2003–04 Derby County F.C. season

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Derby County 2003–04 football season

Derby County
2003–04 season
Chairman	Lionel Pickering (until October) John Sleightholme
Manager	George Burley
Stadium	Pride Park Stadium
First Division	20th
FA Cup	Third round
Carling Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Taylor (11) All: Taylor (12)
Average home league attendance	22,199
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

During the 2003–04 English football season, Derby County F.C. competed in the First Division.

Season summary

George Burley's first full season in charge brought little joy as Derby recorded a 20th-placed finish in the 2003–04 season, just 1 point clear of relegation with safety not confirmed until the penultimate game of the season with a 2–0 win over Millwall. With no money for players and the need to slash the club's wage bill, big names such as Fabrizio Ravanelli, Georgi Kinkladze and Craig Burley left the club with the gaps of their departure shored up by free signings; Candido Costa was taken on a season long loan whilst seven others – including Mathias Svensson and Leon Osman – were recruited on short term loans, as Derby used a club record 36 different players in the course of the season. There was also the continued introduction of academy players to the side, with Tom Huddlestone and Marcus Tudgay making significant contributions alongside players such as Lee Grant and Lee Holmes. Burley achieved safety against a background of boardroom uncertainty – Chairman Lionel Pickering, after putting temporary faith in former Coventry City chairman Bryan Richardson and a notional £30m bond, was removed from the chair after the club temporarily entered receivership by The Co-operative Bank, who instantly installed a new board composed of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, for the cost of £1 each.

Final league table

Main article: 2003–04 Football League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
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

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

Derby County's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 2003	Stoke City	H	0–3	21,517
16 August 2003	Gillingham	A	0–0	7,850
23 August 2003	Reading	H	2–3	18,970	Taylor (pen), Svensson
25 August 2003	Cardiff City	A	1–4	15,091	Svensson
30 August 2003	West Bromwich Albion	H	0–1	21,499
13 September 2003	Walsall	A	1–0	8,726	Júnior
17 September 2003	Watford	H	3–2	18,459	Taylor, Svensson, Júnior
20 September 2003	Sunderland	H	1–1	22,535	Taylor
27 September 2003	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	29,059	Júnior
30 September 2003	Bradford City	A	2–1	10,143	Morris (2)
4 October 2003	West Ham United	H	0–1	22,810
11 October 2003	Wigan Athletic	H	2–2	19,151	Taylor (pen), Morris
14 October 2003	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	22,810	Zavagno
18 October 2003	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–3	8,656
21 October 2003	Norwich City	A	1–2	16,346	Taylor (pen)
25 October 2003	Coventry City	H	1–3	21,641	Holmes
1 November 2003	Preston North End	A	0–3	12,839
8 November 2003	Ipswich Town	H	2–2	19,976	Kennedy, Dichio
15 November 2003	Burnley	H	2–0	30,359	Morris, Taylor (pen)
22 November 2003	Millwall	A	0–0	10,308
29 November 2003	Wimbledon	H	3–1	22,025	Herzig (own goal), Tudgay, Holmes
6 December 2003	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	25,018	Tudgay
13 December 2003	Rotherham United	A	0–0	7,320
26 December 2003	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–1	26,412	Costa
28 December 2003	Norwich City	H	0–4	23,783
10 January 2004	Stoke City	A	1–2	16,402	Morris
17 January 2004	Gillingham	H	2–1	20,473	Vincent, Edwards
28 January 2004	Sheffield United	H	2–0	26,603	Tudgay, McLeod
31 January 2004	Reading	A	1–3	14,382	Johnson
7 February 2004	Cardiff City	H	2–2	20,958	Taylor, Osman
14 February 2004	Wigan Athletic	A	0–2	9,146
21 February 2004	Crystal Palace	H	2–1	21,856	Manel, Osman
28 February 2004	Coventry City	A	0–2	16,042
3 March 2004	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–0	19,861
13 March 2004	Rotherham United	H	1–0	21,741	Peschisolido
16 March 2004	Watford	A	1–2	13,931	Peschisolido
20 March 2004	Nottingham Forest	H	4–2	32,390	Taylor, Peschisolido (2), Tudgay
23 March 2004	Sheffield United	A	1–1	21,351	Taylor (pen)
27 March 2004	Sunderland	A	1–2	30,838	Taylor (pen)
3 April 2004	Walsall	H	0–1	23,574
10 April 2004	West Ham United	A	0–0	28,207
12 April 2004	Bradford City	H	3–2	21,593	Osman, Taylor, Combe (own goal)
17 April 2004	Preston North End	H	5–1	24,162	Manel (2), Tudgay (2), Júnior
24 April 2004	Burnley	A	0–1	16,189
1 May 2004	Millwall	H	2–0	26,056	Bolder, Reich
9 May 2004	Wimbledon	A	0–1	6,509

FA Cup

Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 2004	Ipswich Town	A	0–3	16,159

League Cup

Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	13 August 2003	Huddersfield Town	A	1–2	6,672	Taylor

Squad

Squad at end of season

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Andy Oakes
2	DF	WAL	Rob Edwards (on loan from Aston Villa)
3	DF	ENG	Jamie Vincent
4	DF	ENG	Dave Walton
5	DF	IRL	Jeff Kenna
6	DF	ENG	Pablo Mills
7	MF	ENG	Ian Taylor (captain)
8	MF	POR	Cândido Costa (on loan from Porto)
9	FW	ESP	Manel
10	DF	JAM	Michael Johnson
11	FW	CAN	Paul Peschisolido
13	GK	ENG	Lee Grant
14	DF	ENG	Richard Jackson
15	MF	ENG	Adam Bolder
16	DF	FRA	Youl Mawéné
17	DF	ENG	Paul Boertien


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	FW	ENG	Izale McLeod
19	MF	ENG	Nathan Doyle
20	MF	ENG	Lewis Hunt
21	MF	SCO	Gary Twigg
22	FW	GER	Marco Reich
23	FW	ENG	Marcus Tudgay
24	GK	ENG	Lee Camp
26	DF	ENG	Chris Palmer
27	DF	ENG	James Turner
28	MF	FIN	Kris Weckström
29	DF	ENG	Tom Huddlestone
30	MF	ENG	Lee Holmes
31	FW	PER	Gianfranco Labarthe
32	MF	ENG	Leon Osman (on loan from Everton)
33	FW	BRA	José Júnior
34	FW	ENG	Noel Whelan

Left club during season

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	ENG	Warren Barton (to Queens Park Rangers)
3	DF	ARG	Luciano Zavagno (to A.C. Ancona)
5	DF	ENG	Steve Elliott (to Blackpool)
9	FW	ENG	Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth)
9	FW	ENG	Danny Dichio (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
11	MF	ENG	Lee Morris (to Leicester City)
12	MF	FIN	Simo Valakari (to FC Dallas)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
22	MF	ENG	Adam Murray (to Burton Albion)
22	FW	ENG	Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth)
25	MF	IRL	Barry Molloy (to Drogheda United)
32	MF	SCO	Gary Caldwell (on loan from Newcastle United)
32	MF	NIR	Peter Kennedy (on loan from Wigan Athletic)
34	FW	SWE	Mathias Svensson (on loan from Charlton Athletic)

References

"Derby County 2003–2004 Home". statto.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

Notes

Edwards was born in Madeley, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
Johnson was born in Nottingham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 1999.
Camp was born in Derby, England, and represented them at U-21 level, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally and would make his full international debut for Northern Ireland in March 2011.

v t e Derby County Football Club
The club	History 1884–1967 1967–present Seasons Players Player of the Year Managers Records and statistics Head to Head Europe Reserves and Academy
Grounds	Racecourse Ground Baseball Ground Pride Park Stadium
Media	The Damned Utd (novel) The Damned United (film)
Other	Nottingham Forest rivalry Brian Clough Trophy Leicester City rivalry Derbyshire FA Centenary Cup Derby County Women

v t e Derby County F.C. seasons
1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Derby County F.C. seasons

1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

2003–04 in English football

« 2002–03 2004–05 »

National teams

League competitions

Level 1	Premier League
Levels 2–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One North, One South) Northern Premier League (Premier, One) Southern League (Premier, Eastern, Western)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two) Combined Counties League (Premier, One) Eastern Counties League (Premier, One) Essex Senior League (level 9 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One East, One West) Kent League (level 8 only) Midland Alliance (level 8 only) Midland Football Combination (level 9 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) Spartan South Midlands League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) Wessex League (level 8 only) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Community Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Charlton Athletic Chelsea Everton Fulham Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Portsmouth Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers
First Division	Bradford City Burnley Cardiff City Coventry City Crewe Alexandra Crystal Palace Derby County Gillingham Ipswich Town Millwall Norwich City Nottingham Forest Preston North End Reading Rotherham United Sheffield United Stoke City Sunderland Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wigan Athletic Wimbledon
Second Division	Barnsley Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Chesterfield Colchester United Grimsby Town Hartlepool United Luton Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Rushden & Diamonds Sheffield Wednesday Stockport County Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers
Third Division	Boston United Bristol Rovers Bury Cambridge United Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Darlington Doncaster Rovers Huddersfield Town Hull City Kidderminster Harriers Leyton Orient Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oxford United Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Swansea City Torquay United Yeovil Town York City
Non-League	Shrewsbury Town

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