# 2003–04 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2003–04 season was the 126th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and was their third consecutive year in the top-flight. This article covers the period from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004.

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Kevin Poole |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Anthony Barness |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Simon Charlton |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Kevin Nolan |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Bruno Ngotty |
| 6 | MF | FRA | Youri Djorkaeff |
| 7 | MF | GRE | Stelios Giannakopoulos |
| 8 | MF | DEN | Per Frandsen |
| 9 | FW | DEN | Henrik Pedersen |
| 10 | MF | NGA | Jay-Jay Okocha |
| 11 | MF | JAM | Ricardo Gardner |
| 13 | FW | BRA | Mário Jardel |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Kevin Davies |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Ibrahim Ba |
| 16 | DF | ESP | Iván Campo |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Florent Laville |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Nicky Hunt |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Jeff Smith |
| 22 | GK | FIN | Jussi Jääskeläinen |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Danny Livesey |
| 25 | FW | ESP | Javi Moreno (on loan from Atlético Madrid) |
| 26 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Charlie Comyn-Platt |
| 32 | FW | POR | Ricardo Vaz Tê |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Ricky Shakes |
| 42 | DF | ENG | Steve Howey |

### 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. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | FW | IRL | Jonathan Walters (to Hull City) |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Delroy Facey (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Jon Otsemobor (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 21 | MF | IRL | Gareth Farrelly (to Wigan Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | JAM | Jermaine Johnson (to Oldham Athletic) |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Glen Little (on loan from Burnley) |
| 28 | MF | JAM | Cleveland Taylor (to Scunthorpe United) |

## Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Derek Niven |
| 29 | DF | COD | Kangana Lord N'Diwa |
| 30 | GK | FRA | Jeremy Bon |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Lewis Hamlin |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Jason Talbot |
| 35 | GK | JAM | Donovan Ricketts (on loan from Village United) |
| 37 | FW | GUA | Dwight Pezzarossi (on loan from Communicaciones) |

## Transfers
### In

* Stelios Giannakopoulos - Olympiacos, 28 May 2003
* Iván Campo - Real Madrid, free transfer, 18 July 2003
* Kevin Davies - Southampton, free transfer, 23 July 2003
* Ricardo Vaz Tê - S.C. Farense, free transfer, 27 August 2003
* Mário Jardel - Sporting CP, £1,158,000, 13 August 2003
* Emerson Thome - Sunderland, free transfer, 29 August 2003
* Ibrahim Ba - Milan, free transfer, 11 September 2003
* Glen Little - Burnley, month loan, 1 September 2003
* Donovan Ricketts - Village United, five-month loan, 2 January 2004
* Javi Moreno - Atlético Madrid, five-month loan, 5 January 2004
* Steve Howey - Leicester City, free transfer, 29 January 2004
* Dwight Pezzarossi - Comunicaciones, four-month loan, 30 January 2004
* Jon Otsemobor - Liverpool, four-month loan, 2 February 2004
* Cleveland Taylor - Scunthorpe United

### Out

* Colin Hendry - retired
* Guðni Bergsson - retired
* Leam Richardson - released (later joined Blackpool on 23 June 2003)
* Mike Whitlow - released (later joined Sheffield United in 2003)
* Paul Warhurst - released (later joined Chesterfield in October 2003)
* Jonathan Walters - Hull City, 2004
* Bülent Akın - Akçaabat Sebatspor
* Gareth Farrelly - Wigan Athletic
* Delroy Facey - West Bromwich Albion
* Chris Armstrong - Wrexham
* Gerald Forschelet - Neuchâtel Xamax
* Cleveland Taylor - Scunthorpe United
* Jon Otsemobor - Liverpool, loan end

## Results
### FA Premier League

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | L | D | W | D | D | D | L | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | W | W | D | D | L | L | L | L | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | L |
| Position | 20 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 August 2003 | Manchester United | A | 0 – 4 | | 67,647 |
| 23 August 2003 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2 – 2 | Djorkaeff 3' (pen), Davies 25' | 27,423 |
| 26 August 2003 | Portsmouth | A | 0 – 4 | | 20,113 |
| 30 August 2003 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0 – 0 | | 23,098 |
| 13 September 2003 | Middlesbrough | H | 2 – 0 | Davies 23', Ngotty 81' | 26,419 |
| 20 September 2003 | Newcastle United | A | 0 – 0 | | 52,014 |
| 27 September 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1 – 1 | Davies 85' | 27,043 |
| 5 October 2003 | Aston Villa | A | 1 – 1 | Nolan 46' | 30,229 |
| 18 October 2003 | Manchester City | A | 2 – 6 | Nolan 25', Campo 60' | 47,101 |
| 25 October 2003 | Birmingham City | H | 0 – 1 | | 25,023 |
| 1 November 2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1 – 0 | Nolan 73' | 35,191 |
| 8 November 2003 | Southampton | H | 0 – 0 | | 25,619 |
| 22 November 2003 | Leeds United | A | 2 – 0 | Davies 16', Stelios 17' | 36,558 |
| 29 November 2003 | Everton | H | 2 – 0 | Frandsen 26', Djorkaeff 46' | 27,350 |
| 6 December 2003 | Fulham | A | 1 – 2 | Davies 53' | 14,393 |
| 13 December 2003 | Chelsea | A | 2 – 1 | Ngotty 39', Terry 90' (og) | 40,491 |
| 20 December 2003 | Arsenal | H | 1 – 1 | Pedersen 83' | 28,003 |
| 26 December 2003 | Liverpool | A | 1 – 3 | Pedersen 85' | 42,987 |
| 28 December 2003 | Leicester City | H | 2 – 2 | Ngotty 35', Campo 54' | 28,353 |
| 7 January 2004 | Manchester United | H | 1 – 2 | Gary Neville (og) 89' | 27,668 |
| 10 January 2004 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 4 – 3 | Nolan (2) 1', 78', Djorkaeff 43', Stelios 73' | 23,538 |
| 17 January 2004 | Portsmouth | H | 1 – 0 | Davies 53' | 26,558 |
| 31 January 2004 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2 – 1 | Pedersen 1', Nolan 78' | 26,249 |
| 7 February 2004 | Liverpool | H | 2 – 2 | Hunt 11', Djorkaeff 58' | 27,552 |
| 10 February 2004 | Leicester City | A | 1 – 1 | Walker 33' (og) | 26,674 |
| 21 February 2004 | Manchester City | H | 1 – 3 | Nolan 22' | 27,301 |
| 6 March 2004 | Birmingham City | A | 0 – 2 | | 28,003 |
| 13 March 2004 | Chelsea | H | 0 – 2 | | 26,717 |
| 20 March 2004 | Arsenal | A | 1 – 2 | Campo 41' | 38,053 |
| 28 March 2004 | Newcastle United | H | 1 – 0 | Pedersen 4' | 27,360 |
| 3 April 2004 | Middlesbrough | A | 0 – 2 | | 30,107 |
| 10 April 2004 | Aston Villa | H | 2 – 2 | Pedersen 48', Davies 86' | 26,374 |
| 12 April 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2 – 1 | Pedersen 43', Davies 90' | 26,895 |
| 17 April 2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2 – 0 | Campo 7', Pedersen 65' | 26,440 |
| 24 April 2004 | Southampton | A | 2 – 1 | Nolan 77', Davies 78' | 31,712 |
| 2 May 2004 | Leeds United | H | 4 – 1 | Djorkaeff (2) 47', 53', Harte 55' (og), Nolan 78' | 27,420 |
| 8 May 2004 | Everton | A | 2 – 1 | Djorkaeff (2) 14', 87' | 40,191 |
| 15 May 2004 | Fulham | H | 0 – 2 | | 27,383 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 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 |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 3 January 2004 | Round 3 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1-1 | Nolan 78' | 10,587 |
| 14 February 2004 | Round 3 replay | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1-2 (aet) | Shakes | 8,759 |

### Carling Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 September 2003 | Round 2 | Walsall | H | 3-1 | Jardel (2) 15', 80', Nolan 69' | 5,229 |
| 28 October 2003 | Round 3 | Gillingham | H | 2-0 | Stelios 25', Pedersen 66' | 5,258 |
| 3 December 2003 | Round 4 | Liverpool | A | 3-2 | Jardel 4', Okocha 79', Djorkaeff 90' (pen) | 33,185 |
| 16 December 2003 | Round 5 | Southampton | H | 1-0 (aet) | Pedersen 115' | 13,957 |
| 21 January 2004 | Semi-final first leg | Aston Villa | H | 5-2 | Okocha (2) 2', 80', Nolan 9', Stelios 17', Ngotty 74' | 16,302 |
| 27 January 2004 | Semi-final second leg | Aston Villa | A | 0-2 5-4 (agg) | | 36,883 |
| 29 February 2004 | Final | Middlesbrough | N | 1-2 | Davies 21' | 72,634 |

## Statistics
### Appearances

Bolton used a total of 29 players during the season.
| P | Player | Position | PL | FAC | LC | Total |
| 1 | Iván Campo | Midfielder | 37 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 06 0(0) | 43 0(1) |
| 2 | Kevin Davies | Striker | 38 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 04 0(1) | 42 0(1) |
| 3 | Kevin Nolan | Midfielder | 37 0(0) | 00 0(2) | 04 0(0) | 41 0(2) |
| 4 | Jussi Jääskeläinen | Goalkeeper | 38 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 03 0(0) | 41 0(0) |
| 5 | Jay-Jay Okocha | Midfielder | 33 0(2) | 00 0(0) | 05 0(1) | 38 0(3) |
| 6 | Bruno Ngotty | Defender | 32 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 06 0(0) | 38 0(1) |
| 7 | Simon Charlton | Defender | 28 0(3) | 00 0(0) | 05 0(2) | 33 0 (5) |
| 8 | Emerson Thome | Defender | 25 0(1) | 01 0(0) | 05 0(0) | 31 0(1) |
| 9 | Youri Djorkaeff | Midfielder | 25 0(2) | 00 0(0) | 04 0(1) | 29 0(3) |
| 10 | Henrik Pedersen | Striker | 19 (14) | 02 0(0) | 04 0(3) | 25 (17) |
| 11 | Per Frandsen | Midfielder | 22 (11) | 01 0(1) | 02 0(1) | 25 (13) |
| 12 | Stelios Giannakopoulos | Midfielder | 18 (13) | 02 0(0) | 04 0(2) | 24 (15) |
| 13 | Ricardo Gardner | Defender/Midfielder | 20 0(2) | 00 0(0) | 02 0(2) | 22 0(4) |
| 14 | Anthony Barness | Defender | 11 0 (4) | 02 0(0) | 04 0(2) | 17 0(6) |
| 15 | Ibrahim Ba | Midfielder | 00 0(9) | 01 0(0) | 05 0(1) | 06 (10) |
| 16 | Kevin Poole | Goalkeeper | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 04 0(0) | 06 0(0) |
| 17 | Florent Laville | Defender | 05 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 05 0(0) |
| 18 | Mario Jardel | Striker | 00 0(7) | 01 0(0) | 03 0(1) | 04 0(8) |
| 19= | Charlie Comyn-Platt | Defender | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(1) | 02 0(1) |
| 19= | Delroy Facey | Striker | 00 0(1) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 02 0(1) |
| 19= | Steve Howey | Defender | 02 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 02 0(1) |
| 22= | Danny Livesey | Defender | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) |
| 22= | Jeff Smith | Midfielder | 00 0(0) | 02 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 02 0(2) |
| 24 | Javi Moreno | Striker | 01 0(7) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(2) | 01 0(9) |
| 25 | Ricardo Vaz Tê | Striker | 00 0(1) | 01 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(2) |
| 26 | Jon Otsemobor | Defender | 01 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 01 0(0) |
| 27 | Glen Little | Midfielder | 00 0(4) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(4) |
| 28= | Ricky Shakes | Defender | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) |
| 28= | Cleveland Taylor | Midfielder | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) | 00 0(0) | 00 0(1) |

### Top scorers

| P | Player | Position | PL | FAC | LC | Total |
| 1 | Kevin Nolan | Midfielder | 10 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| 2= | Kevin Davies | Striker | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2= | Youri Djorkaeff | Midfielder | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2= | Henrik Pedersen | Striker | 8 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 5= | Stelios Giannakopoulos | Midfielder | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 5= | Bruno Ngotty | Defender | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |