2003–04 Football League
The 2003–04 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 105th completed season of The Football League.
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Norwich City |
| Promoted | Norwich City West Bromwich Albion Crystal Palace |
| Relegated | Carlisle United York City |
| New Clubs in League | Yeovil Town Doncaster Rovers |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
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
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Norwich City |
| Promoted | Norwich City West Bromwich Albion Crystal Palace |
| Relegated | Walsall Bradford City Wimbledon |
| UEFA Cup | Millwall |
| Matches played | 552 |
| Goals scored | 1,435 (2.6 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andrew Johnson (27 goals)[2] |
← 2002–03 2004–05 (Championship) → | |
| 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[lower-alpha 1] |
| 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:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- 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
| 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) | |||||||
| 4th | West Ham United | 0 | |||||||||
| 6th | Crystal Palace | 1 | |||||||||
| 4th | West Ham United | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| 5th | Ipswich Town | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
Maps
Locations of the 2003–04 First Division teams
Locations of the London teams in the 2003–04 First Division
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Andrew Johnson | Crystal Palace | 28 |
| 2 | Marlon Harewood | West Ham United / Nottingham Forest | 25 |
| 3 |  Robert Earnshaw | Cardiff City | 21 |
| 4 | Dean Ashton | Crewe Alexandra | 19 |
| = | Robbie Blake | Burnley | 19 |
| 6 | Nathan Ellington | Wigan Athletic | 18 |
| 7 | Darren Bent | Ipswich Town | 17 |
| = |  Ricardo Fuller | Preston North End | 17 |
| 9 | Marcus Stewart | Sunderland | 16 |
| 10 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} David Healy | Preston North End | 15 |
| = | Martin Butler | Rotherham United | 15 |
| = | Steve Jones | Crewe Alexandra | 15 |
Second Division
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Plymouth Argyle (2nd third tier title) |
| Direct promotion | Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers |
| Promoted through play-offs | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Relegated | Grimsby Town, Notts County, Rushden & Diamonds, Wycombe Wanderers |
| Matches played | 552 |
| Goals scored | 1,460 (2.64 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Leon Knight (Brighton & Hove Albion), 25 Stephen McPhee (Port Vale), 25 [2] |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle (C, P) | 46 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 52 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 28 | +44 | 90 | Promoted |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers (P) | 46 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 47 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 33 | 33 | +35 | 83 | |
| 3 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 25 | +21 | 82 | Participated in play-offs |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion (O, P) | 46 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 32 | +21 | 77 | |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 46 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 41 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 35 | 35 | +18 | 73 | |
| 6 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 37 | 37 | +15 | 73 | |
| 7 | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 35 | +10 | 73 | |
| 8 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 36 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 38 | +3 | 67 | |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 35 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 26 | +5 | 66 | |
| 10 | Luton Town | 46 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 27 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 25 | 39 | +3 | 66 | |
| 11 | Colchester United | 46 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 33 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 33 | −4 | 64 | |
| 12 | Barnsley | 46 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 29 | 39 | −4 | 62 | |
| 13 | Wrexham | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 39 | −10 | 60 | |
| 14 | Blackpool | 46 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 31 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 37 | −7 | 59 | |
| 15 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 37 | 25 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 29 | 35 | +6 | 57 | |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 38 | −16 | 53 | |
| 17 | Brentford | 46 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 31 | −17 | 53 | |
| 18 | Peterborough United | 46 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 52 | |
| 19 | Stockport County | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 31 | 36 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 31 | 34 | −8 | 52 | |
| 20 | Chesterfield | 46 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 40 | −22 | 51 | |
| 21 | Grimsby Town (R) | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 19 | 55 | −26 | 50 | Relegated |
| 22 | Rushden & Diamonds (R) | 46 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 37 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 23 | 40 | −14 | 48 | |
| 23 | Notts County (R) | 46 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 32 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 18 | 51 | −28 | 42 | |
| 24 | Wycombe Wanderers (R) | 46 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 31 | 39 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 36 | −25 | 37 |
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Play-offs
| Semi-finals 1st leg – 15/16 May; 2nd leg – 19/20 May 2004 | Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 30 May 2004 | ||||||||||
| 3rd | Bristol City | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 6th | Hartlepool United | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 3rd | Bristol City | 0 | |||||||||
| 4th | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | |||||||||
| 4th | Brighton & Hove Albion (pens.) | 1 | 1 | 2 (4) | |||||||
| 5th | Swindon Town | 0 | 2 | 2 (3) | |||||||
Maps
Locations of the 2003–04 Second Division teams
Locations of the London teams in the 2003–04 Second Division
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon Knight | Brighton & Hove Albion | 26 |
| 2 |  Stephen McPhee | Port Vale | 25 |
| 3 |  Paul Heffernan | Notts County | 20 |
| = | Sam Parkin | Swindon Town | 20 |
| 5 | Tommy Mooney | Swindon Town | 19 |
| 6 | Kevin Gallen | Queens Park Rangers | 17 |
| 7 |  Eugene Dadi | Tranmere Rovers | 16 |
| = | Paul Furlong | Queens Park Rangers | 16 |
| = | Scott Taylor | Blackpool | 16 |
| 10 | Onandi Lowe | Rushden & Diamonds | 15 |
Third Division
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Doncaster Rovers (3rd fourth tier title) |
| Direct promotion | Doncaster Rovers, Hull City, Torquay United |
| Promoted through play-offs | Huddersfield Town |
| Relegated to Conference | Carlisle United, York City |
| New clubs in the league | Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town |
| Matches played | 552 |
| Goals scored | 1,398 (2.53 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Steven MacLean (Scunthorpe United), 23[2] |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doncaster Rovers[lower-alpha 1] (C, P) | 46 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 47 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 24 | +42 | 92 | Promoted |
| 2 | Hull City (P) | 46 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 50 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 23 | +38 | 88 | |
| 3 | Torquay United (P) | 46 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 44 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 26 | +24 | 81 | |
| 4 | Huddersfield Town (O, P) | 46 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 34 | +16 | 81 | Participated in play-offs |
| 5 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 44 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 32 | 37 | +14 | 75 | |
| 6 | Northampton Town | 46 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 28 | +7 | 75 | |
| 7 | Lincoln City | 46 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 36 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 24 | +21 | 74 | |
| 8 | Yeovil Town[lower-alpha 1] | 46 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 40 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 38 | +13 | 74 | |
| 9 | Oxford United | 46 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 31 | +11 | 71 | |
| 10 | Swansea City | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 36 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 35 | −3 | 59 | |
| 11 | Boston United | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 35 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 33 | −4 | 59 | |
| 12 | Bury | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 25 | 38 | −10 | 56 | |
| 13 | Cambridge United | 46 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 32 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 35 | −12 | 56 | |
| 14 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 38 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 33 | −14 | 56 | |
| 15 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 35 | −11 | 55 | |
| 16 | Kidderminster Harriers | 46 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 29 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 30 | −14 | 55 | |
| 17 | Southend United | 46 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 29 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −12 | 54 | |
| 18 | Darlington | 46 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 28 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 33 | −8 | 53 | |
| 19 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 27 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 38 | −17 | 53 | |
| 20 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 26 | 44 | −15 | 52 | |
| 21 | Rochdale | 46 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 32 | −9 | 50 | |
| 22 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 33 | 45 | −3 | 49 | |
| 23 | Carlisle United (R) | 46 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 23 | 42 | −23 | 45 | Relegated to Conference |
| 24 | York City (R) | 46 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 29 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 37 | −31 | 44 |
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- New club in the league
Play-offs
| 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) | |||||||
Maps
Locations of the 2003–04 Third Division teams
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven MacLean | Scunthorpe United | 23 |
| 2 | David Graham | Torquay United | 22 |
| 3 | Leon Constantine | Southend United | 21 |
| 4 | Liam Lawrence | Mansfield Town | 19 |
| 5 | Gregg Blundell | Doncaster Rovers | 18 |
| = | Ben Burgess | Hull City | 18 |
| 7 | Gary Fletcher | Lincoln City | 17 |
| = | Lee Trundle | Swansea City | 17 |
| 9 | Matthew Tipton | Macclesfield Town | 16 |
| = | Jon Stead | Huddersfield Town | 16 |
References
- "England 2003–04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
- "soccernet.espn.go.com". Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- "soccernet.espn.go.com". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- soccernet.espn.go.com
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