2003–04 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
2003–04 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	David O'Leary
FA Premier League	6th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	Juan Pablo Ángel (16)
Average home league attendance	36,621
Home colours	Away colours

During the 2003–04 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League.

Season summary

Former Leeds United manager David O'Leary was appointed Villa manager in the summer of 2003. Under O'Leary, Villa made a very sluggish start to the campaign and found themselves in the relegation zone after winning just two of their first 13 league fixtures. They were still in the bottom three in mid-December before O'Leary galvanized them and they gradually climbed the table. Villa had a fantastic second half of the season and, with two matches remaining, had a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. After extending their unbeaten run to eight games by drawing at Southampton, defeat against Manchester United at Villa Park consigned them to sixth place. The Villains finished five points short of a Champions League place and were edged out of a UEFA Cup spot on goal difference by Newcastle United. Nevertheless, it was still a great achievement by O'Leary, who appeared to get the best out of the likes of Gareth Barry, Lee Hendrie, Jlloyd Samuel and 16-goal Juan Pablo Ángel. The Colombian was the club's leading scorer, while Darius Vassell bagged 9 goals to cement his place in England's Euro 2004 squad. Thomas Sørensen and Gavin McCann both had excellent seasons after moving from Sunderland, while Nolberto Solano quickly became a fans' favourite after his mid-season move from Newcastle. Among the men to represent Villa for the last time during 2003-04 was Dion Dublin, who netted 48 goals in 155 league games. O'Leary's side reached the last four of the Football League Cup by knocking out Wycombe Wanderers, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. The semi-final first leg, at Bolton, ended in a disappointing 5-2 defeat. Villa Park goals by Thomas Hitzlsperger and Samuel were not quite enough to prevent the Trotters from clinching a place in the final. Manchester United came from behind to knock Villa out of the FA Cup in a third round tie at Villa Park. Despite narrowly missing out on qualifying for Europe, the mood around Villa Park was extremely positive in the summer of 2004. With the likes of Liam Ridgewell, Steven Davis, Peter Whittingham and the Moore brothers (Stefan and Luke) forcing open the first team door, David O'Leary had an abundance of young talent at his disposal.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
4	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	55	37	+18	60	2004–05 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round^{[lower-alpha 1]}
5	Newcastle United	38	13	17	8	52	40	+12	56	2004–05 UEFA 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

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

↑ Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners went to First Division club Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[1]^[2]

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Thomas Sørensen
2	DF	Mark Delaney
3	DF	Jlloyd Samuel^{[notes 1]}
4	DF	Olof Mellberg
6	MF	Gareth Barry
7	MF	Lee Hendrie
8	MF	Gavin McCann
9	FW	Dion Dublin
10	FW	Darius Vassell
11	MF	Nolberto Solano
12	MF	Thomas Hitzlsperger

No.	Position	Player
13	GK	Stefan Postma
14	FW	Marcus Allbäck
15	DF	Ulises de la Cruz
16	FW	Peter Crouch
17	MF	Peter Whittingham
18	FW	Juan Pablo Ángel
23	FW	Stefan Moore
24	DF	Liam Ridgewell
27	DF	Ronny Johnsen
31	FW	Luke Moore

Left club during season

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

No.	Position	Player
5	DF	Alpay Özalan (to Incheon United)
19	FW	Boško Balaban (to Club Brugge)
20	MF	Mustapha Hadji (to Espanyol)
25	GK	Peter Enckelman (to Blackburn Rovers)
26	MF	Mark Kinsella (to West Bromwich Albion)

No.	Position	Player
28	DF	Danny Jackman (to Stockport County)
	GK	Boaz Myhill^{[notes 2]} (to Hull City)
	DF	Jon Bewers (to Notts County)
	DF	Ryan Amoo (to Northampton Town)

Reserve squad

The following players did not appear for the first team this season, and spent most of the season playing for the reserves.

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

No.	Position	Player
21	MF	Steven Davis
22	MF	Hassan Kachloul (on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers)
29	DF	Rob Edwards^{[notes 3]}
30	MF	Stephen Cooke

No.	Position	Player
39	GK	Wayne Henderson
	MF	Colin Marshall (on loan to Clyde)
	FW	Peter Hynes (on loan to Doncaster Rovers and Cheltenham Town)

Youth squad

The following players did not appear for the first team this sseason, and spent most of the season playing for the youth team, but may have also appeared for the reserves.

Under-19s

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

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Antoni Pecora
		GK	Andrew Yarnold
		GK	Jon Masalin
		DF	Stuart Bridges
		DF	Gary Cahill
		DF	Scott Cormell
		DF	Lee Grant
		DF	Nick Green
		DF	James O'Connor

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Kevin Mulcahy
		MF	Neil Kilkenny^{[notes 4]} (on trial from Arsenal)
		MF	Kyle Nix^{[notes 5]}
		MF	Stephen Foley-Sheridan
		FW	Alan Brazil (on loan to Coleraine)
		FW	Jamie Ward^{[notes 6]}
		FW	Mika Ääritalo
		FW	Amadou Kouman
		MF	John Grady

Under-17s

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

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Jake Meredith
		GK	Bobby Olejnik
		DF	Ashley Edkins
		DF	Paul Green
		DF	Michael Tuohy
		DF	Stephen O'Halloran
		DF	Magnus Troest
		MF	Morgan Evans
		MF	Craig Gardner
		MF	Nigel Julien (on trial)
		MF	Dan McDonald
		MF	Michael Noakes
		MF	Isaiah Osbourne

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Charlie Reeves
		MF	Jay Sztybel
		MF	Christian Tshimanga Kabeya^{[notes 7]}
		FW	Gabriel Agbonlahor
		FW	Scott Bridges
		FW	Shane Paul
		FW	Sam Williams
		DF	Seyi Morgan
		DF	Matt Saunders
		MF	Luke Sampson
			Abdiligan Abshir
			Ross Hughes

Other players

The following players did not play for any Aston Villa team this season.

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

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Lee Boyle
		DF	Pierre Ennis (to Dublin City)
		DF	Youness Bengelloun (on trial from Paris Saint-Germain)
		DF	Tal Ben Haim (on trial from Maccabi Tel Aviv)
		MF	Ishmel Demontagnac
		MF	Daryl Taylor

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Kenneth Browne
		MF	André Schembri (on trial from Hibernians)
		MF	Freddy Grisales (on trial from Atlético Nacional)
		GK	Matthew Allen
		MF	Rowan Caney
			Phelan

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of end of season^[3]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Thomas Sørensen	45	0	38	0	1	0	6	0
13	GK		Stefan Postma	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF		Mark Delaney	30	0	23+2	0	0	0	5	0
3	DF		Jlloyd Samuel	45	3	38	2	1	0	6	1
4	DF		Olof Mellberg	39	1	33	1	1	0	5	0
15	DF		Ulises de la Cruz	32	0	20+8	0	1	0	3	0
24	DF		Liam Ridgewell	13	0	5+6	0	0	0	0+2	0
27	DF		Ronny Johnsen	27	1	21+2	1	1	0	2+1	0
Midfielders
6	MF		Gareth Barry	43	4	36	3	1	1	6	0
7	MF		Lee Hendrie	37	2	32	2	1	0	4	0
8	MF		Gavin McCann	35	2	28	0	1	0	6	2
11	MF		Nolberto Solano	10	0	10	0	0	0	0	0
12	MF		Thomas Hitzlsperger	38	5	22+10	3	0+1	0	2+3	2
17	MF		Peter Whittingham	39	1	20+12	0	1	0	4+2	1
Forwards
9	FW		Dion Dublin	28	3	12+11	3	0	0	4+1	0
10	FW		Darius Vassell	39	10	26+6	9	1	0	5+1	1
14	FW		Marcus Allbäck	19	1	7+8	1	0	0	1+3	0
16	FW		Peter Crouch	18	4	6+10	4	0	0	1+1	0
18	FW		Juan Pablo Ángel	39	23	33	16	1	0	5	7
23	FW		Stefan Moore	12	1	2+6	1	0+1	0	1+2	0
31	FW		Luke Moore	7	0	0+7	0	0	0	0	0
Players transferred or loaned out during the season
5	DF		Alpay Özalan	6	1	4+2	1	0	0	0	0
20	MF		Mustapha Hadji	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF		Mark Kinsella	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: 31 June 2004
Source: Competitions

Transfers

In

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
24 July 2003	MF	Gavin McCann	Sunderland	£2,250,000
8 August 2003	GK	Thomas Sørensen	Sunderland	£2,250,000

January

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
30 January 2004	MF	Nolberto Solano	Newcastle United	£1,500,000

Out

Summer

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 June 2003	MF	Ian Taylor	Released (joined Derby County on 26 June 2003)	Free
1 June 2003	DF	Alan Wright	Released (joined Middlesbrough on 4 August 2003)	Free
23 October 2003	DF	Alpay Özalan	Released (later joined Incheon United)	Free
7 December 2003	GK	Peter Enckelman	Blackburn Rovers	Month-long loan
4 December 2003	FW	Bosko Balaban	Released (later joined Club Brugge)	Free
11 December 2003	GK	Boaz Myhill	Hull City	£50,000
23 December 2003	DF	Danny Jackman	Stockport County	£70,000

January

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
15 January 2004	MF	Mark Kinsella	West Bromwich Albion	Undisclosed
3 February 2004	MF	Mustapha Hadji	Espanyol	Free
13 March 2004	GK	Wayne Henderson	Tamworth	Loan
25 March 2004	MF	Jonathan Bewers	Notts County	Free
25 March 2004	MF	Ryan Amoo	Northampton Town	Free

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
22 July 2003	FC TPS Turku	A	3 – 0	Ángel (2), Vassell	Friendly
24 July 2003	Pitea	A	8 – 0	Allbäck (3), Crouch (3), Alpay, Hendrie	Friendly
26 July 2003	Umea	A	4 – 0	Vassell, Hendrie, Hitzlsperger, McCann	Friendly
28 July 2003	Bodens BK	A	4 – 2	Mellberg, Vassell, Makumbu (og), Crouch	Friendly
1 August 2003	Walsall	A	1 – 2	Vassell	Friendly
2 August 2003	Tamworth	A	4 – 1	Kachloul (2), Cooke, Crouch	Friendly
5 August 2003	Scunthorpe	A	5 – 0	Allbäck (3), Ángel, De la Cruz	Friendly
9 August 2003	Leeds	N	2 – 2	Kachloul, Hitzlsperger (Aston Villa win 4–2 on pens)	Friendly
10 August 2003	St Patricks	N	6 – 0	Ángel (3), Allbäck, Whittingham, Hitzlsperger	Friendly

Season results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result F–A	Competition	Scorers	Attendance
16/08/2003	Portsmouth	A	[ 1–2]	Premier League	Barry (pen)	20,101
24/08/2003	Liverpool	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		42,573
27/08/2003	Arsenal	A	[ 0–2]	Premier League		38,010
30/08/2003	Leicester City	H	3–1	Premier League	Ángel (2), Thatcher (og)	32,274
14/09/2003	Manchester City	A	1–4	Premier League	Ángel	46,687
20/09/2003	Charlton Athletic	H	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Alpay, Samuel	31,410
23/09/2003	Wycombe Wanderers	A	5–0	League Cup	Ángel (3) (1 pen), Whittingham, Vassell	6,072
27/09/2003	Chelsea	A	[ 0–1]	Premier League		41,182
05/10/2003	Bolton	H	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Ángel	30,229
19/10/2003	Birmingham	A	[ 0–0]	Premier League		29,546
25/10/2003	Everton	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		36,146
29/10/2003	Leicester	H	[ 1–0]	League Cup	Hitzlsperger	26,729
10/11/2003	Newcastle	A	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Dublin	51,975
08/11/2003	Middlesbrough	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		29,898
23/11/2003	Tottenham	A	[ 1–2]	Premier League	Allbäck	33,140
29/11/2003	Portsmouth	H	[ 1–0]	Premier League	Dublin	31,285
03/12/2003	Crystal Palace	H	3–0	League Cup	Symons (og), McCann, Ángel	24,258
06/12/2003	Manchester United	A	0–4	Premier League		67,621
14/12/2003	Wolves	H	3–2	Premier League	Ángel (2), Barry	36,964
17/12/2003	Chelsea	H	[ 2–1]	League Cup	Ángel, McCann	30,414
20/12/2003	Blackburn Rovers	A	[ 2–0]	Premier League	S. Moore, Ángel	20,722
26/12/2003	Leeds United	A	[ 0–0]	Premier League		38,513
28/01/2003	Fulham	H	3–0	Premier League	Ángel, Vassell (2)	35,617
04/01/2004	Man Utd	H	[ 1–2]	FA Cup	Barry	40,371
06/01/2004	Portsmouth	H	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Ángel, Vassell	28,625
10/01/2004	Liverpool	A	[ 0–1]	Premier League		43,771
18/01/2004	Arsenal	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		39,380
21/01/2004	Bolton	A	2–5	League Cup	Ángel (2)	16,302
27/12/2004	Bolton Wanderers	H	[ 2–0]	League Cup	Hitzlsperger, Samuel	36,883
31/01/2004	Leicester City	A	5–0	Premier League	Vassell, Crouch (2), Dublin	31,056
07/02/2004	Leeds United	H	[ 2–0]	Premier League	Ángel (pen), Johnsen	39,171
11/02/2004	Fulham	A	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Ángel, Vassell	16,153
22/02/2004	Birmingham	H	2–2	Premier League	Vassell, Hitzlsperger	40,061
28/02/2004	Everton	A	[ 0–2]	Premier League		39,353
14/03/2004	Wolves	A	4–0	Premier League	Hitzlsperger, Mellberg, Ángel (2)	29,386
20/03/2004	Blackburn Rovers	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		37,532
27/03/2004	Charlton Athletic	H	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Vassell, Samuel	26,250
04/04/2004	Manchester City	H	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Ángel	37,602
10/04/2004	Bolton Wanderers	A	[ 2–2]	Premier League	Crouch, Hendrie	26,374
12/04/2004	Chelsea	H	3–2	Premier League	Vassell (pen), Hitzlsperger, Hendrie	41,112
18/04/2004	Newcastle United	H	[ 0–0]	Premier League		40,786
24/04/2004	Middlesbrough	A	[ 2–1]	Premier League	Barry, Crouch	31,322
02/05/2004	Tottenham Hotspur	H	[ 1–0]	Premier League	Ángel	42,573
08/05/2004	Southampton	A	[ 1–1]	Premier League	Ángel	32,054
15/05/2004	Manchester United	H	[ 0–2]	Premier League		42,573

References

Notes

↑ Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-21 level and be called up to the senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.
↑ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
↑ Edwards was born in Madeley, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
↑ Kilkenny was born in Enfield, England, but was raised in Australia and also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandparents. He represented England at U-18 and U-20 level and the Republic of Ireland at U-19 level before making his international debut for Australia in June 2006.
↑ Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.
↑ Ward was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his grandfather and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in August 2011.
↑ Kabeya was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but also qualifies to represent Belgium internationally and represented them at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level.

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[table_note_res_CL30.93011538075754-1] Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners went to First Division club Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

[2] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2003-2004/faprem/avilla.htm

[3] ttp://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/2003-04.html

[11] ttps://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/players/season/2004/comp/1/

[4] Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-21 level and be called up to the senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.

[5] Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.

[6] Edwards was born in Madeley, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.

[7] Kilkenny was born in Enfield, England, but was raised in Australia and also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandparents. He represented England at U-18 and U-20 level and the Republic of Ireland at U-19 level before making his international debut for Australia in June 2006.

[8] Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented England at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.

[9] Ward was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his grandfather and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Northern Ireland in August 2011.

[10] Kabeya was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but also qualifies to represent Belgium internationally and represented them at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level.