Events in the 2003-04 English football season, August 2003 to July 2004:

Events

• 29 February 2004: Middlesbrough win their first ever trophy as a professional club by beating Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup final.
• 5 March 2004: Three Leicester City players, Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair , are charged with sexual assault while on a training camp in La Manga , Spain. All charges are dropped in May.
• 27 May 2004: Telford United are liquidated and removed from the Conference as a result.
• 2 June 2004: José Mourinho takes over as manager of Chelsea, replacing Claudio Ranieri.
• 16 June 2004: Rafael Benitez takes over as manager of Liverpool, replacing Gérard Houllier.
• 21 June 2004: Wimbledon F.C. announces that it will change its name to Milton Keynes Dons F.C., reflecting its highly controversial move from South London to Milton Keynes.

National team

Key
ECQ = Euro 2004 qualifiers
ECF = Euro 2004 finals
F = Friendly; scores are written England first
(FT) = Full time
(aet) = After extra time
(P) = After penalty shoot out

Honours

European qualifiers

Champions League

Group phase

• Arsenal
• Chelsea

Qualifying round

• Manchester United
• Liverpool

UEFA Cup

• Millwall (FA Cup finalist; Cup winner Man U qualified for Champions League)
• Middlesbrough (League Cup)
• Newcastle United

League tables

FA Premier League

                              P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Arsenal                   38   15  4  0  40  14   11  8  0  33  12   47   90  Champions League
 2 Chelsea                   38   12  4  3  34  13   12  3  4  33  17   37   79  Champions League
 3 Manchester United         38   12  4  3  37  15   11  2  6  27  20   29   75  Champions League Qual. Round
 4 Liverpool                 38   10  4  5  29  15    6  8  5  26  22   18   60  Champions League Qual. Round
 5 Newcastle United          38   11  5  3  33  14    2 12  5  19  26   12   56  UEFA Cup
 6 Aston Villa               38    9  6  4  24  19    6  5  8  24  25    4   56
 7 Charlton Athletic         38    7  6  6  29  29    7  5  7  22  22    0   53
 8 Bolton Wanderers          38    6  8  5  24  21    8  3  8  24  35   -8   53
 9 Fulham                    38    9  4  6  29  21    5  6  8  23  25    6   52
10 Birmingham City           38    8  5  6  26  24    4  9  6  17  24   -5   50
11 Middlesbrough             38    8  4  7  25  23    5  5  9  19  29   -8   48  UEFA Cup (League Cup winners)
12 Southampton               38    8  6  5  24  17    4  5 10  20  28   -1   47
13 Portsmouth                38   10  4  5  35  19    2  5 12  12  35   -7   45
14 Tottenham Hotspur         38    9  4  6  33  27    4  2 13  14  30  -10   45
15 Blackburn Rovers          38    5  4 10  25  31    7  4  8  26  28   -8   44
16 Manchester City           38    5  9  5  31  24    4  5 10  24  30    1   41
17 Everton                   38    8  5  6  27  20    1  7 11  18  37  -12   39
18 Leicester City            38    3 10  6  19  28    3  5 11  29  37  -17   33  Relegated
19 Leeds United              38    5  7  7  25  31    3  2 14  15  48  -39   33  Relegated
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers   38    7  5  7  23  35    0  7 12  15  42  -39   33  Relegated

Football League First Division

                              P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Norwich City              46   18  3  2  44  15   10  7  6  35  24   40   94  Promoted
 2 West Bromwich Albion      46   14  5  4  34  16   11  6  6  30  26   22   86  Promoted
 3 Sunderland                46   13  8  2  33  15    9  5  9  29  30   17   79
 4 West Ham United           46   12  7  4  42  20    7 10  6  25  25   22   74
 5 Ipswich Town              46   12  3  8  49  36    9  7  7  35  36   12   73
 6 Crystal Palace            46   10  8  5  34  25   11  2 10  38  36   11   73  Promoted (playoff winners)
 7 Wigan Athletic            46   11  8  4  29  16    7  9  7  31  29   15   71
 8 Sheffield United          46   11  6  6  37  25    9  5  9  28  31    9   71
 9 Reading                   46   11  6  6  29  25    9  4 10  26  32   -2   70
10 Millwall                  46   11  8  4  28  15    7  7  9  27  33    7   69  UEFA Cup (FA Cup runners up)
11 Stoke City                46   11  7  5  35  24    7  5 11  23  31    3   66
12 Coventry City             46    9  9  5  34  22    8  5 10  33  32   13   65
13 Cardiff City              46   10  6  7  40  25    7  8  8  28  33   10   65
14 Nottingham Forest         46    8  9  6  33  25    7  6 10  28  33    3   60
15 Preston North End         46   11  7  5  43  29    4  7 12  26  42   -2   59
16 Watford                   46    9  8  6  31  28    6  4 13  23  40  -14   57
17 Rotherham United          46    8  8  7  31  27    5  7 11  22  34   -8   54
18 Crewe Alexandra           46   11  3  9  33  26    3  8 12  24  40   -9   53
19 Burnley                   46    9  6  8  37  32    4  8 11  23  45  -17   53
20 Derby County              46   11  5  7  39  33    2  8 13  14  34  -14   52
21 Gillingham                46   10  1 12  28  34    4  8 11  20  33  -19   51
22 Walsall                   46    8  7  8  29  31    5  5 13  16  34  -20   51  Relegated
23 Bradford City             46    6  3 14  23  35    4  3 16  15  34  -31   36  Relegated
24 Wimbledon                 46    3  4 16  21  40    5  1 17  20  49  -48   29  Relegated

Football League Second Division

                              P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Plymouth Argyle           46   17  5  1  52  13    9  7  7  33  28  +44   90  Promoted
 2 Queens Park Rangers       46   16  7  0  47  12    6 10  7  33  33  +35   83  Promoted
 3 Bristol City              46   15  6  2  34  12    8  7  8  24  25  +21   82
 4 Brighton & Hove Albion    46   17  4  2  39  11    5  7 11  25  32  +21   77  Promoted (playoff winners)
 5 Swindon Town              46   12  7  4  41  23    8  6  9  35  35  +18   73
 6 Hartlepool United         46   10  8  5  39  24   10  5  8  37  37  +15   73
 7 Port Vale                 46   15  6  2  45  28    6  4 13  28  35  +10   73
 8 Tranmere Rovers           46   13  7  3  36  18    4  9 10  23  38   +3   67
 9 AFC Bournemouth           46   11  8  4  35  25    6  7 10  21  26   +5   66
10 Luton Town                46   14  6  3  44  27    3  9 11  25  39   +3   66
11 Colchester United         46   11  8  4  33  23    6  5 12  19  33   -4   64
12 Barnsley                  46    7 12  4  25  19    8  5 10  29  39   -4   62
13 Wrexham                   46    9  6  8  27  21    8  3 12  23  39  -10   60
14 Blackpool                 46    9  5  9  31  28    7  6 10  27  37   -7   59
15 Oldham Athletic           46    9  8  6  37  25    3 13  7  29  35   +6   57
16 Sheffield Wednesday       46    7  9  7  25  26    6  5 12  23  38  -16   53
17 Brentford                 46    9  5  9  34  38    5  6 12  18  31  -17   53
18 Peterborough United       46    5  8 10  36  33    7  8  8  22  25    0   52
19 Stockport County          46    6  8  9  31  36    5 11  7  31  34   -8   52
20 Chesterfield              46    9  7  7  34  31    3  8 12  15  40  -22   51
21 Grimsby Town              46   10  5  8  36  26    3  6 14  19  55  -26   50  Relegated
22 Rushden & Diamonds        46    9  5  9  37  34    4  4 15  23  40  -14   48  Relegated
23 Notts County              46    6  9  8  32  27    4  3 16  18  51  -28   42  Relegated
24 Wycombe Wanderers         46    5  7 11  31  39    1 12 10  19  36  -25   37  Relegated

Football League Third Division

                              P    W  D  L   F   A    W  D  L   F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Doncaster Rovers          46   17  4  2  47  13   10  7  6  32  24  +42   92  Promoted
 2 Hull City                 46   16  4  3  50  21    9  9  5  32  23  +38   88  Promoted
 3 Torquay United            46   15  6  2  44  18    8  6  9  24  26  +24   81  Promoted
 4 Huddersfield Town         46   16  4  3  42  18    7  8  8  26  34  +16   81  Promoted (playoff winners)
 5 Mansfield Town            46   13  5  5  44  25    9  4 10  32  37  +14   75
 6 Northampton Town          46   13  4  6  30  23    9  5  9  28  28   +7   75
 7 Lincoln City              46    9 11  3  36  23   10  6  7  32  24  +21   74
 8 Yeovil Town               46   14  3  6  40  19    9  2 12  30  38  +13   74
 9 Oxford United             46   14  8  1  34  13    4  9 10  21  31  +11   71
10 Swansea City              46    9  8  6  36  26    6  6 11  22  35   -3   59
11 Boston United             46   11  7  5  35  21    5  4 14  15  33   -4   59
12 Bury                      46   10  7  6  29  26    5  4 14  25  38  -10   56
13 Cambridge United          46    6  7 10  26  32    8  7  8  29  35  -12   56
14 Cheltenham Town           46   11  4  8  37  38    3 10 10  20  33  -14   56
15 Bristol Rovers            46    9  7  7  29  26    5  6 12  21  35  -11   55
16 Kidderminster Harriers    46    9  5  9  28  29    5  8 10  17  30  -14   55
17 Southend United           46    8  4 11  27  29    6  8  9  24  34  -12   54
18 Darlington                46   10  4  9  30  28    4  7 12  23  33   -8   53
19 Leyton Orient             46    8  9  6  28  27    5  5 13  20  38  -17   53
20 Macclesfield Town         46    8  9  6  28  25    5  4 14  26  44  -15   52
21 Rochdale                  46    7  8  8  28  26    5  6 12  21  32   -9   50
22 Scunthorpe United         46    7 10  6  36  27    4  6 13  33  45   -3   49
23 Carlisle United           46    8  5 10  23  27    4  4 15  23  42  -23   45  Relegated
24 York City                 46    7  6 10  22  29    3  8 12  13  37  -31   44  Relegated

National League System

Cup competitions

Football Conference

• Champions:
  • Chester City
• Playoff winners:
  • Shrewsbury Town
• Relegated:
  • Margate (forced relegation to Conference South due to failing ground requirements)

Northern Premier League

• Champions:
  • Hucknall Town (to Conference North)
• Also promoted (to Conference North):
  • Droylsden , Barrow, Alfreton Town, Harrogate Town , Southport, Worksop Town , Lancaster City , Vauxhall Motors, Gainsborough Trinity , Stalybridge Celtic, Altrincham , Runcorn FC Halton, Bradford Park Avenue (playoff winners)

Southern League

• Champions:
  • Crawley Town (to Conference National)
• Also promoted (to Conference North):
  • Stafford Rangers , Nuneaton Borough , Worcester City , Hinckley United , Moor Green
• Also promoted (to Conference South):
  • Weymouth, Newport County, Cambridge City, Welling United , Weston-super-Mare , Eastbourne Borough , Havant & Waterlooville , Dorchester Town (playoff winners)

Isthmian League

• Champions:
  • Canvey Island (to Conference National)
• Also promoted (to Conference South):
  • Sutton United , Thurrock , Hornchurch, Grays Athletic, Carshalton Athletic , Hayes, Bognor Regis Town , Bishop's Stortford , Maidenhead United , Ford United, Basingstoke Town, St Albans City (playoff winners)
• Also promoted (to Conference North):
  • Kettering Town

Other leagues

Major transfer deals

• 6 August 2003 - Joe Cole from West Ham United to Chelsea
• 6 August 2003 - Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United to Chelsea
• 12 August 2003 - Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United
• 12 August 2003 - Kleberson from Atletico Paranaense to Manchester United
• 14 August 2003 - Adrian Mutu from Parma to Chelsea
• 26 August 2003 - Hernán Crespo from Internazionale to Chelsea
• 29 August 2003 - Claudio Reyna from Sunderland to Manchester City
• 31 August 2003 - Claude Makelele from Real Madrid to Chelsea
• 2 January 2004 - Fabien Barthez from Manchester United to Olympique de Marseille (loan deal, made permanent in April)
• 27 January 2004 - Jose Antonio Reyes from Sevilla to Arsenal
• 30 January 2004 - Scott Parker from Charlton Athletic to Chelsea
• 18 May 2004 - Emile Heskey from Liverpool to Birmingham City
• 3 June 2004 - Juan Sebastian Veron from Chelsea to Inter Milan (loan deal)
• 8 June 2004 - Petr Cech from Rennes to Chelsea
• 8 June 2004 - Arjen Robben from PSV to Chelsea
• 11 June 2004 - Gabriel Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United
• 22 June 2004 - Paulo Ferreira from Porto to Chelsea
• 1 July 2004 - Dennis Rommedahl from PSV to Charlton Athletic
• 1 July 2004 - Djibril Cisse from Auxerre to Liverpool
• 2 July 2004 - James Milner from Leeds United to Newcastle United
• 5 July 2004 - Les Ferdinand from Leicester City to Bolton Wanderers
• 6 July 2004 - Michael Reiziger from Barcelona to Middlesbrough
• 8 July 2004 - Mark Viduka from Leeds United to Middlesbrough
• 9 July 2004 - Peter Crouch from Aston Villa to Southampton
• 9 July 2004 - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink from Chelsea to Middlesbrough
• 9 July 2004 - Hélder Postiga from Spurs to Porto
• 9 July 2004 - Pedro Mendes from Porto to Spurs
• 12 July 2004 - Mateja Kezman from PSV to Chelsea
• 12 July 2004 - Jesper Grønkjær from Chelsea to Birmingham City
• 12 July 2004 - Lomana LuaLua from Newcastle United to Portsmouth (making a previous loan deal between the two clubs permanent)
• 12 July 2004 - David Unsworth from Everton to Portsmouth
• 14 July 2004 - Teddy Sheringham from Portsmouth to West Ham
• 15 July 2004 - Hernán Crespo from Chelsea to AC Milan (loan deal)
• 16 July 2004 - Markus Babbel from Liverpool to VfB Stuttgart
• 20 July 2004 - Didier Drogba from Olympique de Marseille to Chelsea
• 20 July 2004 - Martin Keown from Arsenal to Leicester City
• 20 July 2004 - Gary Speed from Newcastle United to Bolton Wanderers
• 21 July 2004 - Patrick Kluivert from Barcelona to Newcastle United
• 21 July 2004 - Tiago from Benfica to Chelsea
• 21 July 2004 - Hugo Viana from Newcastle United to Sporting Lisbon (loan deal)
• 22 July 2004 - Tim Cahill from Millwall to Everton
• 22 July 2004 - Bobby Convey from Major League Soccer to Reading
• 22 July 2004 - Thomas Helveg from Inter Milan to Norwich City
• 22 July 2004 - Tomasz Radzinski from Everton to Fulham
• 23 July 2004 - Claus Jensen from Charlton Athletic to Fulham
• 23 July 2004 - Ray Parlour from Arsenal to Middlesbrough
• 27 July 2004 - Ricardo Carvalho from Porto to Chelsea
• 27 July 2004 - Papa Bouba Diop from Lens to Fulham
• 27 July 2004 - Josemi from Málaga to Liverpool
• 27 July 2004 - Sergei Rebrov from Spurs to West Ham
• 28 July 2004 - Fernando Hierro from Al Rayyan (Qatar) to Bolton Wanderers
• 29 July 2004 - Henri Camara from Wolves to Celtic (loan deal)
• 30 July 2004 - Nicky Butt from Manchester United to Newcastle United
• 30 July 2004 - Zoltan Gera from Ferencváros to West Brom
• 30 July 2004 - Nwankwo Kanu from Arsenal to West Brom

Deaths

• August 9 2003 - Ray Harford (58), former Blackburn Rovers manager
• August 9 2003 - Jimmy Davis (21), Manchester United and Watford striker
• February 1 2004 - Bob Stokoe, Sunderland 1973 FA Cup winning manager
• February 21 2004 - John Charles, former Leeds United player