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The 2003/04 football season saw Plymouth Argyle regain a place in the second tier of English football for the first time in twelve seasons, Along the way to capturing the Division Two championship they accumulated 90 league points, 21 clean sheets and a club record of seven straight clean sheets whilst also losing arguably the most successful manager in recent history in Paul Sturrock to Southampton F.C.

Players

First-team 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  FRA Romain Larrieu 2 DF  IRL David Worrell 3 MF  ENG Lee Hodges 4 MF  FRA David Friio 5 DF  IRL Graham Coughlan 6 MF  ENG Steve Adams 7 MF  ENG David Norris 8 MF  CAN Jason Bent 9 FW  IRL Mickey Evans 10 FW  ENG Ian Stonebridge 11 MF  ENG Martin Phillips 14 DF  NIR Tony Capaldi 15 DF  ENG Paul Wotton (captain) 16 DF  ENG Hasney Aljofree

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  ENG Nathan Lowndes 19 MF  SCO Marino Keith 21 FW  SCO Blair Sturrock 22 DF  ENG Paul Connolly 23 GK  ENG Luke McCormick 24 DF  WAL Peter Gilbert 25 DF  ENG Matt Villis 26 MF  ENG Andrew Watkins 27 FW  ENG Ryan Trudgian 28 DF  IRL Wayne O'Sullivan 29 MF  ENG Marcus Martin 32 FW  ENG Stewart Yetton 34 DF  ENG Ryan Dickson

1. Evans was born in Plymouth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 1997.
2. Capaldi was born in Porsgrunn, Norway, but also qualified to represent Scotland and Northern Ireland internationally through his father and grandmother respectively and represented Northern Ireland at U-18 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in March 2004.
3. Gilbert was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and represented Wales at U-21 level.
4. O'Sullivan was born in Akrotiri, Cyprus, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented the Republic of Ireland at U-21 level.

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 17 DF  NIR Brian McGlinchey (to Torquay United) 20 MF  ENG David Beresford (to Tranmere Rovers)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 DF  COD Eugène Kangulungu (released) 31 GK  FIN Jani Viander (to Brentford)

Pre-season

Matches

15 July 2003	St Blazey	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Blaise Park, Cornwall
			Evans

17 July 2003	Tiverton	1–3	Plymouth Argyle	Ladysmead, Devon
			Keith Wotton

28 July 2003	SV Bad Ischl	1–1	Plymouth Argyle
			Beresford

30 July 2003	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Charlton Athletic	Home Park
	Friio Wotton

4 August 2003	Saltash United	0–5	Plymouth Argyle	Kimberley Stadium, Saltash
			Lowndes Coughlan Beresford

Last updated: 5 November 2014
Source:Greens on Screen

Football League Second Division

League table

Matches

9 August 2003 1	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Grimsby Town	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Keith 32' Coughlan 51' Capaldi		Boulding 28' Anderson 64' Barnard Cas	Attendance: 9,590 Referee: L Cable

16 August 2003 2	Rushden and Diamonds	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Nene Park, Irthlingborough
15:00	Lowe 54' Jack 56' Mills		Capaldi 77' Friio	Attendance: 4,045 Referee: B Knight

23 August 2003 3	Plymouth Argyle	3–1	Stockport County	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Keith 21' Hodges 23' Bent 28' Norris Evans		Beckett 43' Goodwin Gibb	Attendance: 7,594 Referee: Eddie Ilderton

25 August 2003 4	Chesterfield	1–1	Plymouth Argyle	Saltergate, Chesterfield
19:45	Brandon 50' Mark Allott		Friio 66'	Attendance: 4,089 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

30 August 2003 5	Plymouth Argyle	3–3	Brighton	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Coughlan 19' Stonebridge 81' Friio 89' Wotton Evans		Connolly (o.g.) Butters 36' Knight 73' Roberts Hart	Attendance: 9,289 Referee: M Fletcher

6 September 2003 6	Brentford	1–3	Plymouth Argyle	Griffin Park, London
15:00	May 27' Fieldwick Roget  89'		Stonebridge 9' Evans 58' 84'	Attendance: 5,688 Referee: Steve Tomlin

12 September 2003 7	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Luton Town	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Evans 82' Friio 90' Wotton		McSheffrey 58' Coyne Showunmi	Attendance: 9,894 Referee: Anthony Bates

16 September 2003 8	Peterborough United	2–2	Plymouth Argyle	London Road, Peterborough
19:45	Arber pen' (27) Clarke 81' Legg Shields		Wotton pen' (10) Capaldi 84'	Attendance: 4,183 Referee: R Pearson

20 September 2003 9	Wrexham	2–2	Plymouth Argyle	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
15:00	Lawrence 28' Jones Pen' (42) Whitley Edwards		Norris 31' Capaldi 49' Wotton	Attendance: 3,945 Referee: Michael Ryan

27 September 2003 10	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Barnsley	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Coughlan 38' Evans 75'		Gallimore Fallon	Attendance: 8,695 Referee: Richard Beeby

27 September 2003 11	Plymouth Argyle	0–1	Bristol City	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Evans		Peacock 27' Butler Lita	Attendance: 13,923 Referee: P Armstrong

4 October 2003 12	Wycombe Wanderers	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Adams Park, High Wycombe
15:00	Vinnicombe			Attendance: 5,708 Referee: Mike Thorpe

11 October 2003 13	Plymouth Argyle	6–0	Tranmere	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Friio 7' Wotton 38' Gilbert 45' Keith 49' Evans 56' Norris 79'		Gray Taylor	Attendance: 7,610 Referee: Andre Marriner

18 October 2003 14	Port Vale	1–5	Plymouth Argyle	Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent
15:00	Keith 35' Friio 38' 72' Adams 45' Wotton 46'		Burns	Attendance: 5,786 Referee: Lee Probert

22 October 2003 15	Sheffield Wednesday	1–3	Plymouth Argyle	Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
19:45	Reddy 84' Smith Holt		Friio 22' 64' Wotton pen' (46) Norris	Attendance: 20,090 Referee: G Laws

25 October 2003 16	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Blackpool	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Keith 42' Coughlan Adams		Southern Douglas  55' Bullock	Attendance: 12,372 Referee: Steve Tanner

1 November 2003 17	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Oldham	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Wotton 17' Friio  43' Evans 50'		Beharall 10' 63' Sheridan  43' Murray  76'	Attendance: 11,205 Referee: M Warren

15 November 2003 18	Queens Park Rangers	3–0	Plymouth Argyle	Loftus Road, London
15:00	Gallen 35' 75' Thorpe 72' Bean			Attendance: 17,049 Referee: Trevor Parkes

22 November 2003 19	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Hartlepool United	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Keith 45' Lowndes 48' Coughlan Aljofree Norris			Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Iain Williamson

29 November 2003 20	Colchester United	0–2	Plymouth Argyle	Layer Road, Colchester
15:00	Capaldi 4' Keith 11' McCormick Connolly Gilbert Hodges Wotton			Attendance: 4,332 Referee: Kevin Wright

13 December 2003 21	Swindon Town	2–3	Plymouth Argyle	County Ground (Swindon), Swindon
15:00	Fallon 80' Parkin 90' Robinson  90'		Capaldi 13' Norris 76' Keith 90' Wotton	Attendance: 9,374 Referee: B Curson

20 December 2003 22	Plymouth Argyle	3–0	Notts County	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Lowndes 28' Evans 79' 82'		Fenton Bolland Caskey	Attendance: 9,923 Referee: R Olivier

26 December 2003 23	AFC Bournemouth	0–2	Plymouth Argyle	Dean Court, Bournemouth
15:00	Feeney Cummings		Wotton 22' Norris 40'	Attendance: 8,901 Referee: Richard Beeby

28 December 2003 24	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Brentford	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Capaldi 48' Lowndes 63' Connolly Coughlan		Kitamirike Roget  42'	Attendance: 17,882 Referee: P Prosser

3 January 2004 25	Plymouth Argyle	7–0	Chesterfield	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Hodges 4' Capaldi 11' Lowndes 12' 18' Friio 15' 36' 88'		Davies	Attendance: 13,109 Referee: Keith Hill

10 January 2004 26	Grimsby Town	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Blundell Park, Grimsby
15:00			Gilbert Aljorfree Friio Hodges	Attendance: 5,007 Referee: Eddie Evans

17 January 2003 27	Plymouth Argyle	3–0	Rushden and Diamonds	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Coughlan 47' Stonebridge 58' Wotton 90'		Bignot  59'	Attendance: 13,021 Referee: Clive Penton

24 January 2004 28	Stockport County	0–2	Plymouth Argyle	Edgeley Park, Stockport
15:00	Friio 29' Coughlan 62'		Gibb Lambert	Attendance: 6,608 Referee: Paul Robindon

31 January 2004 29	Brighton	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Withdean Stadium, Brighton
15:00	Benjamin 12' Knight 34' Watson		Lowndes 88'	Attendance: 6,379 Referee: Phil Joslin

7 February 2004 30	Plymouth Argyle	0–0	AFC Bournemouth	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Capaldi		Buxton Cummings	Attendance: 13,371 Referee: B Knight

17 February 2004 31	Tranmere Rovers	3–0	Plymouth Argyle	Prenton Park, Tranmere
19:45	Dadi 19' 52' Hume 23'		Aljofree Norris	Attendance: 7,948 Referee: M Cowburn

21 February 2004 32	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Port Vale	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Phillips 80' Stonebridge 90' Capaldi Aljofree		McPhee 53' Pilkington Paynter	Attendance: 13,371 Referee: B Knight

28 February 2004 33	Blackpool	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
15:00	Evans		Stonebridge 54' Adams Aljofree	Attendance: 7,253 Referee: Scott Mathieson

2 March 2004 34	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
19:45	Evans 7' Coughlan 77' Connolly		Geary Barry-Murphy Quinn	Attendance: 17,218 Referee: Andy Penn

6 March 2004 35	Notts County	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Meadow Lane, Nottingham
15:00	Keith		Bolland Scoffham	Attendance: 8,057 Referee: Nigel Miller

13 March 2004 36	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Swindon Town	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Keith 11' Evans 84' Friio		Gurney  75' Mooney 90'	Attendance: 16,080 Referee: P Walton

16 March 2004 37	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Peterborough United	Home Park, Plymouth
19:45	Lowndes 55' Wotton pen' (79) Connolly		Arber	Attendance: 13,110 Referee: Joe Ross

20 March 2004 38	Luton Town	1–1	Plymouth Argyle	Kenilworth Road, Luton
15:00	Coyne 42' Holmes Howard Nicholls  46'		Adams 90' Friio	Attendance: 8,499 Referee: Graham Salisbury

27 March 2004 39	Plymouth Argyle	0–0	Wrexham	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Norris Lowndes Evans		Morgan  56' Ferguson  90'	Attendance: 12,275 Referee: P Taylor

3 April 2004 40	Barnsley	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Oakwell, Barnsley
15:00	Birch 81' Betsy Neil Shuker		Norris	Attendance: 9,266 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

10 April 2004 41	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Wycombe Wanderers	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Coughlan 39' Evans 80' Hodges		Tyson 5' Nethercott	Attendance: 14,806 Referee: D R Crick

13 April 2004 42	Bristol City	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Ashton Gate, Bristol
19:45	Peacock 85' Roberts Doherty		Bent	Attendance: 19,045 Referee: R Pearson

17 April 2004 43	Oldham Athletic	4–1	Plymouth Argyle	Boundary Park, Oldham
15:00	Johnson 34' 61' Owen 42' Eyres 45' Murray 67'		Wotton 51' 53'	Attendance: 6,924 Referee: M Cowburn

24 April 2004 44	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Queens Park Rangers	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Evans 81' Friio 86' Hodges		Padula Ainsworth Gallen	Attendance: 19,888 Referee: Paul Durkin

1 May 2004 45	Hartlepool	1–3	Plymouth Argyle	Victoria Park (Hartlepool)
15:00	Boyd 11' Westwood Williams		Hodges 12' Lowndes 42' Tinkler og' (48)	Attendance: 7,437 Referee: Anthony Leake

8 May 2004 46	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Colchester United	Home Park, Plymouth
15:00	Friio 17'  62' Norris 47'		Brown Bowry	Attendance: 19,868 Referee: A R Hall

Last updated: 8 November 2014
Source:Soccerbase

FA Cup

Matches

8 November 2003 Round One	Northampton	3–2	Plymouth Argyle	Sixfields, Northampton
15:00	Walker 37' Hargreaves 60' Asamoah 83' Sampson Trollope		Friio 32' Stonebridge 63' Evans	Attendance: 4,385 Referee: L Cable

Last updated: 9 November 2014
Source:Soccerbase

League Cup

Matches

12 August 2003 Round One	Colchester United	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Layer Road, Colchester
19:45	Fagan 22' Pinault 40' Brown Stockley		Evans 24' Gilbert Capaldi Keith	Attendance: 2,367 Referee: Joe Ross

Last updated: 9 November 2014
Source:Soccerbase

Football League Trophy

Matches

14 October 2003 Round One	Plymouth Argyle	4–0	Bristol City	Home Park, Plymouth
19:45	Keith 10' Lowndes 45' 86' Gilbert 55' Capaldi		Butler Doherty	Attendance: 4,927 Referee: D R Crick

4 November 2003 Round Two	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Wycombe Wanderers	Home Park, Plymouth
19:45	Coughlan 22' Evans 34'		McSporran 8' 15' Johnson Branston  90'	Attendance: 4,298 Referee: B Curson
Note: (Wycombe Win 4–2 On Penalties)

Last updated: 9 November 2014
Source:Soccerbase

Notable events

• 22 October 2003: Plymouth Argyle defeat Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 at Hillsborough to go top of Division Two.
• 24 October 2003: Argyle receive performance of the week award for their 5–1 victory over Port Vale.
• 1 November 2003: Paul Sturrock named Division Two Manager of the Month for October.
• 6 November 2003: David Friio announced as Division Two player of the month for October.
• 23 December 2003: Paul Sturrock signs a four-and-a-half-year contract with Argyle.
• 26 December 2003: Paul Wotton scores Argyle's 5000th League goal in a 2–0 victory over AFC Bournemouth. Plymouth Argyle become the first League side to score 50 goals in that season.
• 2 January 2004: Paul Sturrock named Division Two Manager of the Month for December.
• 3 January 2004: David Friio scores the first hat-trick for Argyle since Paul McGregor in March 2000.
• 6 January 2004: Paul Sturrock named as winner of the second quarter of the League managers Association's Tissot Managers' Performance League.
• 17 January 2004: Billy Rafferty and Paul Mariner make a guest appearance at Home Park. Argyle played Rushden & Diamonds on that day and won 3–0.
• 5 February 2004: Graham Coughlan announced as Division Two player of the month for January.
• 19 February 2004: The club's first retail outlet in Plymouth city centre opens. The club also unveils next season's away kit – the first to be voted for by fans.
• 2 March 2004: Plymouth Argyle complete the second "double" over Sheffield Wednesday in their history, by beating them for a second time in the season. Argyle won the match 2–0.
• 3 March 2004: Paul Sturrock agrees personal terms to take over as Southampton manager.
• 4 March 2004: Sturrock is unveiled by Southampton as their new manager at a press conference.
• 17 March 2004: The club announces that next year's away kit will be white, instead of tangerine, due to supporter demands.
• 27 March 2004: One hundred former Argyle players returned to Home Park for the game against Wrexham.
• 31 March 2004: Tony Capaldi becomes the first Plymouth Argyle player to win a cap for a home nation since Dave Phillips (Wales) in 1984. Capaldi plays for Northern Ireland.
• 10 April 2004: It becomes mathematically certain that Plymouth Argyle will achieve promotion or a play-off place, following a 2–1 win over Wycombe Wanderers.
• 20 April 2004: Bobby Williamson is unveiled as the permanent successor to Paul Sturrock, following much speculation about the managerial vacancy.
• 24 April 2004: A 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers hands Argyle both promotion and the Division Two title.
• 6 May 2004: Graham Coughlan is named as the Division Two player of the season.
• 8 May 2004: Mickey Evans is announced as the club's player of the season and Luke McCormick as the most promising player as decided by fans. Plymouth Argyle are presented with the Division Two trophy after their 2–0 win over Colchester United
• 17 May 2004: Paul Sturrock is named as the Division Two manager of the season for his efforts at Argyle.
• 21 May 2004: The club holds its centenary ball to celebrate the previous season. The Plymouth Argyle team of the century, decided by supporters, is announced.

Transfers

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Out

References

1. "FootballSquads - Plymouth Argyle - 2003/04".
2. "GoS-DB Season".
3. "England 2003–04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
4. "2003/04 Championship Season". Greens On Screen. Retrieved 10 November 2014.

• Plymouth Argyle F.C. seasons
• 2003–04 Football League Second Division by team