2003–04 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

Wigan Athletic
2003–04 season
ChairmanDave Whelan
ManagerPaul Jewell
StadiumJJB Stadium
First Division7th
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerNathan Ellington (18)
Average home league attendance9,505

During the 2003–04 English football season, Wigan Athletic competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

Wigan were playing in Division One for the first time in their history, and after losing their first game many tipped them for a swift departure, but Wigan confounded expectations to go unbeaten for the next 17 games and sat at the top the table by November. A weak finish saw Wigan win only three of their last 10 games to finish seventh in Division One – a last minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw the Latics drop out of the play-off places in favour of eventual play-off winners Crystal Palace.

Final league table

Main article: 2003–04 Football League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
5 Ipswich Town 46 21 10 15 84 72 +12 73 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
6 Crystal Palace (O, P) 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
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Pre-season

Date Opponent Venue Result Scorers Notes
15 July 2003 KVC Westerlo A 1–0
17 July 2003 FC Eindhoven A 2–2
22 July 2003 Southport A 3–0
23 July 2003 Bradford Park Avenue A 4–0 [1]
27 July 2003 Falkirk A 0–1
29 July 2003 Burscough A 0–2
30 July 2003 Rochdale A 2–2
2 August 2003 Blackburn Rovers H 1–0 [2]


Results

Wigan Athletic's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

First Division match details[3]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 2003 Millwall A 0–2 10,898
16 August 2003 Preston North End H 1–1 12,073 McCulloch
23 August 2003 Burnley A 2–0 13,231 Kennedy, Ellington
26 August 2003 Ipswich Town H 1–0 8,292 Ellington
30 August 2003 Rotherham United A 3–0 6,660 Jarrett, Ellington, N. Roberts
13 September 2003 Wimbledon A 4–2 1,054 Bullard, Liddell, Horsfield, Ellington
16 September 2003 West Bromwich Albion H 1–0 12,874 Horsfield
20 September 2003 Watford H 1–0 9,211 McCulloch
27 September 2003 Coventry City A 1–1 14,862 Jackson
30 September 2003 Cardiff City A 0–0 15,143
4 October 2003 Norwich City H 1–1 9,346 Liddell
11 October 2003 Derby County A 2–2 19,151 Liddell (2)
14 October 2003 Stoke City H 2–1 7,678 Horsfield (2)
18 October 2003 Gillingham H 1–0 6,696 Liddell (pen)
21 October 2003 Sheffield United H 1–1 12,032 Horsfield
25 October 2003 Walsall A 0–2 7,041
1 November 2003 Crystal Palace H 5–0 6,796 Liddell (2, 1 pen), Horsfield, Ellington (2)
8 November 2003 Reading A 0–1 13,819
22 November 2003 Nottingham Forest H 2–2 10,403 Ellington, Liddell
29 November 2003 West Ham United A 0–4 34,375
2 December 2003 Sunderland A 1–1 22,167 De Vos
6 December 2003 Reading H 0–2 7,512
13 December 2003 Bradford City H 1–0 7,256 Horsfield
20 December 2003 Crewe Alexandra A 3–2 7,873 McCulloch, De Vos, Bullard
26 December 2003 Rotherham United H 1–2 9,235 Ellington
28 December 2003 Sheffield United A 1–1 26,056 Ellington
10 January 2004 Millwall H 0–0 7,047
17 January 2004 Preston North End A 4–2 19,161 J. Roberts, Ellington (2), Teale
31 January 2004 Burnley H 0–0 11,147
7 February 2004 Ipswich Town A 3–1 22,093 J. Roberts, Ellington, Teale
14 February 2004 Derby County H 2–0 9,146 Ellington, McCulloch
21 February 2004 Stoke City A 1–1 14,927 Ellington
28 February 2004 Walsall H 1–0 7,593 Ellington
6 March 2004 Crewe Alexandra H 2–3 8,367 McCulloch (2)
13 March 2004 Bradford City A 0–0 11,744
16 March 2004 West Bromwich Albion A 1–2 26,215 Liddell (pen)
20 March 2004 Coventry City H 2–1 8,784 J. Roberts (2)
27 March 2004 Watford A 1–1 13,382 J. Roberts
3 April 2004 Wimbledon H 0–1 7,622
6 April 2004 Gillingham A 3–0 7,410 Ellington, J. Roberts, Mahon
9 April 2004 Norwich City A 0–2 23,446
13 April 2004 Cardiff City H 3–0 8,052 J. Roberts, Ellington
17 April 2004 Crystal Palace A 1–1 18,799 Ellington
24 April 2004 Sunderland H 0–0 11,380
1 May 2004 Nottingham Forest A 0–1 29,172
9 May 2004 West Ham United H 1–1 20,669 N. Roberts

FA Cup

Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 3 January 2004 West Ham United H 1–2 11,793 Quinn (own goal)

League Cup

Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 12 August 2003 Hull City H 2–0 3,295 McCulloch, Jarrett
R2 23 September 2003 Fulham H 1–0 4,874 Ellington
R3 29 October 2003 Middlesbrough H 1–2 8,046 Bullard

Squad statistics

Squad at end of season[4][5]

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total Division One FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK  AUS John Filan 47 0 45 0 1 0 1 0
2 DF  ENG Paul Mitchell 14 0 1+11 0 1 0 0+1 0
3 DF  SCO Stephen McMillan 16 0 13+2 0 0 0 1 0
4 DF  ENG Matt Jackson 28 1 23+1 1 0+1 0 3 0
5 DF  CAN Jason De Vos 28 2 25+2 2 1 0 0 0
6 DF  ENG Ian Breckin 49 0 43+2 0 1 0 3 0
7 MF  SCO Andy Liddell 43 9 35+5 9 0 0 3 0
8 FW  WAL Neil Roberts 32 2 9+19 2 1 0 2+1 0
9 FW  ENG Nathan Ellington 47 19 43+1 18 1 0 1+1 1
10 FW  SCO Lee McCulloch 45 7 31+10 6 1 0 3 1
11 MF  NIR Peter Kennedy 15 1 10+2 1 0 0 3 0
12 MF  WAL Michael Flynn 9 0 1+7 0 0 0 0+1 0
13 GK  ENG Gary Walsh 5 0 1+2 0 0 0 2 0
14 MF  IRL Alan Mahon 14 1 13+1 1 0 0 0 0
15 MF  IRL Gareth Farrelly 7 0 3+4 0 0 0 0 0
16 MF  ENG Tony Dinning 14 0 11+2 0 0 0 1 0
18 MF  ENG Jason Jarrett 43 2 33+8 1 0 0 2 1
19 DF  ENG Nicky Eaden 50 0 46 0 1 0 3 0
20 MF  SCO Gary Teale 30 2 15+13 2 1 0 0+1 0
21 MF  ENG Jimmy Bullard 50 3 46 2 1 0 3 1
22 FW  BRA Magno Vieira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 GK  ENG James Salisbury 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 DF  ENG Alan Rogers 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
25 DF  ENG Chris Lynch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 DF  ENG Leighton Baines 28 0 23+3 0 1 0 1 0
27 MF  ENG Greg Traynor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 FW  GRN Jason Roberts 14 8 14 8 0 0 0 0
33 GK  ENG Ryan Yeomans 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 FW  ENG David Moore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Players who appeared for Wigan and left during the season:
14 FW  SCO Mark Burchill 4 0 1+3 0 0 0 0 0
14 MF  JAM Jamie Lawrence 4 0 0+4 0 0 0 0 0
15 FW  ENG Geoff Horsfield 17 7 16 7 0 0 1 0
17 MF  ENG Ged Brannan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Notes

  1. ^ "Blundering Howe gifts Wigan goals". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  2. ^ "On your marks". Wigan Observer. 5 August 2003. p. 28. ISSN 0963-7826 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Rollin & Rollin 2004, pp. 404–405
  4. ^ "FootballSquads - Wigan Athletic - 2003/04".
  5. ^ "Wigan FC Player Appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 23 June 2025.

References

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