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2003–04 Manchester United F.C. season

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122nd season in existence of Manchester United

Manchester United 2003–04 football season
Manchester United
2003–04 season
ChairmanSir Roy Gardner
ManagerSir Alex Ferguson
StadiumOld Trafford
Premier League3rd
FA CupWinners
League CupFourth round
UEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16
Community ShieldWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ruud van Nistelrooy (20)
All:
Ruud van Nistelrooy (30)
Highest home attendance67,758 vs Southampton (31 January 2004)
Lowest home attendance66,520 vs Panathinaikos (16 September 2003)
Average home league attendance67,641
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2002–032004–05 →

The 2003–04 season was Manchester United's 12th season in the Premier League, and their 29th consecutive season in the top division of English football.

United started the season by winning the 2003 FA Community Shield and then secured a record eleventh FA Cup with a 3–0 win over Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. However, the club surrendered the Premier League title to unbeaten champions Arsenal, with a second-half dip in league form coinciding with Rio Ferdinand starting an eight-month ban from football due to a missed drugs test and restricting United to a third-place finish.

New to the United side were Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder Kléberson, American goalkeeper Tim Howard, Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba and French striker David Bellion.

United's UEFA Champions League and League Cup dreams ended in the last 16, with the European exit being particularly painful as a last minute goal by eventual champions Porto put them out of the competition and denied them an eighth successive Champions League quarter-final.

Pre-season and friendlies

Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
22 July 2003 Celtic N 4–0 Van Nistelrooy 7', Giggs 27', Solskjær 39', Bellion 72' 66,722
27 July 2003 Club América N 3–1 Van Nistelrooy 48', Forlán (2) 49', 80' 57,365
31 July 2003 Juventus N 4–1 Giggs 25', Scholes 57', Van Nistelrooy 60', Solskjær 79' 79,000
3 August 2003 Barcelona N 3–1 Forlán (2) 25', 37', Van Nistelrooy 85' 68,396
7 August 2003 Sporting CP A 1–3 Hugo 88' (o.g.) 55,000
13 August 2003 Stoke City A 1–3 Forlán 68' 21,436

FA Community Shield

Main article: 2003 FA Community Shield
Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
10 August 2003 Arsenal N 1–1
(4–3p) 		Silvestre 15' 59,293

FA Premier League

Main article: 2003–04 FA Premier League
Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance League
position
16 August 2003 Bolton Wanderers H 4–0 Giggs (2) 35', 74', Scholes 77', Van Nistelrooy 87' 67,647 2nd
23 August 2003 Newcastle United A 2–1 Van Nistelrooy 51', Scholes 59' 52,165 3rd
27 August 2003 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 O'Shea 10' 67,648 2nd
31 August 2003 Southampton A 0–1 32,066 2nd
13 September 2003 Charlton Athletic A 2–0 Van Nistelrooy (2) 62', 82' 26,078 2nd
21 September 2003 Arsenal H 0–0 67,639 3rd
27 September 2003 Leicester City A 4–1 Keane 15', Van Nistelrooy (3) 16', 45', 52' 32,044 3rd
4 October 2003 Birmingham City H 3–0 Van Nistelrooy 36' (pen.), Scholes 57', Giggs 82' 67,633 2nd
18 October 2003 Leeds United A 1–0 Keane 81' 40,153 2nd
25 October 2003 Fulham H 1–3 Forlán 45' 67,727 3rd
1 November 2003 Portsmouth H 3–0 Forlán 37', Ronaldo 80', Keane 82' 67,639 3rd
9 November 2003 Liverpool A 2–1 Giggs (2) 58', 70' 44,159 3rd
22 November 2003 Blackburn Rovers H 2–1 Van Nistelrooy 24', Kléberson 38' 67,748 3rd
30 November 2003 Chelsea A 0–1 41,932 3rd
6 December 2003 Aston Villa H 4–0 Van Nistelrooy (2) 16', 45', Forlán (2) 90', 90' 67,621 3rd
13 December 2003 Manchester City H 3–1 Scholes (2) 7', 73', Van Nistelrooy 34' 67,645 2nd
21 December 2003 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 O'Shea 15', Van Nistelrooy 26' 35,910 1st
26 December 2003 Everton H 3–2 Butt 9', Kléberson 44', Bellion 68' 67,642 1st
28 December 2003 Middlesbrough A 1–0 Fortune 14' 34,738 1st
7 January 2004 Bolton Wanderers A 2–1 Scholes 24', Van Nistelrooy 39' 27,668 1st
11 January 2004 Newcastle United H 0–0 67,622 1st
17 January 2004 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–1 29,396 2nd
31 January 2004 Southampton H 3–2 Saha 18', Scholes 37', Van Nistelrooy 61' 67,758 2nd
7 February 2004 Everton A 4–3 Saha (2) 9', 29', Van Nistelrooy (2) 24', 89' 40,190 2nd
11 February 2004 Middlesbrough H 2–3 Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 63' 67,346 2nd
21 February 2004 Leeds United H 1–1 Scholes 64' 67,744 2nd
28 February 2004 Fulham A 1–1 Saha 14' 18,306 3rd
14 March 2004 Manchester City A 1–4 Scholes 35' 47,284 3rd
20 March 2004 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–0 Giggs 30', Ronaldo 89', Bellion 90' 67,634 3rd
28 March 2004 Arsenal A 1–1 Saha 86' 38,184 3rd
10 April 2004 Birmingham City A 2–1 Ronaldo 60', Saha 78' 29,548 3rd
13 April 2004 Leicester City H 1–0 G. Neville 56' 67,749 3rd
17 April 2004 Portsmouth A 0–1 20,140 3rd
20 April 2004 Charlton Athletic H 2–0 Saha 28', G. Neville 65' 67,477 3rd
24 April 2004 Liverpool H 0–1 67,647 3rd
1 May 2004 Blackburn Rovers A 0–1 29,616 3rd
8 May 2004 Chelsea H 1–1 Van Nistelrooy 76' 67,609 3rd
15 May 2004 Aston Villa A 2–0 Ronaldo 4', Van Nistelrooy 10' 42,573 3rd
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
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
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
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.

FA Cup

Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup
Date Round Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
4 January 2004 Round 3 Aston Villa A 2–1 Scholes (2) 64', 68' 40,371
25 January 2004 Round 4 Northampton Town A 3–0 Silvestre 34', Hargreaves 47' (o.g.), Forlán 68' 7,356
14 February 2004 Round 5 Manchester City H 4–2 Scholes 34', Van Nistelrooy (2) 71', 80', Ronaldo 74' 67,228
6 March 2004 Round 6 Fulham H 2–1 Van Nistelrooy (2) 25', 62' 67,614
3 April 2004 Semi-final Arsenal N 1–0 Scholes 32' 39,939
22 May 2004 Final Millwall N 3–0 Ronaldo 44', Van Nistelrooy (2) 65' (pen.), 81' 71,350

League Cup

Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup
Date Round Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
28 October 2003 Round 3 Leeds United A 3–2
(a.e.t.) 		Bellion 78', Forlán 108', Djemba-Djemba 117' 37,546
3 December 2003 Round 4 West Bromwich Albion A 0–2 25,282

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2003–04 UEFA Champions League group stage
Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance Group
position
16 September 2003 Panathinaikos H 5–0 Silvestre 13', Fortune 15', Solskjær 33', Butt 40', Djemba-Djemba 83' 66,520 1st
1 October 2003 VfB Stuttgart A 1–2 Van Nistelrooy 67' (pen.) 50,348 2nd
22 October 2003 Rangers A 1–0 P. Neville 5' 48,730 1st
4 November 2003 Rangers H 3–0 Forlán 6', Van Nistelrooy (2) 43', 60' 66,707 1st
26 November 2003 Panathinaikos A 1–0 Forlán 85' 6,890 1st
9 December 2003 VfB Stuttgart H 2–0 Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 58' 67,141 1st

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 England Manchester United 6 5 0 1 13 2 +11 15 Advance to knockout stage
2 Germany VfB Stuttgart 6 4 0 2 9 6 +3 12
3 Greece Panathinaikos 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 Transfer to UEFA Cup
4 Scotland Rangers 6 1 1 4 4 10 −6 4
Source: RSSSF

Knockout phase

Main article: 2003–04 UEFA Champions League knockout stage
Date Round Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
25 February 2004 First knockout round
First leg 		Porto A 1–2 Fortune 14' 49,977
9 March 2004 First knockout round
Second leg 		Porto H 1–1 Scholes 32' 67,029

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK France Fabien Barthez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF England Gary Neville 30 2 4 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 42 2
3 DF England Phil Neville 29(2) 0 2(1) 0 1 0 7 1 1 0 40(3) 1
5 DF England Rio Ferdinand 20 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 27 0
6 DF England Wes Brown 15(2) 0 5(1) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 22(3) 0
7 MF Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 15(14) 4 5 2 1 0 3(2) 0 0 0 24(16) 6
8 MF England Nicky Butt 12(9) 1 3(2) 0 2 0 4(1) 1 1 0 22(12) 2
9 FW France Louis Saha 9(3) 7 0 0 0 0 1(1) 0 0 0 10(4) 7
10 FW Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy 31(1) 20 3(1) 6 0 0 7 4 1 0 42(2) 30
11 MF Wales Ryan Giggs 29(4) 7 5 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 43(4) 8
12 FW France David Bellion 4(10) 2 1(1) 0 2 1 0(4) 0 0 0 7(15) 3
13 GK Northern Ireland Roy Carroll 6 0 2(1) 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 11(1) 0
14 GK United States Tim Howard 32 0 4 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 44 0
15 MF Brazil Kléberson 10(2) 2 1 0 1 0 1(1) 0 0 0 13(3) 2
16 MF Republic of Ireland Roy Keane (c) 25(3) 3 4(1) 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 34(4) 3
17 GK Spain Ricardo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 MF England Paul Scholes 24(4) 9 6 4 0 0 5 1 1 0 36(4) 14
19 MF Cameroon Eric Djemba-Djemba 10(5) 0 0(1) 0 1 1 1(3) 1 0(1) 0 12(10) 2
20 FW Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær 7(6) 0 1(2) 0 0 0 1(1) 1 1 0 10(9) 1
21 FW Uruguay Diego Forlán 10(14) 4 2 1 1 1 2(2) 2 0(1) 0 15(17) 8
22 DF Republic of Ireland John O'Shea 32(1) 2 6 0 2 0 6(1) 0 0(1) 0 46(3) 2
23 MF England Kieran Richardson 0 0 0(1) 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2(1) 0
24 MF Scotland Darren Fletcher 17(5) 0 4(1) 0 2 0 3(3) 0 0 0 26(9) 0
25 MF South Africa Quinton Fortune 18(5) 1 3 0 1 0 6(1) 2 1 0 29(6) 3
26 MF England Danny Pugh 0 0 0(1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1(1) 0
27 DF France Mikaël Silvestre 33(1) 0 5 1 0 0 6 1 1 1 45(1) 3
32 FW England Eddie Johnson 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
33 MF England Chris Eagles 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0
34 DF England Phil Bardsley 0 0 0(1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1(1) 0
36 FW England Daniel Nardiello 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
39 DF Republic of Ireland Paul Tierney 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Transfers

United's first departure of the 2003–04 season was David Beckham, who left Old Trafford after ten years with the Red Devils. On 7 July, forward Danny Webber joined Watford. A month after Webber's departure, Argentinian midfielder, Juan Sebastián Verón joined United's rivals Chelsea. Two days later, English forward Jimmy Davis died in a car crash.

Coming in during the summer transfer window were French forward David Bellion, Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, American goalkeeper Tim Howard, Brazilian midfielder Kléberson, and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Leaving in the winter transfer window was Alan Tate, who joined Swansea City. First-choice goalkeeper Fabien Barthez rejoined Marseille in April, while Danny Pugh joined Leeds United in late May, in exchange for Alan Smith.

Arriving in the winter transfer window was Louis Saha, who signed from Fulham on 23 January for a fee of £12.82 million. Alan Smith joined United on 26 May from Leeds United in exchange for Danny Pugh (see above). Gabriel Heinze joined United on 11 June from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £6.9 million.

In

Date Pos. Name From Fee
1 July 2003 FW France David Bellion England Sunderland £2m
3 July 2003 MF Cameroon Eric Djemba-Djemba France Nantes £3.5m
15 July 2003 GK United States Tim Howard United States MetroStars £2.3m
12 August 2003 MF Brazil Kléberson Brazil Atlético Paranaense £5.93m
12 August 2003 MF Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Sporting CP £12.24m
12 January 2004 FW China Dong Fangzhuo China Dalian Shide £3.5m
23 January 2004 FW France Louis Saha England Fulham £12.82m
26 May 2004 FW England Alan Smith England Leeds United £7m
11 June 2004 DF Argentina Gabriel Heinze France Paris Saint-Germain £6.9m

Out

Date Pos. Name To Fee
2 July 2003 MF England David Beckham Spain Real Madrid £17.25m
7 July 2003 FW England Danny Webber England Watford Undisclosed
7 August 2003 MF Argentina Juan Sebastián Verón England Chelsea £15m
9 August 2003 FW England Jimmy Davis Deceased
6 February 2004 DF England Alan Tate Wales Swansea City Undisclosed
27 April 2004 GK France Fabien Barthez France Marseille £5m
26 May 2004 MF England Danny Pugh England Leeds United Free

Loan out

Date from Date to Position Name To
8 July 2003 9 August 2003 FW England Jimmy Davis England Watford
10 July 2003 30 June 2004 MF England Luke Chadwick England Burnley
19 July 2003 30 June 2004 MF Sweden Bojan Djordjic Serbia and Montenegro Red Star Belgrade
27 July 2003 1 January 2004 FW England Colin Heath Belgium Royal Antwerp
27 July 2003 1 January 2004 MF England David Fox Belgium Royal Antwerp
29 July 2003 30 June 2004 MF Scotland Michael Stewart England Nottingham Forest
24 August 2003 30 June 2004 GK Spain Ricardo Spain Racing Santander
12 September 2003 12 October 2003 FW England Neil Wood England Peterborough United
19 September 2003 18 October 2003 GK England Ben Williams England Altrincham
24 October 2003 24 November 2003 FW England Daniel Nardiello Wales Swansea City
24 October 2003 29 December 2003 DF England Alan Tate Wales Swansea City
24 November 2003 25 December 2003 FW England Danny Byrne England Hartlepool United
2 January 2004 26 April 2004 GK France Fabien Barthez France Marseille
12 January 2004 16 December 2006 FW China Dong Fangzhuo Belgium Royal Antwerp
27 January 2004 30 June 2004 FW England Daniel Nardiello England Barnsley
29 January 2004 30 April 2004 FW England Neil Wood England Burnley
29 January 2004 29 February 2004 DF Republic of Ireland Paul Tierney England Colchester United
30 January 2004 23 May 2004 DF England Phil Bardsley Belgium Royal Antwerp
30 January 2004 23 May 2004 FW England Eddie Johnson Belgium Royal Antwerp
19 March 2004 9 May 2004 GK England Ben Williams England Crewe Alexandra
23 March 2004 30 June 2004 DF England Lee Lawrence England Shrewsbury Town
24 March 2004 30 June 2004 FW Denmark Mads Timm Norway Viking

Notes

  1. Beckham's transfer fee could increase to £24.25 million based on Real Madrid's performance in the UEFA Champions League over the four years of his contract.

References

  1. "Manchester United Season 2003/04". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
  2. "Bellion to cost United at least £2 million". Manchester Evening News. 16 October 2003. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  3. "Man Utd sign Djemba-Djemba". BBC Sport. 3 July 2003. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. "Howard joins Man Utd". BBC Sport. 15 July 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  5. "United finally sign Kleberson". The Guardian. 12 August 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  6. "Man Utd sign Ronaldo". BBC Sport. 12 August 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  7. "Man Utd sign Dong". BBC Sport. 12 January 2004. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  8. "Man Utd sign Smith". BBC Sport. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  9. "Man Utd secure Heinze deal". BBC Sport. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  10. "Beckham joins Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 18 June 2003. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  11. "Webber poised for Watford". BBC Sport. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  12. "Veron signs for Chelsea". BBC Sport. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  13. "Man Utd starlet killed in crash". BBC Sport. 9 August 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  14. "Swans make double swoop". BBC Sport. 6 February 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  15. "Marseille sign Barthez". BBC Sport. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  16. "Leeds in swoop for Pugh". BBC Sport. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  17. "Watford lure Man Utd fledgling". BBC Sport. 8 July 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  18. "Chadwick joins Burnley". BBC Sport. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  19. "United starlet in Red Star loan". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. 19 July 2003. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  20. "Stewart wanders into Forest". BBC Sport. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  21. "Man Utd agree Ricardo loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  22. "Man Utd gain work permit for Dong". BBC Sport. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
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