2003–04 Southampton F.C. season

The 2003-04 season was Southampton F.C's 26th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, and it was the club's 119th year in existence. The season started on the 16th of August 2003 and ended on the 15th of May 2004. It was Gordon Stratchan's last season as Southampton's manager.

Southampton F.C.

2003–04 season
Chairman	Rupert Lowe
Manager	Gordon Strachan (until March) Paul Sturrock (from March)
Stadium	St Mary's Stadium
Premier League	12th
FA Cup	Third round proper
League Cup	Fifth round
UEFA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: James Beattie (14) All: James Beattie (17)
Highest home attendance	32,151 (vs. Arsenal, 29 December)
Lowest home attendance	30,513 (vs. Charlton Athletic, 7 December)
Average home league attendance	31,716[1]
Home colours Away colours
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

The team was eliminated on the third round of the FA Cup, losing 3-0 to Newcastle United, the match was broadcast live by the BBC. They were also eliminated from the Carling cup, losing 1-0 to Bolton Wanderers in the quarter finals due to a goal in extra time.

Season summary

The previous season's FA Cup runners-up failed to make an impact in any of the cup competitions, and their 12th-place finish was a something of a disappointment after the previous season, when Southampton were eighth in the league - their highest ever in the Premiership and their highest in the top flight since 1990. The club was thrown into further turmoil in March, when Gordon Strachan announced his resignation as manager. There was talk that Glenn Hoddle would be returning to the club for a second spell, but the job went to Plymouth Argyle's Paul Sturrock instead.

Final league table

Main article: 2003–04 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
10	Birmingham City	38	12	14	12	43	48	−5	50
11	Middlesbrough	38	13	9	16	44	52	−8	48	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
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

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Middlesbrough qualified as the 2003–04 Football League Cup winners.

First-team squad

Squad at end of season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG Jason Dodd 3 DF  ENG Graeme Le Saux 5 DF  NOR Claus Lundekvam 6 DF  SCO Stephen Crainey 7 FW  ENG Kevin Phillips 8 MF  ENG Matt Oakley 9 FW  ENG James Beattie 10 MF  SCO Neil McCann 11 DF  SWE Michael Svensson 12 MF  SWE Anders Svensson 14 GK  FIN Antti Niemi 15 DF  ENG Fitz Hall 16 DF  ENG Martin Cranie 17 FW  LVA Marian Pahars

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  IRL Rory Delap[2] 19 DF  ENG Danny Higginbotham 20 MF  ENG David Prutton 21 FW  NOR Jo Tessem 22 DF  ENG Darren Kenton 28 GK  NIR Alan Blayney 29 MF  FRA Fabrice Fernandes 30 MF  FRA Léandre Griffit 31 MF  FRA Yoann Folly[3] 32 DF  NIR Chris Baird 33 DF  SCO Paul Telfer 34 FW  ECU Agustin Delgado 36 FW  ENG Brett Ormerod

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  WAL Paul Jones (to Wolverhampton Wanderers) 4 MF  ENG Chris Marsden (to Busan I'cons) 6 DF  ENG Paul Williams (to Stoke City) 16 MF  ENG Mark Draper (retired)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW  NOR Jo Tessem (on loan to Lyn) 25 DF  ENG Garry Monk (to Barnsley) 27 GK  ENG Scott Bevan (to Wimbledon)

Reserve squad

The following players did not appear for the first team this season.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK  ENG Paul Smith 23 MF  WAL Arron Davies 24 FW  ENG Dexter Blackstock[4] 25 GK  ENG Michael Poke 26 DF  ENG Matt Mills 27 FW  ENG Leon Best[5] 35 DF  ENG Mike Williamson — DF  ENG Francis Benali

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Luke Byles — DF  ENG Michael Green — MF  ENG Simon Gillett — MF  WAL Richard Jones (on loan to Swansea City) — MF  ESP Jacinto Elá[6] — MF  UKR Andrejs Perepļotkins (on loan to Bohemians[7]) — MF  RSA Drew Surman

Youth squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SCO Andrew McNeil — DF  ENG Kyle Critchell — DF  WAL Gareth Bale — DF  FRA Sebastian Wallis-Taylor — MF  ENG Nathan Dyer — MF  ENG Lloyd James

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Adam Lallana — MF  POR Feliciano Condesso — MF  FIN Tim Sparv — FW  ENG Theo Walcott — FW  ENG Josh Dutton-Black

Results

Premier League

Leicester City v Southampton

16 August 2003 1	Leicester City	2–2	Southampton	Leicester, Leicestershire
BST (UTC+01)	Dickov 5' (pen.) Ferdinand 10'	Report	Phillips 76' Beattie 80'	Stadium: Walkers Stadium Attendance: 31,621 Referee: Mike Riley

Southampton v Birmingham City

23 August 2003 2	Southampton	0–0	Birmingham City	Southampton, Hampshire
15:00 BST (UTC+01)		Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,656 Referee: Graham Barber

Leeds United v Southampton

26 August 2003 3	Leeds United	0–0	Southampton	Leeds, West Yorkshire
BST (UTC+01)		Report		Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 34,721 Referee: Paul Durkin

Southampton v Manchester United

31 August 2003 4	Southampton	1–0	Manchester United	Southampton, Hampshire
BST (UTC+01)	Beattie 88'	Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Referee: Mark Halsey

Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers

13 September 2003 5	Southampton	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Southampton, Hampshire
15:00 BST (UTC+01)	Beattie 37' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,711 Referee: Uriah Rennie

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

20 September 2003 6	Tottenham Hotspur	1–3	Southampton	Haringey, London
	Kanouté 62'	Report	Beattie 2', 43' Phillips 60'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,784 Referee: Andy D'Urso

Southampton v Middlesbrough

27 September 2003 7	Southampton	0–1	Middlesbrough	Southampton, Hampshire
BST (UTC+01)	Phillips  90'	Report	Christie 13'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 30,772 Referee: Barry Knight

Newcastle United v Southampton

4 October 2003 8	Newcastle United	1–0	Southampton	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside
BST (UTC+01)	Shearer 44'	Report		Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 52,127 Referee: Phil Dowd

Everton v Southampton

19 October 2003 9	Everton	0–0	Southampton	Liverpool, Merseyside
		Report		Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,775 Referee: Matt Messias

Southampton v Blackburn Rovers

25 October 2003 10	Southampton	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	Southampton, Hampshire
BST (UTC+01)	Beattie 59' Griffit 87'	Report	Cole  65'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,620 Referee: Steve Bennett

Southampton v Manchester City

1 November 2003 11	Southampton	0–2	Manchester City	Southampton, Hampshire
15:00 GMT (UTC)		Report	Fowler 4' Wanchope 85'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,952 Referee: Alan Wiley

Bolton Wanderers v Southampton

8 November 2003 12	Bolton Wanderers	0–0	Southampton	Bolton, Greater Manchester
		Report	M. Svensson  86'	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 25,619 Referee: Howard Webb

Southampton v Chelsea

22 November 2003 13	Southampton	0–1	Chelsea	Southampton, Hampshire
		Report	Melchiot 47'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 32,149 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Aston Villa v Southampton

29 November 2003 14	Aston Villa	1–0	Southampton	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Dublin 45'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 31,285 Referee: Matt Messias

Southampton v Charlton Athletic

7 December 2003 15	Southampton	3–2	Charlton Athletic	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	M. Svensson 14' Ormerod 45', 85'	Report	Parker 46', 65'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 30,513 Referee: Peter Walton

Liverpool v Southampton

13 December 2003 16	Liverpool	1–2	Southampton	Liverpool, Merseyside
GMT (UTC)	Heskey 75'	Report	Ormerod 2' M. Svensson 64'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,762 Referee: Paul Durkin

Southampton v Portsmouth

21 December 2003 17	Southampton	3–0	Portsmouth	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	Schemmel 34' (o.g.) Pahars 67' Beattie 90'	Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,697 Referee: Jeff Winter

Fulham v Southampton

26 December 2003 18	Fulham	2–0	Southampton	Fulham, London
12:00 GMT (UTC)	Saha 19', 63' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,767 Referee: Alan Wiley

Southampton v Arsenal

29 December 2003 19	Southampton	0–1	Arsenal	Southampton, Hampshire
20:00 GMT (UTC)		Report	Pires 35'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 32,151 Referee: Steve Dunn

Southampton v Leicester City

7 January 2004 20	Southampton	0–0	Leicester City	Southampton, Hampshire
BST (UTC+01)		Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,053 Referee: Howard Webb

Birmingham City v Southampton

10 January 2004 21	Birmingham City	2–1	Southampton	Birmingham, West Midlands
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Clemence 16' Kenna 67'	Report	Ormerod 6' Prutton  69'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 29,071 Referee: Steve Bennett

Southampton v Leeds United

17 January 2004 22	Southampton	2–1	Leeds United	Southampton, Hampshire
	Ormerod 36' Phillips 43'	Report	Kilgallon 75'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,976 Referee: Alan Wiley

Manchester United v Southampton

31 January 2004 23	Manchester United	3–2	Southampton	Trafford, Greater Manchester
GMT (UTC)	Saha 17' Scholes 36' van Nistelrooy 60'	Report	Phillips 37,52'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 67,758 Referee: Graham Barber

Southampton v Fulham

7 February 2004 24	Southampton	0–0	Fulham	Southampton, Hampshire
		Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,820 Referee: Andy D'Urso

Arsenal v Southampton

10 February 2004 25	Arsenal	2–0	Southampton	Islington, London
19:45 GMT (UTC)	Henry 31', 90'	Report		Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,007 Referee: Neale Barry

Southampton v Everton

21 February 2004 26	Southampton	3–3	Everton	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	Phillips 58' Beattie 81' Fernandes 90'	Report	Rooney 7', 77' Ferguson 33'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,875 Referee: Phil Dowd

Blackburn Rovers v Southampton

28 February 2004 27	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Southampton	Blackburn, Lancashire
	Cole 52'	Report	Phillips 5'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 21,970 Referee: Mike Dean

Southampton v Liverpool

14 March 2004 28	Southampton	2–0	Liverpool	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	Beattie 51' Phillips 85'	Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 32,056 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Portsmouth v Southampton

21 March 2004 29	Portsmouth	1–0	Southampton	Portsmouth, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	Yakubu 68'	Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 20,140 Referee: Mark Halsey

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

27 March 2004 30	Southampton	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton, Hampshire
	Delap 64'	Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,973 Referee: Chris Foy

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton

3 April 2004 31	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–4	Southampton	Wolverhampton, West Midlands
15:00 BST	Camara 72'	Report	Beattie 25' Lundekvam 58' Phillips 89', 90'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 29,106 Referee: Mark Halsey

Middlesbrough v Southampton

12 April 2004 32	Middlesbrough	3–1	Southampton	Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
	Juninho 23' Németh 32' Maccarone 49'	Report	Beattie 70'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 30,768 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Manchester City v Southampton

17 April 2004 33	Manchester City	1–3	Southampton	Manchester
15:00	Anelka 78'	Report	Beattie 34' Phillips 55', 81'	Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium Attendance: 47,152 Referee: Graham Barber

Southampton v Bolton Wanderers

24 April 2004 34	Southampton	1–2	Bolton Wanderers	Southampton, Hampshire
	Pahars 21'	Report	Nolan 77' Davies 78'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,712 Referee: Steve Dunn

Chelsea v Southampton

1 May 2004 35	Chelsea	4–0	Southampton	Fulham, London
	Cranie 59' (o.g.) Lampard 75', 83' Guðjohnsen 86'	Report		Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 41,321 Referee: Paul Durkin

Southampton v Aston Villa

8 May 2004 36	Southampton	1–1	Aston Villa	Southampton, Hampshire
BST (UTC+01)	Phillips 45'	Report	Angel 39' (pen.)	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 32,054 Referee: Howard Webb

Southampton v Newcastle United

11 May 2004 37	Southampton	3–3	Newcastle United	Southampton, Hampshire
20:00 BST (UTC+01)	Beattie 19' Bramble 39' (o.g.) Griffit 88'	Report	Ameobi 7' Bowyer 35' Ambrose 90'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,815 Referee: Graham Poll

Charlton Athletic v Southampton

15 May 2004 38	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Southampton	Greenwich, London
BST (UTC+01)	Euell 36' Cole 53'	Report	Prutton 64'	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 26,614 Referee: Jeff Winter

FA Cup

Southampton v Newcastle United

3	Southampton	0–3	Newcastle United	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)				Stadium: St Mary's Stadium

League Cup

• Third round: Bristol City 1–3 Southampton; attendance 17,408

Southampton v Portsmouth

2 December 2003 4	Southampton	2–0	Portsmouth	Southampton, Hampshire
GMT (UTC)	Beattie 33', 90' (pen.)	Report	De Zeeuw  90'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 29,201 Referee: Graham Poll

Bolton Wanderers v Southampton

16 December 2003 5	Bolton Wanderers	1–0	Southampton	Bolton, Greater Manchester
GMT (UTC)	Pedersen 115'	Report		Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 13,957 Referee: Phil Dowd

UEFA Cup

Southampton v Steaua București

24 September 2003 First Round First Leg	Southampton	1–1	Steaua București	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
19:45 BST	Phillips 52'	Report	Răducanu 20'	Attendance: 30,577 Referee: Tommy Skjerven (Norway)

Steaua București v Southampton

15 October 2003 First Round Second Leg	Steaua București	1–0 (2–1 agg.)	Southampton	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest
18:45 EEST	Răducanu 83'	Report		Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		UEFA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
14	GK	FIN	Antti Niemi	33	0	28	0	1	0	3	0	1	0
28	GK	NIR	Alan Blayney	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Jason Dodd	34	0	27+1	0	1	0	3	0	2	0
3	DF	ENG	Graeme Le Saux	21	1	19	0	0	0	1	1	1	0
5	DF	NOR	Claus Lundekvam	36	1	31	1	1	0	2	0	2	0
6	DF	SCO	Stephen Crainey	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	DF	SWE	Michael Svensson	32	2	26	2	1	0	3	0	2	0
15	DF	ENG	Fitz Hall	12	0	7+4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
16	DF	ENG	Martin Cranie	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	DF	ENG	Danny Higginbotham	31	0	24+3	0	1	0	2	0	1	0
22	DF	ENG	Darren Kenton	7	0	3+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	NIR	Chris Baird	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
8	MF	ENG	Matt Oakley	8	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF	SCO	Neil McCann	21	0	9+9	0	0	0	0+2	0	0+1	0
12	MF	SWE	Anders Svensson	34	0	17+13	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
18	MF	IRL	Rory Delap	32	1	26+1	1	0	0	3	0	1+1	0
20	MF	ENG	David Prutton	30	1	22+5	1	1	0	1+1	0	0	0
21	MF	NOR	Jo Tessem	3	0	1+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	MF	FRA	Fabrice Fernandes	31	1	21+6	1	0	0	2	0	2	0
30	MF	FRA	Léandre Griffit	5	2	2+3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF	FRA	Yoann Folly	9	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	SCO	Paul Telfer	43	0	33+4	0	1	0	2+1	0	1+1	0
Forwards
7	FW	ENG	Kevin Phillips	37	13	28+6	12	1	0	0	0	2	1
9	FW	ENG	James Beattie	42	17	32+5	14	1	0	2	3	2	0
17	FW	LVA	Marian Pahars	16	2	6+8	2	1	0	1	0	0	0
34	FW	ECU	Agustin Delgado	6	0	0+4	0	0	0	1+1	0	0	0
36	FW	ENG	Brett Ormerod	26	6	14+8	5	0+1	0	3	1	0	0
Players transferred out during the season
1	GK	WAL	Paul Jones	10	0	8	0	0	0	0+1	0	1	0
4	MF	ENG	Chris Marsden	17	0	9+4	0	0	0	2+1	0	1	0