2003–04 Millwall F.C. season
| Chairman |  Theo Paphitis |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Mark McGhee(until 15 October)[1]  Dennis Wise(player-manager) |
| Stadium | The Den |
| First Division | 10th |
| FA Cup | Runners-up |
| League Cup | First round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Tim Cahill and Neil Harris (9) All: Tim Cahill (12) |
During the 2003–04 English football season, Millwall competed in the Football League First Division, the second tier of English football.
Season summary[]
Despite having spent the previous seasons chasing promotion to the Premiership, Mark McGhee left Millwall by "mutual consent" in October with the club just six points behind league leaders Sheffield United with 14 games played. His replacement, player-manager Dennis Wise, led Millwall to a final 10th place, four points off the play-offs. The club enjoyed greater success in the FA Cup, reaching the final for the first time in their history,[2] to face Manchester United. Millwall, who were missing 16 players through injury and suspension, were unable to create many opportunities and lost 3-0[3] to a United side which had finished third in the Premier League that season.
Curtis Weston, a boyhood United fan, became the youngest player to ever appear in an FA Cup final when he came on a substitute for Wise in the 89th minute. Weston, aged 17 years 119 days, beat the 125-year-old record previously held by James F. M. Prinsep, who appeared in the 1879 final for Clapham Rovers aged 17 years and 245 days; Weston defeated Prinsep's record by 126 days.
As United had already qualified for the Champions League, Millwall gained European qualification for the first time in their history, entering the UEFA Cup in the first round.
Final league table[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 11 | Stoke City | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 66 | |
| 12 | Coventry City | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 65 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- ^ Since the FA Cup winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup went to Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.
Kit[]
Strikeforce remained Millwall's kit sponsors. London-based stationery retailer Ryman became kit sponsors.
Players[]
First-team squad[]
- Squad at end of season[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Left club during season[]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad[]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Awards[]
At the end of the season, defender Darren Ward was named the club's player of the year.
Notes[]
- ^ Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.
- ^ Cahill was born in Sydney, Australia, but also qualified to represent Samoa, England, and the Republic of Ireland through his mother, father, and grandparents respectively, and represented Samoa (then called Western Samoa) at U-20 level, unsuccessfully attempted to overturn a FIFA ruling that prevented him from representing the Republic of Ireland during the 2001–02 season, changed his allegiance to Australia in 2003 following a change in FIFA's eligibility rules and made his international debut for Australia in March 2004.
- ^ Dolan was born in Southwark, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and represented Northern Ireland at U-18 and U-21 level.
- ^ Ifill was born in Brighton, England, but also qualified to represent Barbados internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Barbados in June 2004.
- ^ Muscat was born in Crawley, England, but was raised in Australia and represented Australia at U-20 and U-23 level before making his international debut for Australia in September 1994.
- ^ McCammon was born in Barnet, England, but also qualified to represent Barbados internationally and made his international debut for Barbados in 2006.
- ^ Elliott was born in Wandsworth, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in October 2011.
- ^ Ashikodi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but was raised in England and also qualified to represent Antigua and Barbuda internationally, and represented England at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level before making his international debut for Antigua and Barbuda in September 2012.
- ^ Samba was born in Banjul, Gambia, but was raised in England from the age of 6 and represented England at U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-20 level before making his international debut for Gambia in September 2008.
References[]
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/3193162.stm McGhee leaves Millwall, BBC News
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/4527395.stm Wise steps down as Millwall boss, BBC News
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/3725063.stm United win FA Cup, BBC News
- ^ "FootballSquads - Millwall - 2003/04".
External links[]
- Millwall F.C. seasons
- 2003–04 Football League First Division by team