2003–04 Leicester City F.C. season

Leicester City

2003-04 season
Chairman	Jim McCahill
Manager	Micky Adams
Premier League	18th (relegated)
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Les Ferdinand (12) All: Les Ferdinand and Paul Dickov (13)
Highest home attendance	32,148 (vs. Newcastle United, 26 December)
Lowest home attendance	18,916 (vs. Manchester City, 14 January)
Average home league attendance	30,983
← 2002-03 2004-05 →

During the 2003–04 English football season, Leicester City competed in the FA Premier League (known as the Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

Micky Adams had guided Leicester back to the Premiership at the first attempt, despite the club spending part of their Division One campaign in receivership before a takeover safeguarded their future. But he was unable to keep them there, and their relegation was confirmed at the beginning of May. A 4-0 thumping of fellow relegation rivals Leeds United in September appeared to have set the tone for the rest of the season but it was soon followed by a setback of five straight defeats despite promising displays. A run of three wins in five games in November kept Leicester in close contention of survival, with the 2-0 victory at Portsmouth seeing them rise to as high as 12th; however, it all went wrong as, after a creditable 1-1 draw with eventual champions Arsenal, the team went into freefall and endured a dreadful run of only one win in 22 games (though most scorelines were reasonably close and they dropped too many points from 12 games they drew which they could have won). Ultimately, Leicester were relegated in a 2-2 draw at Charlton Athletic, which left them eight points adrift of Manchester City with two games remaining. It was a traumatic end to a season which had seen the club plagued with crises on and off the field, including the La Manga controversy when players Keith Gillespie, Frank Sinclair and Paul Dickov were accused of sexual assault following an alleged incident at a hotel in Spain (all charges were finally dropped).

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1.	Arsenal	38	26	12	0	73	26	+47	90
2.	Chelsea	38	24	7	7	67	30	+37	79
3.	Manchester United	38	23	6	9	64	35	+29	75
4.	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	55	37	+18	60
5.	Newcastle United	38	13	17	8	52	40	+12	56
6.	Aston Villa	38	15	11	12	48	44	+4	56
7.	Charlton Athletic	38	14	11	13	51	51	0	53
8.	Bolton Wanderers	38	14	11	13	48	56	-8	53
9.	Fulham	38	14	10	14	52	46	+6	52
10.	Birmingham City	38	12	14	12	43	48	-5	50
11.	Middlesbrough	38	13	9	16	44	52	-8	48
12.	Southampton	38	12	11	15	44	45	-1	47
13.	Portsmouth	38	12	9	17	47	54	-7	45
14.	Tottenham Hotspur	38	13	6	19	47	57	-10	45
15.	Blackburn Rovers	38	12	8	18	51	59	-8	44
16.	Manchester City	38	9	14	15	55	54	+1	41
17.	Everton	38	9	12	17	45	57	-12	39
18.	Leicester City	38	6	15	17	48	65	-17	33
19.	Leeds United	38	8	9	21	40	79	-39	33
20.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	7	12	19	38	77	-39	33

Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Relegated to the Championship

Results

Leicester City's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16 August 2003	Southampton	H	2–2	31,611	Dickov (pen), Ferdinand
23 August 2003	Chelsea	A	1–2	41,073	Scowcroft
26 August 2003	Middlesbrough	H	0–0	30,823
30 August 2003	Aston Villa	A	1–3	32,274	Izzet
15 September 2003	Leeds United	H	4–0	30,460	Nalis, Dickov (2), Scowcroft
20 September 2003	Liverpool	A	1–2	44,094	Bent
27 September 2003	Manchester United	H	1–4	32,044	Sinclair
4 October 2003	Fulham	A	0–2	14,562
19 October 2003	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–2	31,521	Dickov
25 October 2003	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	3–4	28,578	Ferdinand (2), Scimeca
2 November 2003	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–0	30,975	Bent, Howey
9 November 2003	Manchester City	A	3–0	46,966	Stewart, Dickov (pen), Bent
22 November 2003	Charlton Athletic	H	1–1	30,242	Ferdinand
29 November 2003	Portsmouth	A	2–0	20,061	Ferdinand, Bent
6 December 2003	Arsenal	H	1–1	32,108	Hignett
13 December 2003	Birmingham City	H	0–2	30,639
20 December 2003	Everton	A	2–3	37,007	Ferdinand, Scowcroft
26 December 2003	Newcastle United	H	1–1	32,148	Dickov
28 December 2003	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–2	28,353	Bent, Ferdinand
7 January 2004	Southampton	A	0–0	31,053
11 January 2004	Chelsea	H	0–4	31,547
17 January 2004	Middlesbrough	A	3–3	27,125	Dickov (2), Bent
31 January 2004	Aston Villa	H	0–5	31,056
7 February 2004	Newcastle United	A	1–3	52,125	Ferdinand
10 February 2004	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	26,674	Ferdinand
22 February 2004	Tottenham Hotspur	A	4–4	35,218	Doherty (own goal), Ferdinand, Thatcher, Bent
28 February 2004	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–0	31,768
13 March 2004	Birmingham City	A	1–0	29,491	Ferdinand
20 March 2004	Everton	H	1–1	31,650	Bent
28 March 2004	Liverpool	H	0–0	32,013
5 April 2004	Leeds United	A	2–3	34,036	Dickov, Izzet
10 April 2004	Fulham	H	0–2	28,392
13 April 2004	Manchester United	A	0–1	67,749
17 April 2004	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–1	22,749
24 April 2004	Manchester City	H	1–1	31,457	Scowcroft
1 May 2004	Charlton Athletic	A	2–2	26,034	Bent, Ferdinand
8 May 2004	Portsmouth	H	3–1	31,536	Dickov, Scowcroft, Taylor (own goal)
15 May 2004	Arsenal	A	1–2	38,419	Dickov

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 2004	Manchester City	A	2–2	30,617	Dickov, Bent
R3R	14 January 2004	Manchester City	H	1–3	18,916	Ferdinand

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2	23 September 2003	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–0	27,675	Dickov (pen)
R3	29 October 2003	Aston Villa	A	0–1	26,729

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. Position Player 1 GK Ian Walker 2 DF Andrew Impey 3 DF Frank Sinclair[1] 5 MF Craig Hignett 6 MF Muzzy Izzet[2] 7 MF Keith Gillespie 8 MF Lilian Nalis 9 FW Les Ferdinand 10 FW James Scowcroft 11 MF Jordan Stewart 12 MF Paul Brooker 13 MF Steffen Freund (on loan from 1. FC Kaiserslautern) 14 DF Callum Davidson 15 DF Alan Rogers

No. Position Player 16 GK Danny Coyne 18 DF Matt Elliott[3] 20 FW Trevor Benjamin[4] 21 DF Riccardo Scimeca 22 FW Paul Dickov 25 DF Matt Heath 27 MF Steve Guppy 28 MF Peter Canero 32 MF Billy McKinlay 33 DF Ben Thatcher[5] 34 DF Nicolas Priet 38 FW Marcus Bent (on loan from Ipswich Town) 44 DF Nikos Dabizas

Left club during the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 4 DF Gerry Taggart (to Stoke City) 24 DF Steve Howey (to Bolton Wanderers) 27 FW Brian Deane (to West Ham United)

No. Position Player 28 MF Jon Ashton (to Oxford United) 29 DF John Curtis (to Portsmouth) MF Nicky Summerbee (to Bradford City)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 17 MF Matt Jones 19 GK Paul Murphy 23 MF Tommy Wright 24 FW Lee Morris

No. Position Player 26 MF Junior Lewis 30 FW Tomi Petrescu MF Tom Williamson FW Chris O'Grady

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions^[6]

Considering a 4-3-3 formation

• GK: #1, Ian Walker, 40
• RB: #29, John Curtis, 16
• CB: #32, Billy McKinlay, 18
• CB: #21, Riccardo Scimeca, 30
• LB: #33, Ben Thatcher, 28
• CM: #6, Muzzy Izzet, 31
• CM: #2, Andy Impey, 14 (#44, Nikos Dabizas, has 18 starts)
• CM: #11, Jordan Stewart, 18
• RF: #10, James Scowcroft, 36
• CF: #38, Marcus Bent, 30
• LF: #22, Paul Dickov, 32

Transfers

In

• Steve Howey - Manchester City, 5 June, undisclosed^[7]
• Riccardo Scimeca - Nottingham Forest, 24 June, free^[8]
• Paul Brooker - Brighton and Hove Albion, 24 June, free^[9]
• Danny Coyne - Grimsby Town, 3 July, free^[10]
• Keith Gillespie - Blackburn Rovers, 8 July, free^[11]
• Lilian Nalis - Chievo, 11 July, free^[12]
• Les Ferdinand - West Ham United, 11 July, free^[13]
• Ben Thatcher - Tottenham Hotspur, 17 July, £300,000^[14]
• Craig Hignett - Blackburn Rovers, 18 July, free^[15]
• Steve Guppy - Celtic, 13 January, free
• Lee Morris - Derby County, 2 February, nominal fee^[16]
• Nicolas Priet - Lyon, free

Out

• Tim Flowers - retired, 7 May
• Martin Reeves - released, 7 May (later joined Northampton Town on 9 June^[17])
• Simon Royce - released, 7 May (later joined Charlton Athletic on 26 June^[18])
• Stefan Oakes - released, 7 May (later joined Walsall on 3 July^[19]
• Nicky Summerbee - released, 7 May (later joined Bradford City on 4 September)
• Jon Ashton - released, 7 May (later joined Oxford United on 8 September)
• Matt Jones - released, 7 May (later retired on 4 June 2004^[20])
• Michael Price - released, 7 May
• Darren Eadie - released, 7 May
• Jon Stevenson - released, 7 May (later joined Swindon Town)
• Brian Deane - West Ham United, 31 October, free^[21]
• Steve Howey - Bolton Wanderers, 29 January, undisclosed^[22]
• John Curtis - Portsmouth, 2 February, free^[23]
• Gerry Taggart - Stoke City, 26 February, free^[24]

Loan in

• Marcus Bent - Ipswich Town, 1 September, season-long loan^[25]
• Nikos Dabizas - Newcastle United, 1 January, six-month loan^[26]
• Steffen Freund - Kaiserlautern, 30 January, season-long loan^[27]

Loan out

• Tommy Wright - Brentford, 12 September
• Gerry Taggart - Stoke City, 9 December, two months^[28]

Awards

Club awards

At the end of the season, Leicester's annual award ceremony, including categories voted for by the players and backroom staff, the supporters and the supporters club, saw the following players recognised for their achievements for the club throughout the 2003-04 season.

Player of the Season	Les Ferdinand[29]
Players' Player of the Season	Les Ferdinand[29]
Supporters' Club Player of the Season	N/A
Academy Player of the Season	Richard Stearman[30]
Goal of the Season	Lilian Nalis[30] (vs. Leeds United, 15 September 2003)[31]

References

1. Sinclair was born in Lambeth, England, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 1998.
2. Izzet was born in Tower Hamlets, England, but qualified to represent Turkey internationally and made his international debut for Turkey in 2000.
3. Elliott was born in Wandsworth, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and made his full international debut for Scotland in November 1997.
4. Benjamin was born in Kettering, England, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in November 2002.
5. Thatcher was born in Swindon, England, but qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in March 2004.
6. "All Leicester City players: 2004".
7. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Foxes move for Howey". BBC News. 2003-06-05. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
8. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Foxes snap up Scimeca". BBC News. 2003-06-24. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
9. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Brooker joins Leicester". BBC News. 2003-06-24. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
10. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Leicester sign Coyne". BBC News. 2003-07-03. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
11. "Foxes sign Gillespie". Archived from the original on 10 August 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
12. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Foxes snap up Nalis". BBC News. 2003-07-11. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
13. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Ferdinand signs for Leicester". BBC News. 2003-07-11. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
14. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Foxes sign Thatcher". BBC News. 2003-07-17. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
15. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Leicester swoop for Hignett". BBC News. 2003-07-18. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
16. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Leicester land Morris". BBC News. 2004-02-02. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
17. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Northampton Town | Reeves pens Cobblers deal". BBC News. 2003-06-09. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
18. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Charlton Athletic | Royce returns to Charlton". BBC News. 2003-06-26. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
19. "Walsall sign duo". BBC Sport. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2003.
20. "Jones forced to retire". BBC Sport. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
21. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | West Ham Utd | West Ham sign Deane". BBC News. 2003-10-31. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
22. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Bolton Wanderers | Howey completes Bolton switch". BBC News. 2004-01-29. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
23. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Portsmouth | Pompey land LuaLua". BBC News. 2004-02-02. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
24. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Stoke City | Taggart joins Stoke City". BBC News. 2004-02-26. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
25. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Bent makes Leicester move". BBC News. 2003-09-01. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
26. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Dabizas to join Leicester". BBC News. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
27. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leicester City | Leicester land Freund". BBC News. 2004-01-30. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
28. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Stoke City | Taggart joins Stoke". BBC News. 2003-12-09. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
29. "Leicester City Annual Player Awards". LCFC.co.uk. 17 Nov 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
30. Awards Ceremony Picture Special, LCFC.com, 17 Nov 2004, retrieved 19 Jan 2011
31. "Dickov leaves Leeds reeling". BBC Sport. 15 Sep 2003. Retrieved 19 Jan 2011.