2003–04 Derby County F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Derby County F.C. competed in the First Division.

Derby County
2003–04 season
Chairman Lionel Pickering
Manager George Burley
StadiumPride Park Stadium
First Division20th
FA CupThird round
Carling CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Ian Taylor (11)
All: Taylor (12)
Average home league attendance22,199

Season summary

George Burley's first full season in charge brought little joy as Derby recorded a 20th-placed finish in the 2003–04 season, just 1 point clear of relegation with safety not confirmed until the penultimate game of the season with a 2–0 win over Millwall. With no money for players and the need to slash the club's wage bill, big names such as Fabrizio Ravanelli, Georgi Kinkladze and Craig Burley left the club with the gaps of their departure shored up by free signings; Candido Costa was taken on a season long loan whilst seven others – including Mathias Svensson and Leon Osman – were recruited on short term loans, as Derby used a club record 36 different players in the course of the season. There was also the continued introduction of academy players to the side, with Tom Huddlestone and Marcus Tudgay making significant contributions alongside players such as Lee Grant and Lee Holmes. Burley achieved safety against a background of boardroom uncertainty – Chairman Lionel Pickering, after putting temporary faith in former Coventry City chairman Bryan Richardson and a notional £30m bond, was removed from the chair after the club temporarily entered receivership by The Co-operative Bank, who instantly installed a new board composed of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, for the cost of £1 each.

Final league table
Main article: 2003–04 Football League
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

Results

Derby County's score comes first[1]

Legend
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 2003Stoke CityH0-321,517
16 August 2003GillinghamA0-07,850
23 August 2003ReadingH2-318,970Taylor (pen), Svensson
25 August 2003Cardiff CityA1-415,091Svensson
30 August 2003West Bromwich AlbionH0-121,499
13 September 2003WalsallA1-08,726Júnior
17 September 2003WatfordH3-218,459Taylor, Svensson, Júnior
20 September 2003SunderlandH1-122,535Taylor
27 September 2003Nottingham ForestA1-129,059Júnior
30 September 2003Bradford CityA2-110,143Morris (2)
4 October 2003West Ham UnitedH0-122,810
11 October 2003Wigan AthleticH2-219,151Taylor (pen), Morris
14 October 2003Crystal PalaceA1-122,810Zavagno
18 October 2003Crewe AlexandraA0-38,656
21 October 2003Norwich CityA1-216,346Taylor (pen)
25 October 2003Coventry CityH1-321,641Holmes
1 November 2003Preston North EndA0-312,839
8 November 2003Ipswich TownH2-219,976Kennedy, Dichio
15 November 2003BurnleyH2-030,359Morris, Taylor (pen)
22 November 2003MillwallA0-010,308
29 November 2003WimbledonH3-122,025Herzig (own goal), Tudgay, Holmes
6 December 2003Ipswich TownA1-225,018Tudgay
13 December 2003Rotherham UnitedA0-07,320
26 December 2003West Bromwich AlbionA1-126,412Costa
28 December 2003Norwich CityH0-423,783
10 January 2004Stoke CityA1-216,402Morris
17 January 2004GillinghamH2-120,473Vincent, Edwards
28 January 2004Sheffield UnitedH2-026,603Tudgay, McLeod
31 January 2004ReadingA1-314,382Johnson
7 February 2004Cardiff CityH2-220,958Taylor, Osman
14 February 2004Wigan AthleticA0-29,146
21 February 2004Crystal PalaceH2-121,856Manel, Osman
28 February 2004Coventry CityA0-216,042
3 March 2004Crewe AlexandraH0-019,861
13 March 2004Rotherham UnitedH1-021,741Peschisolido
16 March 2004WatfordA1-213,931Peschisolido
20 March 2004Nottingham ForestH4-232,390Taylor, Peschisolido (2), Tudgay
23 March 2004Sheffield UnitedA1-121,351Taylor (pen)
27 March 2004SunderlandA1-230,838Taylor (pen)
3 April 2004WalsallH0-123,574
10 April 2004West Ham UnitedA0-028,207
12 April 2004Bradford CityH3-221,593Osman, Taylor, Combe (own goal)
17 April 2004Preston North EndH5-124,162Manel (2), Tudgay (2), Júnior
24 April 2004BurnleyA0-116,189
1 May 2004MillwallH2-026,056Bolder, Reich
9 May 2004WimbledonA0-16,509

FA Cup
Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 2004Ipswich TownA0-316,159

League Cup
Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R113 August 2003Huddersfield TownA1-26,672Taylor

Squad
Squad at end of season

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 Andy Oakes
2 DF Rob Edwards[notes 1] (on loan from Aston Villa)
3 DF Jamie Vincent
4 DF Dave Walton
5 DF Jeff Kenna
6 DF Pablo Mills
7 MF Ian Taylor (captain)
8 MF Cândido Costa (on loan from Porto)
9 FW Manel
10 DF Michael Johnson[notes 2]
11 FW Paul Peschisolido
13 GK Lee Grant
14 DF Richard Jackson
15 MF Adam Bolder
16 DF Youl Mawéné
17 DF Paul Boertien
No. Position Player
18 FW Izale McLeod
19 MF Nathan Doyle
20 MF Lewis Hunt
21 MF Gary Twigg
22 FW Marco Reich
23 FW Marcus Tudgay
24 GK Lee Camp[notes 3]
26 DF Chris Palmer
27 DF James Turner
28 MF Kris Weckström
29 DF Tom Huddlestone
30 MF Lee Holmes
31 FW Gianfranco Labarthe
32 MF Leon Osman (on loan from Everton)
33 FW José Júnior
34 FW Noel Whelan

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
2 DF Warren Barton (to Queens Park Rangers)
3 DF Luciano Zavagno (to A.C. Ancona)
5 DF Steve Elliott (to Blackpool)
9 FW Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth)
9 FW Danny Dichio (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
11 MF Lee Morris (to Leicester City)
12 MF Simo Valakari (to FC Dallas)
No. Position Player
22 MF Adam Murray (to Burton Albion)
22 FW Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth)
25 MF Barry Molloy (to Drogheda United)
32 MF Gary Caldwell (on loan from Newcastle United)
32 MF Peter Kennedy (on loan from Wigan Athletic)
34 FW Mathias Svensson (on loan from Charlton Athletic)

References
  1. "Derby County 2003-2004 Home". statto.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

Notes
  1. Edwards was born in Madeley, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
  2. Johnson was born in Nottingham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 1999.
  3. Camp was born in Derby, England, and represented them at U-21 level, but also qualifies to represent Northern Ireland internationally and would make his full international debut for Northern Ireland in March 2011.
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