2003–04 FA Premier League

The 2003–04 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership) was the 12th season of the Premier League. Arsenal were crowned champions ending the season without a single defeat – the first team ever to do so in a 38-game league season. Chelsea finished second to Arsenal.

FA Premier League

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lifting the trophy at Highbury
Season	2003–04
Dates	16 August 2003 – 15 May 2004
Champions	Arsenal 3rd Premier League title 13th English title
Relegated	Wolverhampton Wanderers Leicester City Leeds United
Champions League	Arsenal Chelsea Manchester United Liverpool
UEFA Cup	Newcastle United Middlesbrough
Matches played	380
Goals scored	1,012 (2.66 per match)
Top goalscorer	Thierry Henry (30 goals)
Biggest home win	Portsmouth 6–1 Leeds United (8 November 2003) Chelsea 5–0 Newcastle United (9 November 2003) Arsenal 5–0 Leeds United (16 April 2004)
Biggest away win	Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–5 Chelsea (20 September 2003) Leicester City 0–5 Aston Villa (31 January 2004)
Highest scoring	Manchester City 6–2 Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003) Tottenham Hotspur 4–4 Leicester City (22 February 2004) Middlesbrough 5–3 Birmingham City (20 March 2004)
Longest winning run	9 games^[1] Arsenal
Longest unbeaten run	38 games^[1] Arsenal
Longest winless run	14 games^[1] Manchester City
Longest losing run	6 games^[1] Leeds United
Highest attendance	67,758 Manchester United v Southampton (31 January 2004)
Lowest attendance	13,981 Fulham v Blackburn Rovers (12 April 2004)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Season summary

Having qualified for the Champions League the previous season, Chelsea were bolstered by a £100 million outlay on world-class players, a spree funded by the extensive financial resources of their new owner Roman Abramovich. Manchester United's attack was as strong as ever thanks to free-scoring Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the midfield was weakened following the £25 million pre-season sale of David Beckham to Real Madrid, and the centre of defence suffered a more severe setback after Rio Ferdinand was ruled out for the final four months of the season after being found guilty of the "failure or refusal to take a drugs test". The case of Rio Ferdinand started a debate about punishments relating to drug testing in football, with there being differing views on whether the punishment was too harsh or too lenient. Ferdinand's club sought to make direct comparisons with an earlier case of Manchester City reserve player who had in fact committed a lesser drug testing offence and as a result escaped with only a fine.^[2] City themselves had just moved from Maine Road to the City of Manchester Stadium.^[3]

Arsenal, meanwhile, had only signed German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in the 2003 close season, but French striker Thierry Henry was instrumental in Arsenal's success. Away from the Premier League, Arsène Wenger's team suffered disappointment in the cup competitions. They were knocked-out by League Cup eventual winners Middlesbrough in the semi-finals. They lost their grip on the FA Cup (which they held for two seasons in a row) after being defeated by eventual winners Manchester United in the semi-final. Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Chelsea (3–2 on aggregate). These blows in the FA Cup and Champions League came within a few days of each other, and it was feared^[who?] that Arsenal might squander their lead of the Premier League for the second successive season, but Arsenal easily defeated Liverpool only days later.

The 2003/04 Premier League season saw Arsène Wenger lead the North-London club to a first undefeated season, solidifying his managerial legacy and longevity to the Arsenal fanbase as they finished the season with 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 defeats and 90 points; the tied-tenth highest points tally ever seen in a premier league season, winning with an 11-point margin to Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea. Thierry Henry proved decisive in the critical moments, inspiring comebacks against close rivals Liverpool and Chelsea, including a hat-trick to seal a 4-2 win from being 2-1 down initially.

The relegation spots were occupied by three teams bracketed together on 33 points. Wolves and Leicester City followed the trend of many other newly promoted Premier League clubs and were relegated just one season after reaching the top division. For Leicester City, they would not return to the top flight for another 10 years and became the league champions for the first time ever in their history just a season later, whilst Wolves had been promoted back to the top flight in 2009-10 Premier League and slipped down again 3 years later. The other relegation place went to Leeds United, whose playing fortunes had dipped in the past two seasons after David O'Leary was sacked as manager and club debts had risen so high that many star players had to be sold. As a result, Leeds were relegated from the Premier League after 14 years of top division football – just three seasons after they had reached the Champions League semifinals, and they would not return for another 16 years.

In his third season as Middlesbrough manager, Steve McClaren had guided the Teessiders to their first ever major trophy – sealed with a 2–1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup final. McClaren was also the first English manager to win a major trophy since Brian Little guided Aston Villa to League Cup success in 1996. He was also the first manager to take Middlesbrough into European competition – they would be competing in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Portsmouth, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, returning to the top flight after an absence of fifteen, one and nineteen years respectively. This was also both Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers' first season in the Premier League. They replaced West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland after spending time in the top flight for ten, one and four years respectively.

Stadiums and locations

 

 

London

 

West Midlands

 

Blackburn Rovers

 

Bolton Wanderers

 

Everton

 

Leeds United

 

Leicester City

 

Liverpool

 

Manchester City

 

Manchester United

 

Middlesbrough

 

Newcastle United

 

Portsmouth

 

Southampton

 

London teams:
Arsenal
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur

 

West Midlands teams:
Aston Villa
Birmingham City
Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Locations of the 2003–04 Premier League teams

 

 

Arsenal

 

Charlton Athletic

 

Chelsea

 

Fulham

 

Tottenham
Hotspur

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Greater London Premier League football clubs

 

 

Aston Villa

 

Birmingham City

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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West Midlands Premier League football clubs

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Arsenal	London (Highbury)	Arsenal Stadium	38,419
Aston Villa	Birmingham (Aston)	Villa Park	42,553
Birmingham City	Birmingham (Bordesley)	St Andrew's	30,079
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Ewood Park	31,367
Bolton Wanderers	Bolton	Reebok Stadium	28,723
Charlton Athletic	London (Charlton)	The Valley	27,111
Chelsea	London (Fulham)	Stamford Bridge	42,360
Everton	Liverpool (Walton)	Goodison Park	40,569
Fulham	London (Shepherd's Bush)	Loftus Road^[a]	18,493
Leeds United	Leeds	Elland Road	40,242
Leicester City	Leicester	Walkers Stadium	32,312
Liverpool	Liverpool (Anfield)	Anfield	45,276
Manchester City	Manchester (Bradford)	City of Manchester Stadium^[b]	48,000
Manchester United	Manchester (Old Trafford)	Old Trafford	68,217
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium	35,049
Newcastle United	Newcastle upon Tyne	St James' Park	52,387
Portsmouth	Portsmouth	Fratton Park	20,220
Southampton	Southampton	St Mary's Stadium	32,505
Tottenham Hotspur	London (Tottenham)	White Hart Lane	36,240
Wolverhampton Wanderers	Wolverhampton	Molineux Stadium	29,303

1. Craven Cottage was still under refurbishment from the previous season and as a result, Fulham continued playing their home games at Loftus Road, which is also the home stadium of fellow West London club Queens Park Rangers.
2. Manchester City moved to the City of Manchester Stadium after spending 80 years at Maine Road.

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Arsenal	Arsène Wenger	Patrick Vieira	Nike	O2
Aston Villa	David O'Leary	Olof Mellberg	Diadora	Rover
Birmingham City	Steve Bruce	Kenny Cunningham	Le Coq Sportif	Flybe
Blackburn Rovers	Graeme Souness	Garry Flitcroft	Kappa	HSA
Bolton Wanderers	Sam Allardyce	Jay-Jay Okocha	Reebok	Reebok
Charlton Athletic	Alan Curbishley	Matt Holland	Joma	All:Sports
Chelsea	Claudio Ranieri	Marcel Desailly	Umbro	Fly Emirates
Everton	David Moyes	David Weir	Puma	Kejian
Fulham	Chris Coleman	Lee Clark	Puma	dabs.com
Leeds United	Kevin Blackwell	Dominic Matteo	Nike	Whyte and Mackay
Leicester City	Micky Adams	Matt Elliott	Le Coq Sportif	Alliance & Leicester
Liverpool	Gérard Houllier	Steven Gerrard	Reebok	Carlsberg
Manchester City	Kevin Keegan	Sylvain Distin	Reebok	First Advice
Manchester United	Sir Alex Ferguson	Roy Keane	Nike	Vodafone
Middlesbrough	Steve McClaren	Gareth Southgate	Erreà	Dial-a-Phone
Newcastle United	Sir Bobby Robson	Alan Shearer	Adidas	Northern Rock
Portsmouth	Harry Redknapp	Teddy Sheringham	Pompey Sport	ty
Southampton	Paul Sturrock	Claus Lundekvam	Saints	Friends Provident
Tottenham Hotspur	David Pleat (caretaker)	Jamie Redknapp	Kappa	Thomson Holidays
Wolverhampton Wanderers	Dave Jones	Paul Ince	Admiral	Doritos

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Fulham	Chris Coleman (caretaker)	End of caretaker period	12 May 2003	Pre-season	Chris Coleman	15 May 2003^[4]
Aston Villa	Graham Taylor	Resigned	14 May 2003^[5]		David O'Leary	20 May 2003
Tottenham Hotspur	Glenn Hoddle	Sacked	22 September 2003^[6]	18th	David Pleat (caretaker)	24 September 2003^[7]
Leeds United	Peter Reid		10 November 2003	20th	Eddie Gray	10 November 2003
Southampton	Gordon Strachan	Resigned	13 February 2004	12th	Paul Sturrock	4 March 2004
Leeds United	Eddie Gray	Mutual consent	10 May 2004	19th	Kevin Blackwell	1 June 2004

League table

 

The Premier League commissioned a unique gold trophy to commemorate Arsenal's achievement of winning the league title without defeat.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Arsenal (C)	38	26	12	0	73	26	+47	90	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Chelsea	38	24	7	7	67	30	+37	79
3	Manchester United	38	23	6	9	64	35	+29	75	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round^[a]
4	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	55	37	+18	60
5	Newcastle United	38	13	17	8	52	40	+12	56	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
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	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[b]
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 (R)	38	6	15	17	48	65	−17	33	Relegation to the Football League Championship
19	Leeds United (R)	38	8	9	21	40	79	−39	33
20	Wolverhampton Wanderers (R)	38	7	12	19	38	77	−39	33

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as 2003–04 FA Cup winners went to First Division club Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.
2. Middlesbrough qualified as the 2003–04 Football League Cup winners.

Season statistics

Total goals: 1,012

Average goals per game: 2.66

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	AVL	BIR	BLB	BOL	CHA	CHE	EVE	FUL	LEE	LEI	LIV	MCI	MUN	MID	NEW	POR	SOU	TOT	WOL
Arsenal		2–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	5–0	2–1	4–2	2–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–0
Aston Villa	0–2		2–2	0–2	1–1	2–1	3–2	0–0	3–0	2–0	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–2
Birmingham City	0–3	0–0		0–4	2–0	1–2	0–0	3–0	2–2	4–1	0–1	0–3	2–1	1–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	2–2
Blackburn Rovers	0–2	0–2	1–1		3–4	0–1	2–3	2–1	0–2	1–2	1–0	1–3	2–3	1–0	2–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–0	5–1
Bolton Wanderers	1–1	2–2	0–1	2–2		0–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–1
Charlton Athletic	1–1	1–2	1–1	3–2	1–2		4–2	2–2	3–1	0–1	2–2	3–2	0–3	0–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–4	2–0
Chelsea	1–2	1–0	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0		0–0	2–1	1–0	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	5–0	3–0	4–0	4–2	5–2
Everton	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	0–1		3–1	4–0	3–2	0–3	0–0	3–4	1–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	3–1	2–0
Fulham	0–1	1–2	0–0	3–4	2–1	2–0	0–1	2–1		2–0	2–0	1–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	2–0	2–1	0–0
Leeds United	1–4	0–0	0–2	2–1	0–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–2		3–2	2–2	2–1	0–1	0–3	2–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	4–1
Leicester City	1–1	0–5	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	4–0		0–0	1–1	1–4	0–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	0–0
Liverpool	1–2	1–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	3–1	2–1		2–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	3–0	1–2	0–0	1–0
Manchester City	1–2	4–1	0–0	1–1	6–2	1–1	0–1	5–1	0–0	1–1	0–3	2–2		4–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–3	0–0	3–3
Manchester United	0–0	4–0	3–0	2–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1		2–3	0–0	3–0	3–2	3–0	1–0
Middlesbrough	0–4	1–2	5–3	0–1	2–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–3	3–3	0–0	2–1	0–1		0–1	0–0	3–1	1–0	2–0
Newcastle United	0–0	1–1	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–1	2–1	4–2	3–1	1–0	3–1	1–1	3–0	1–2	2–1		3–0	1–0	4–0	1–1
Portsmouth	1–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	4–0	1–2	0–2	1–2	1–1	6–1	0–2	1–0	4–2	1–0	5–1	1–1		1–0	2–0	0–0
Southampton	0–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	1–2	3–2	0–1	3–3	0–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	0–2	1–0	0–1	3–3	3–0		1–0	2–0
Tottenham Hotspur	2–2	2–1	4–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	0–1	3–0	0–3	2–1	4–4	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	4–3	1–3		5–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–3	0–4	1–1	2–2	1–2	0–4	0–5	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–3	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–4	0–2

Source: 11v11
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Overall

• Most wins – Arsenal (26)
• Fewest wins – Leicester City (6)
• Most draws – Newcastle United (17)
• Fewest draws – Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (6)
• Most losses – Leeds United (21)
• Fewest losses – Arsenal (0)
• Most goals scored – Arsenal (73)
• Fewest goals scored – Wolverhampton Wanderers (38)
• Most goals conceded – Leeds United (79)
• Fewest goals conceded – Arsenal (26)

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	30
2	Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	22
3	Louis Saha	Manchester United/Fulham	20
	Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	20
5	Mikael Forssell	Birmingham City	17
6	Nicolas Anelka	Manchester City	16
	Juan Pablo Ángel	Aston Villa	16
	Michael Owen	Liverpool	16
	Yakubu	Portsmouth	16
10	James Beattie	Southampton	14
	Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur	14
	Robert Pires	Arsenal	14

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month
August	Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)	Teddy Sheringham (Portsmouth)
September	Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea)	Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
October	Sir Bobby Robson (Newcastle United)	Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
November	Sam Allardyce (Bolton Wanderers)	Jay-Jay Okocha (Bolton Wanderers)
December	Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)	Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
January	Sam Allardyce (Bolton Wanderers)	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
February	Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)	Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) & Edu (Arsenal)
March	Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea)	Mikael Forssell (Birmingham City)
April	Harry Redknapp (Portsmouth)	Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

Annual awards

LMA Manager of the Year

The LMA Manager of the Year award was won by Arsène Wenger.^[8]

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2004 was won by Thierry Henry of Arsenal for the second successive year.^[9]

The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows:

• Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
• Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
• Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
• Jay-Jay Okocha (Bolton Wanderers)
• Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
• Patrick Vieira (Arsenal)

PFA Young Player of the Year

The PFA Young Player of the Year award was won by Scott Parker of Chelsea F.C.

The shortlist for the award was as follows:^[10]

• Glen Johnson (Chelsea)
• Scott Parker (Charlton Athletic/Chelsea)
• Wayne Rooney (Everton)
• John Terry (Chelsea)
• Kolo Touré (Arsenal)
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City)

PFA Team of the Year

Howard Lauren Campbell Terry Cole Lampard Gerrard Vieira Pires Henry Van Nistelrooy PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper: Tim Howard (Manchester United)
Defence: Lauren, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell (all Arsenal), John Terry (Chelsea)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires (both Arsenal), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Attack: Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

Thierry Henry of Arsenal was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Henry was the first player to win this award twice.^[11][12]

FWA Footballer of the Year

The FWA Footballer of the Year award for 2004 was won by Thierry Henry. The Arsenal forward picked up a remarkable 87% of the votes.^[13]

Premier League Fair Play Award

The Premier League Fair Play Award merit is given to the team who has been the most sporting and best behaved team. Champions Arsenal won this.^[14][15]

Behaviour of the Public League

Given to the best-behaved fans, Arsenal won this, thus achieving a fair play double.^[14]

Premier League Manager of the Year

Arsène Wenger won the Premier League Manager of the Year award. His team won 26 games, losing none and drawing 12 scoring 73 goals, conceding 26.^[16]

See also

• 2003–04 in English football

References

1. . statto.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
2. Harris, Nick (18 December 2003). "Motive is always considered in deciding guilt". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. . Manchester City Football Club. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
4. "Coleman named Fulham boss". BBC Sport. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
5. "Taylor quits Villa". BBC Sport. 14 May 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
6. Bright, Richard (22 September 2003). "Hoddle sacked after Spurs' poor start". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
7. McNulty, Phil (24 September 2003). "Pleat the Spurs survivor". BBC Sport.
8. "BreakingNews.ie – 2004/05/17: Wenger gets Managers' Association award". Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
9. "Henry retains PFA crown". BBC News. 25 April 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
10. "Henry leads PFA nominations | BreakingNews.ie". from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
11. "Thierry is the tops again – and it's a big 'hats off' to divisional winners Darren Huckerby, Neil Moss and Lee Harper! | The PFA Awards | Give Me Football". Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
12. "Pfa Fans' Player of the Year". Sky Sports.
13. . Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
14. "TheFA.com - Fair Play to Gunners". 27 October 2004. Archived from the original on 27 October 2004.
15. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
16. "BreakingNews.ie – 2004/05/17: Wenger gets Managers' Association award". Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

External links

• 2003–04 FA Premier League Season at RSSSF