 Arsenal captainPatrick Vieira lifting the trophy atHighbury | |
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 16 August 2003 – 15 May 2004 |
| Champions | Arsenal 3rd Premier League title 13thEnglish title |
| Relegated | Leicester City Leeds United Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Champions League | Arsenal Chelsea Manchester United Liverpool |
| UEFA Cup | Newcastle United Middlesbrough |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,012 (2.66 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Thierry Henry (30 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Jens Lehmann Edwin van der Sar (15 clean sheets each) |
| 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 0–5Aston Villa (31 January 2004) |
| Highest scoring | Manchester City 6–2Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003) Tottenham Hotspur 4–4 Leicester City (22 February 2004) Middlesbrough 5–3Birmingham 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 3–2Southampton (31 January 2004) |
| Lowest attendance | 13,981 Fulham 3–4Blackburn Rovers (12 April 2004) |
| Total attendance | 13,297,348[2] |
| Average attendance | 34,993[2] |
2004–05 → | |
The2003–04 FA Premier League (known as theFABarclaycard Premiership) was the 12th season of thePremier League.Arsenal were crowned champions ending the seasonwithout a single defeat – the first team ever to do so in a 38–game league season.[3]Chelsea finished second to Arsenal.
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 ownerRoman Abramovich. Manchester United's attack was as strong as ever thanks to free-scoringRuud van Nistelrooy, but the midfield was weakened following the £25 million pre-season sale ofDavid Beckham toReal Madrid, and the centre of defence suffered a more severe setback afterRio 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.[4]City themselves had just moved fromMaine Road to theCity of Manchester Stadium.[5]
Arsenal, meanwhile, had only signed German goalkeeperJens Lehmann in the 2003 close season, but French strikerThierry 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 byLeague Cup eventual winners Middlesbrough in the semi-finals, lost their grip on theFA Cup (which they held for two consecutive seasons) after being defeated by eventual winners Manchester United in the semi-finals, and were knocked out of theChampions 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 thought that Arsenal might squander their lead of the Premier League for the second successive season, but Arsenal easily defeatedLiverpool only days later.
In the end, Wenger led the North-London club to a firstundefeated 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, winning the title with an 11-point margin overClaudio 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 having been 2–1 down.
The relegation spots were occupied by three teams bracketed together on 33 points.Wolves andLeicester 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 another10 years and became the league champions for the first time ever in their history just a season later, whilst Wolves were promoted back to the top flight in2009 and slipped down again3 years later. The other relegation place went toLeeds United, whose playing fortunes had dipped in the past two seasons afterDavid 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 another16 years, during which time they suffered a further relegation to thethird tier in2007 and came close towards going out of business in the process.
In his third season as Middlesbrough manager,Steve McClaren guided the Teessiders to their first ever major trophy – sealed with a 2–1 win overBolton Wanderers in theLeague Cup final. McClaren was also the first English manager to win a major trophy since Brian Little guidedAston 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 2004–05UEFA Cup.
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theFirst Division. The promoted teams werePortsmouth,Leicester City andWolverhampton Wanderers, returning to the top flight after an absence of fifteen, one and nineteen years respectively. This was also both Portsmouth's and Wolverhampton Wanderers' first season in the Premier League. They replacedWest Ham United,West Bromwich Albion andSunderland, who were relegated to theFirst Division after spending time in the top flight for ten, one and four years respectively.
| 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 |
| 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[6] |
| Aston Villa |  Graham Taylor | Resigned | 14 May 2003[7] |  David O'Leary | 20 May 2003 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Glenn Hoddle | Sacked | 22 September 2003[8] | 18th | David Pleat (caretaker) | 24 September 2003[9] |
| 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 |
| 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 theChampions 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 theChampions 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 theUEFA 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 theUEFA 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 theFootball 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 |
| Total goals: 1,012 |
| Average goals per game: 2.66 |
| 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 |
Paul Dickov forLeicester City againstSouthampton (16 August 2003)Shaun Wright-Phillips forManchester City againstEverton (15 May 2004)| 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 |
| 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) |
TheLMA Manager of the Year award was won byArsène Wenger.[10]
ThePFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2004 was won byThierry Henry of Arsenal for the second successive year.[11]
The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award was as follows:
ThePFA Young Player of the Year award was won byScott Parker ofChelsea F.C.
The shortlist for the award was as follows:[12]
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)
Thierry Henry of Arsenal was named thePFA Fans' Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Henry was the first player to win this award twice.[13][14]
TheFWA Footballer of the Year award for 2004 was won byThierry Henry. The Arsenal forward picked up a remarkable 87% of the votes.[15]
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.[16][17]
Given to the best-behaved fans, Arsenal won this, thus achieving a fair play double.[16]
Arsène Wenger won thePremier League Manager of the Year award. His team won 26 games, losing none and drawing 12 scoring 73 goals, conceding 26.[18]
