2003–04 Manchester United F.C. season 122nd season in existence of Manchester United
Manchester United 2003–04 football season
The 2003–04 season was Manchester United 's 12th season in the Premier League , and their 29th consecutive season in the top division of English football .[ 1]
United started the season by winning the 2003 FA Community Shield and then secured a record eleventh FA Cup with a 3–0 win over Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff . However, the club surrendered the Premier League title to unbeaten champions Arsenal , with a second-half dip in league form coinciding with Rio Ferdinand starting an eight-month ban from football due to a missed drugs test and restricting United to a third-place finish.
New to the United side were Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo , Brazilian 2002 FIFA World Cup -winning midfielder Kléberson , American goalkeeper Tim Howard , Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba and French striker David Bellion .
United's UEFA Champions League and League Cup dreams ended in the last 16, with the European exit being particularly painful as a last minute goal by eventual champions Porto put them out of the competition and denied them an eighth successive Champions League quarter-final.
Pre-season and friendlies
Date
Opponents
H/A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
22 July 2003
Celtic
N
4–0
Van Nistelrooy 7', Giggs 27', Solskjær 39', Bellion 72'
66,722
27 July 2003
Club América
N
3–1
Van Nistelrooy 48', Forlán (2) 49', 80'
57,365
31 July 2003
Juventus
N
4–1
Giggs 25', Scholes 57', Van Nistelrooy 60', Solskjær 79'
79,000
3 August 2003
Barcelona
N
3–1
Forlán (2) 25', 37', Van Nistelrooy 85'
68,396
7 August 2003
Sporting CP
A
1–3
Hugo 88' (o.g. )
55,000
13 August 2003
Stoke City
A
1–3
Forlán 68'
21,436
FA Premier League
Date
Opponents
H/A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
League position
16 August 2003
Bolton Wanderers
H
4–0
Giggs (2) 35', 74', Scholes 77', Van Nistelrooy 87'
67,647
2nd
23 August 2003
Newcastle United
A
2–1
Van Nistelrooy 51', Scholes 59'
52,165
3rd
27 August 2003
Wolverhampton Wanderers
H
1–0
O'Shea 10'
67,648
2nd
31 August 2003
Southampton
A
0–1
32,066
2nd
13 September 2003
Charlton Athletic
A
2–0
Van Nistelrooy (2) 62', 82'
26,078
2nd
21 September 2003
Arsenal
H
0–0
67,639
3rd
27 September 2003
Leicester City
A
4–1
Keane 15', Van Nistelrooy (3) 16', 45', 52'
32,044
3rd
4 October 2003
Birmingham City
H
3–0
Van Nistelrooy 36' (pen. ), Scholes 57', Giggs 82'
67,633
2nd
18 October 2003
Leeds United
A
1–0
Keane 81'
40,153
2nd
25 October 2003
Fulham
H
1–3
Forlán 45'
67,727
3rd
1 November 2003
Portsmouth
H
3–0
Forlán 37', Ronaldo 80', Keane 82'
67,639
3rd
9 November 2003
Liverpool
A
2–1
Giggs (2) 58', 70'
44,159
3rd
22 November 2003
Blackburn Rovers
H
2–1
Van Nistelrooy 24', Kléberson 38'
67,748
3rd
30 November 2003
Chelsea
A
0–1
41,932
3rd
6 December 2003
Aston Villa
H
4–0
Van Nistelrooy (2) 16', 45', Forlán (2) 90', 90'
67,621
3rd
13 December 2003
Manchester City
H
3–1
Scholes (2) 7', 73', Van Nistelrooy 34'
67,645
2nd
21 December 2003
Tottenham Hotspur
A
2–1
O'Shea 15', Van Nistelrooy 26'
35,910
1st
26 December 2003
Everton
H
3–2
Butt 9', Kléberson 44', Bellion 68'
67,642
1st
28 December 2003
Middlesbrough
A
1–0
Fortune 14'
34,738
1st
7 January 2004
Bolton Wanderers
A
2–1
Scholes 24', Van Nistelrooy 39'
27,668
1st
11 January 2004
Newcastle United
H
0–0
67,622
1st
17 January 2004
Wolverhampton Wanderers
A
0–1
29,396
2nd
31 January 2004
Southampton
H
3–2
Saha 18', Scholes 37', Van Nistelrooy 61'
67,758
2nd
7 February 2004
Everton
A
4–3
Saha (2) 9', 29', Van Nistelrooy (2) 24', 89'
40,190
2nd
11 February 2004
Middlesbrough
H
2–3
Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 63'
67,346
2nd
21 February 2004
Leeds United
H
1–1
Scholes 64'
67,744
2nd
28 February 2004
Fulham
A
1–1
Saha 14'
18,306
3rd
14 March 2004
Manchester City
A
1–4
Scholes 35'
47,284
3rd
20 March 2004
Tottenham Hotspur
H
3–0
Giggs 30', Ronaldo 89', Bellion 90'
67,634
3rd
28 March 2004
Arsenal
A
1–1
Saha 86'
38,184
3rd
10 April 2004
Birmingham City
A
2–1
Ronaldo 60', Saha 78'
29,548
3rd
13 April 2004
Leicester City
H
1–0
G. Neville 56'
67,749
3rd
17 April 2004
Portsmouth
A
0–1
20,140
3rd
20 April 2004
Charlton Athletic
H
2–0
Saha 28', G. Neville 65'
67,477
3rd
24 April 2004
Liverpool
H
0–1
67,647
3rd
1 May 2004
Blackburn Rovers
A
0–1
29,616
3rd
8 May 2004
Chelsea
H
1–1
Van Nistelrooy 76'
67,609
3rd
15 May 2004
Aston Villa
A
2–0
Ronaldo 4', Van Nistelrooy 10'
42,573
3rd
Source:
Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
FA Cup
Date
Round
Opponents
H/A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
4 January 2004
Round 3
Aston Villa
A
2–1
Scholes (2) 64', 68'
40,371
25 January 2004
Round 4
Northampton Town
A
3–0
Silvestre 34', Hargreaves 47' (o.g. ), Forlán 68'
7,356
14 February 2004
Round 5
Manchester City
H
4–2
Scholes 34', Van Nistelrooy (2) 71', 80', Ronaldo 74'
67,228
6 March 2004
Round 6
Fulham
H
2–1
Van Nistelrooy (2) 25', 62'
67,614
3 April 2004
Semi-final
Arsenal
N
1–0
Scholes 32'
39,939
22 May 2004
Final
Millwall
N
3–0
Ronaldo 44', Van Nistelrooy (2) 65' (pen. ), 81'
71,350
League Cup
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Date
Opponents
H/A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
Group position
16 September 2003
Panathinaikos
H
5–0
Silvestre 13', Fortune 15', Solskjær 33', Butt 40', Djemba-Djemba 83'
66,520
1st
1 October 2003
VfB Stuttgart
A
1–2
Van Nistelrooy 67' (pen. )
50,348
2nd
22 October 2003
Rangers
A
1–0
P. Neville 5'
48,730
1st
4 November 2003
Rangers
H
3–0
Forlán 6', Van Nistelrooy (2) 43', 60'
66,707
1st
26 November 2003
Panathinaikos
A
1–0
Forlán 85'
6,890
1st
9 December 2003
VfB Stuttgart
H
2–0
Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 58'
67,141
1st
Knockout phase
Date
Round
Opponents
H/A
Result F–A
Scorers
Attendance
25 February 2004
First knockout round First leg
Porto
A
1–2
Fortune 14'
49,977
9 March 2004
First knockout round Second leg
Porto
H
1–1
Scholes 32'
67,029
Squad statistics
Transfers
United's first departure of the 2003–04 season was David Beckham , who left Old Trafford after ten years with the Red Devils. On 7 July, forward Danny Webber joined Watford . A month after Webber's departure, Argentinian midfielder, Juan Sebastián Verón joined United's rivals Chelsea . Two days later, English forward Jimmy Davis died in a car crash.
Coming in during the summer transfer window were French forward David Bellion , Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba , American goalkeeper Tim Howard , Brazilian midfielder Kléberson , and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo .
Leaving in the winter transfer window was Alan Tate , who joined Swansea City . First-choice goalkeeper Fabien Barthez rejoined Marseille in April, while Danny Pugh joined Leeds United in late May, in exchange for Alan Smith .
Arriving in the winter transfer window was Louis Saha , who signed from Fulham on 23 January for a fee of £12.82 million. Alan Smith joined United on 26 May from Leeds United in exchange for Danny Pugh (see above). Gabriel Heinze joined United on 11 June from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £6.9 million.
In
Out
Loan out
Notes
^ Beckham's transfer fee could increase to £24.25 million based on Real Madrid's performance in the UEFA Champions League over the four years of his contract.
References
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Isthmian League (Two )
Combined Counties League (Premier , One )
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One )
Essex Senior League (level 9 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One East , One West )
Kent League (level 8 only )
Midland Alliance (level 8 only )
Midland Football Combination (level 9 only )
North West Counties League (One , Two )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (level 8 only )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions