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

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[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:
  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

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 London teams in the 2003–04 First Division

Top scorers

Rank Player Club League
1England Andrew Johnson Crystal Palace 28
2England Marlon HarewoodWest Ham United /
Nottingham Forest
25
3Wales Robert EarnshawCardiff City21
4England Dean AshtonCrewe Alexandra19
=England Robbie BlakeBurnley19
6England Nathan EllingtonWigan Athletic18
7England Darren BentIpswich Town17
=Jamaica Ricardo FullerPreston North End17
9England Marcus StewartSunderland16
10Northern Ireland David HealyPreston North End15
=England Martin ButlerRotherham United15
=England Steve JonesCrewe Alexandra15

[3]

Second Division

Football League Second Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsPlymouth Argyle (2nd third tier title)
Direct promotionPlymouth Argyle,
Queens Park Rangers
Promoted through play-offsBrighton & 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 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

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 London teams in the 2003–04 Second Division

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1England Leon Knight Brighton & Hove Albion 26
2Scotland Stephen McPheePort Vale25
3Republic of Ireland Paul HeffernanNotts County20
=England Sam ParkinSwindon Town20
5England Tommy MooneySwindon Town19
6England Kevin GallenQueens Park Rangers17
7Ivory Coast Eugene DadiTranmere Rovers16
=England Paul FurlongQueens Park Rangers16
=England Scott TaylorBlackpool16
10Jamaica Onandi LoweRushden & Diamonds15

[4]

Third Division

Football League Third Division
Season2003–04
ChampionsDoncaster Rovers (3rd fourth tier title)
Direct promotionDoncaster Rovers,
Hull City,
Torquay United
Promoted through play-offsHuddersfield 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 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:
  1. 1 2 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)

[1]

Maps

Top scorers

Rank Player Club League
1Scotland Steven MacLean Scunthorpe United 23
2Scotland David GrahamTorquay United22
3England Leon ConstantineSouthend United21
4England Liam LawrenceMansfield Town19
5England Gregg BlundellDoncaster Rovers18
=England Ben BurgessHull City18
7England Gary FletcherLincoln City17
=England Lee TrundleSwansea City17
9England Matthew TiptonMacclesfield Town16
=England Jon SteadHuddersfield Town16

[5]

See also

References

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