2003–04 Millwall F.C. season

2003–04 Millwall F.C. season
Chairman England Theo Paphitis
Manager England Mark McGhee
(until 15 October)[1]
England 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 Premiership that season - though, as some would say, in somewhat harsh circumstances - United's second goal being a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty awarded after David Livermore apparently fouled Ryan Giggs, although replays showed that Livermore won the ball; and United's third being another goal from van Nistelrooy from three yards out, from an offside position.

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.

Kit

Strikeforce remained Millwall's kit sponsors. London-based stationery retailer Ryman became kit sponsors.

First-team squad

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

No. Position Player
1 England GK Tony Warner[4]
2 England DF Matt Lawrence
3 Republic of Ireland DF Robbie Ryan
4 Australia MF Tim Cahill[5]
6 England DF Joe Dolan
7 England MF Paul Ifill[6]
8 England MF David Livermore
9 England FW Neil Harris
10 England FW Danny Dichio
11 England MF Curtis Weston
12 England DF Darren Ward
13 France GK Willy Guéret
14 England MF Andy Roberts
16 Ivory Coast FW Abou Fofana
17 Australia DF Kevin Muscat
18 England FW John Sutton
No. Position Player
19 England MF Dennis Wise (player-manager)
21 England FW Nick Chadwick (on loan from Everton)
22 Northern Ireland FW Kevin Braniff
23 England FW Mark McCammon[7]
25 England MF Marvin Elliott[8]
26 Scotland MF Peter Sweeney
27 Republic of Ireland DF Alan Dunne
28 England DF Mark Phillips
29 Belgium FW Bob Peeters
30 England MF Charley Hearn
33 England GK Andy Marshall
34 England DF Paul Robinson
35 England DF Tony Craig
37 Republic of Ireland MF Barry Cogan
38 Jamaica MF Trevor Robinson
39 Republic of Ireland FW Mark Quigley

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. Position Player
5 England DF Stuart Nethercott (to Wycombe Wanderers)
10 Republic of Ireland FW Richard Sadlier (retired)
11 England FW Noel Whelan (to Derby County)
No. Position Player
20 England DF Ronnie Bull (to Brentford)
31 England GK David McCartney (to Hornchurch)
42 Brazil DF Juan (on loan from Arsenal)

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
15 England FW Moses Ashikodi
31 Wales DF Matthew Rees
32 England FW Ben May
36 Republic of Ireland DF Tim Clancy
No. Position Player
40 The Gambia MF Cherno Samba
41 Ivory Coast MF Alex Tiesse
45 England MF Ellis Lattimore

Awards

At the end of the season, defender Darren Ward was named the club's player of the year.

References

  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/3193162.stm McGhee leaves Millwall, BBC News
  2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/4527395.stm Wise steps down as Millwall boss, BBC News
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/3725063.stm United win FA Cup, BBC News
  4. Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally, and made his debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.
  5. Cahill was born in Sydney, Australia, but also qualified to represent Samoa internationally through his mother; he previously represented Samoa at U-17 level before switching his international allegiance to Australia, and would make his international debut for Australia in March 2004.
  6. Ifill was born in Brighton, England, but qualified to represent Barbados internationally through his parents, and would make his international debut for Barbados in June 2004.
  7. McCammon was born in Barnet, England, but qualified to represent Barbados internationally, and would make his international debut for Barbados in 2006.
  8. Elliott was born in Wandsworth, England, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally, and would make his international debut for Jamaica in October 2011.

External links

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