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
Stadium	Pride Park Stadium
First Division	20th
FA Cup	Third round
Carling Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Taylor (11) All: Taylor (12)
Average home league attendance	22,199

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	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
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 (R)	46	13	12	21	45	65	−20	51	Relegation to Football League One

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.

Results

Derby County's score comes first[1]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 2003	Stoke City	H	0–3	21,517
16 August 2003	Gillingham	A	0–0	7,850
23 August 2003	Reading	H	2–3	18,970	Taylor (pen), Svensson
25 August 2003	Cardiff City	A	1–4	15,091	Svensson
30 August 2003	West Bromwich Albion	H	0–1	21,499
13 September 2003	Walsall	A	1–0	8,726	Júnior
17 September 2003	Watford	H	3–2	18,459	Taylor, Svensson, Júnior
20 September 2003	Sunderland	H	1–1	22,535	Taylor
27 September 2003	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	29,059	Júnior
30 September 2003	Bradford City	A	2–1	10,143	Morris (2)
4 October 2003	West Ham United	H	0–1	22,810
11 October 2003	Wigan Athletic	H	2–2	19,151	Taylor (pen), Morris
14 October 2003	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	22,810	Zavagno
18 October 2003	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–3	8,656
21 October 2003	Norwich City	A	1–2	16,346	Taylor (pen)
25 October 2003	Coventry City	H	1–3	21,641	Holmes
1 November 2003	Preston North End	A	0–3	12,839
8 November 2003	Ipswich Town	H	2–2	19,976	Kennedy, Dichio
15 November 2003	Burnley	H	2–0	30,359	Morris, Taylor (pen)
22 November 2003	Millwall	A	0–0	10,308
29 November 2003	Wimbledon	H	3–1	22,025	Herzig (own goal), Tudgay, Holmes
6 December 2003	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	25,018	Tudgay
13 December 2003	Rotherham United	A	0–0	7,320
26 December 2003	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–1	26,412	Costa
28 December 2003	Norwich City	H	0–4	23,783
10 January 2004	Stoke City	A	1–2	16,402	Morris
17 January 2004	Gillingham	H	2–1	20,473	Vincent, Edwards
28 January 2004	Sheffield United	H	2–0	26,603	Tudgay, McLeod
31 January 2004	Reading	A	1–3	14,382	Johnson
7 February 2004	Cardiff City	H	2–2	20,958	Taylor, Osman
14 February 2004	Wigan Athletic	A	0–2	9,146
21 February 2004	Crystal Palace	H	2–1	21,856	Manel, Osman
28 February 2004	Coventry City	A	0–2	16,042
3 March 2004	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–0	19,861
13 March 2004	Rotherham United	H	1–0	21,741	Peschisolido
16 March 2004	Watford	A	1–2	13,931	Peschisolido
20 March 2004	Nottingham Forest	H	4–2	32,390	Taylor, Peschisolido (2), Tudgay
23 March 2004	Sheffield United	A	1–1	21,351	Taylor (pen)
27 March 2004	Sunderland	A	1–2	30,838	Taylor (pen)
3 April 2004	Walsall	H	0–1	23,574
10 April 2004	West Ham United	A	0–0	28,207
12 April 2004	Bradford City	H	3–2	21,593	Osman, Taylor, Combe (own goal)
17 April 2004	Preston North End	H	5–1	24,162	Manel (2), Tudgay (2), Júnior
24 April 2004	Burnley	A	0–1	16,189
1 May 2004	Millwall	H	2–0	26,056	Bolder, Reich
9 May 2004	Wimbledon	A	0–1	6,509

FA Cup

Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 2004	Ipswich Town	A	0–3	16,159

League Cup

Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	13 August 2003	Huddersfield Town	A	1–2	6,672	Taylor

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. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Andy Oakes 2 DF  WAL Rob Edwards[notes 1] (on loan from Aston Villa) 3 DF  ENG Jamie Vincent 4 DF  ENG Dave Walton 5 DF  IRL Jeff Kenna 6 DF  ENG Pablo Mills 7 MF  ENG Ian Taylor (captain) 8 MF  POR Cândido Costa (on loan from Porto) 9 FW  ESP Manel 10 DF  JAM Michael Johnson[notes 2] 11 FW  CAN Paul Peschisolido 13 GK  ENG Lee Grant 14 DF  ENG Richard Jackson 15 MF  ENG Adam Bolder 16 DF  FRA Youl Mawéné 17 DF  ENG Paul Boertien

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  ENG Izale McLeod 19 MF  ENG Nathan Doyle 20 MF  ENG Lewis Hunt 21 MF  SCO Gary Twigg 22 FW  GER Marco Reich 23 FW  ENG Marcus Tudgay 24 GK  ENG Lee Camp[notes 3] 26 DF  ENG Chris Palmer 27 DF  ENG James Turner 28 MF  FIN Kris Weckström 29 DF  ENG Tom Huddlestone 30 MF  ENG Lee Holmes 31 FW  PER Gianfranco Labarthe 32 MF  ENG Leon Osman (on loan from Everton) 33 FW  BRA José Júnior 34 FW  ENG 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. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG Warren Barton (to Queens Park Rangers) 3 DF  ARG Luciano Zavagno (to A.C. Ancona) 5 DF  ENG Steve Elliott (to Blackpool) 9 FW  ENG Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth) 9 FW  ENG Danny Dichio (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) 11 MF  ENG Lee Morris (to Leicester City) 12 MF  FIN Simo Valakari (to FC Dallas)

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  ENG Adam Murray (to Burton Albion) 22 FW  ENG Lee Bradbury (on loan from Portsmouth) 25 MF  IRL Barry Molloy (to Drogheda United) 32 MF  SCO Gary Caldwell (on loan from Newcastle United) 32 MF  NIR Peter Kennedy (on loan from Wigan Athletic) 34 FW  SWE 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.