2003–04 Walsall F.C. season

Walsall
2003–04 season
Chairman England Jeff Bonser
Manager England Colin Lee (until 16 April)
England Paul Merson
First Division 22nd (relegated)
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Second round
Top goalscorer Jorge Leitão (7)
Average home league attendance 7,853

During the 2003–04 season, Walsall participated in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

Walsall started the season strongly with 4-1 wins over local rivals West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest, and on Boxing Day were four points off the play-offs. However, the club's form slumped in 2004, with the club not picking up another league win until March. Manager Colin Lee was sacked on 16 April, though the official reason given was that Lee had contacted Plymouth Argyle regarding their managerial vacancy. Paul Merson was appointed temporary player-manager, assisted by fellow player Simon Osborn. Ultimately, Walsall would be relegated on the last day of the season despite a 3-2 win over Rotherham United: an extra two goals scored during the campaign would have been enough for them to climb above Gillingham to safety. Despite the sorry end to the campaign, Paul Merson was handed a permanent contract as manager.

Defender Paul Ritchie was named as the club's Player of the Season, but returned to Scotland to play for Dundee United at the end of the season.

Final league table

Pos Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1. Norwich City 46 28 10 8 79 39 +40 94
2. West Bromwich Albion 46 25 11 10 64 42 +22 86
3. Sunderland 46 22 13 11 62 45 +17 79
4. West Ham United 46 19 17 10 67 45 +22 74
5. Ipswich Town 46 21 10 15 84 72 +12 73
6. Crystal Palace 46 21 10 15 72 61 +11 73
7. Wigan Athletic 46 18 17 11 60 45 +15 71
8. Sheffield United 46 20 11 15 65 56 +9 71
9. Reading 46 20 10 16 55 57 -2 70
10. Millwall 46 18 15 13 55 48 +7 69
11. Stoke City 46 18 12 16 58 55 +3 66
12. Coventry City 46 17 14 15 67 54 +13 65
13. Cardiff City 46 17 14 15 68 58 +10 65
14. Nottingham Forest 46 15 15 16 61 51 +10 60
15. Preston North End 46 15 14 17 69 71 -2 59
16. Watford 46 15 12 19 54 68 -14 57
17. Rotherham United 46 13 15 18 53 61 -8 54
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 46 13 12 21 45 65 -20 51
23. Bradford City 46 10 6 30 38 69 -31 36
24. Wimbledon (later MK Dons) 46 8 5 33 41 89 -48 29

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[1]

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

No. Position Player
1 England GK Jimmy Walker
2 England DF Darren Bazeley
3 Spain DF Zigor Aranalde
5 England DF Matt Carbon
6 England DF Ian Roper
7 England MF Simon Osborn
8 Australia MF Steve Corica
9 Portugal FW Jorge Leitão
10 England FW Paul Merson
11 England MF Darren Wrack
12 Spain MF Pedro Matías
15 England MF Neil Emblen
16 England FW Gary Birch
17 England MF Mark Wright
No. Position Player
18 England MF Vinny Samways
19 Scotland MF Craig Burley
21 England MF Kris Taylor
22 England MF Nick Smith
23 England FW Andy Bishop
24 England FW Matty Fryatt
25 England DF Gavin Caines
26 Scotland DF Paul Ritchie
27 Northern Ireland GK Aaron Kerr
28 England FW Jermaine McSporran
30 England DF Julian Bennett
32 Australia GK Andy Petterson
33 Republic of Ireland MF Keith Andrews (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
34 England FW Lee Bradbury

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
4 New Zealand DF Danny Hay (to Football Kingz)
14 Jamaica MF Jamie Lawrence (to Grimsby Town)
19 England MF Craig Stanley (to Telford United)
20 England FW Karl Hawley (to Hednesford Town)
28 Jamaica FW Deon Burton (on loan from Portsmouth)
28 England DF Jamie Vincent (on loan from Portsmouth)
No. Position Player
28 Scotland FW Gary Wales (on loan from Heart of Midlothian)
30 Northern Ireland DF Chris Baird (on loan from Southampton)
31 England GK Shaun Allaway (on loan from Leeds United)
32 England MF Tony Dinning (on loan from Wigan Athletic)
33 England MF Gary O'Neil (on loan from Portsmouth)
50 England MF Stefan Oakes (to Notts County)

Transfers

In

References

  1. ↑ "FootballSquads - Walsall - 2003/04".
  2. ↑ "Walsall sign duo". BBC Sport. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
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