14 FW Scotland SCO Mark Burchill (on loan from Portsmouth)
14 MF Jamaica JAM Jamie Lawrence (on loan from Walsall)
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW England ENG Geoff Horsfield (to West Bromwich Albion)
17 MF England ENG Ged Brannan (to Accrington Stanley)

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Brazil BRA Magno Vieira
23 GK England ENG James Salisbury
25 DF England ENG Chris Lynch
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 FW England ENG Greg Traynor
33 GK England ENG Ryan Yeomans
38 FW England ENG David Moore

Statistics

Starting 11
Considering starts in all competitions[2]

References
  1. Roberts was born in England.
  2. "All Wigan Athletic players: 2004".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.