# 2003–04 Charlton Athletic F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Charlton Athletic competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

For the third season running, a late slump in form ended Charlton Athletic's hopes of European qualification. In 2001–02, they had finished 14th after failing to win any of their final eight games. In 2002–03, they had finished 12th after winning only one of their final ten games. 2003–04, however, brought Charlton's best ever Premier League finish, as well as their highest league finish since the 1950s, as they came seventh. The club were inside the Champions League places as late as mid-March, but the familiar end-of-season setback, winning only four of their last 16 games, caused them to slip out of contention.
At the end of the season, goalkeeper Dean Kiely was named the club's Player of the Year.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 38 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 56 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 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 | |

## Players
### 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 |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Dean Kiely |
| 2 | DF | BUL | Radostin Kishishev |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Chris Powell |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Richard Rufus |
| 6 | DF | RSA | Mark Fish |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Matt Holland (captain) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Jason Euell |
| 10 | MF | DEN | Claus Jensen |
| 11 | FW | ITA | Paolo Di Canio |
| 12 | DF | ISL | Hermann Hreidarsson |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Paul Rachubka |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Jerome Thomas |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett |
| 16 | FW | JAM | Kevin Lisbie |
| 17 | FW | RSA | Shaun Bartlett |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Paul Konchesky |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Luke Young |
| 21 | FW | FIN | Jonatan Johansson |
| 22 | MF | JAM | Jamal Campbell-Ryce |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Michael Turner |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jonathan Fortune |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Simon Royce |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Adrian Deane |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Osei Sankofa |
| 29 | MF | IRL | Neil McCafferty |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Stacy Long |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Sam |
| 32 | FW | IRL | Stephen Tucker |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Stephen Hughes |
| 34 | GK | POR | Sérgio Leite |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Chris Perry |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Alex Varney |

### 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 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Scott Parker (to Chelsea) |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Chris Bart-Williams (on loan to Ipswich Town) |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Paul Konchesky (on loan to Tottenham Hotspur) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | SWE | Mathias Svensson (to Norwich City) |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Mark DeBolla (to Chesterfield) |

### Reserve 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 |
| — | DF | ENG | Barry Fuller |
| — | DF | ENG | Adam Gross |
| — | DF | ENG | Sheku Kamara |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Ricketts |
| — | MF | ENG | Nathan Ashton |
| — | MF | ENG | Myles Weston |

## Transfers
### In

* Matt Holland – Ipswich Town, 16 June, £1,050,000
* Simon Royce – Leicester City, 26 June, free
* Paolo Di Canio – West Ham United, 11 August, free
* Sérgio Leite – Boavista, 14 August, free
* Stephen Hughes- Watford, 14 August, free
* Carlton Cole – Chelsea, 20 August, season-long loan
* Chris Perry – Tottenham Hotspur, 28 November, £100,000
* Jerome Thomas – Arsenal, 2 February, £100,000

### Out

* John Robinson – Cardiff City, 10 July, free
* Mathias Svensson – Norwich City, 19 December, undisclosed
* Scott Parker – Chelsea, 30 January, £10,000,000
* Tahar El Khalej – retired
* Ben Roberts – Brighton & Hove Albion
* Transfers in: £1,250,000
* Transfers out: £10,000,000

### Loan out

* Chris Bart-Williams – Ipswich Town, loan

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | IRL | Dean Kiely | 40 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Simon Royce | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | Chris Powell | 17 | 0 | 11+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | RSA | Mark Fish | 25 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ISL | Hermann Hreidarsson | 35 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Luke Young | 25 | 0 | 21+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jonathan Fortune | 31 | 2 | 21+7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Chris Perry | 31 | 1 | 25+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 2 | MF | BUL | Radostin Kishishev | 35 | 0 | 30+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart | 31 | 3 | 23+5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Matt Holland | 41 | 6 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | ENG | Jason Euell | 34 | 10 | 24+7 | 10 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | DEN | Claus Jensen | 34 | 5 | 27+4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Jerome Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Paul Konchesky | 22 | 0 | 17+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | JAM | Jamal Campbell-Ryce | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 11 | FW | ITA | Paolo Di Canio | 33 | 5 | 23+8 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | JAM | Kevin Lisbie | 10 | 5 | 5+4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | RSA | Shaun Bartlett | 19 | 5 | 13+6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | SWE | Mathias Svensson | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | FIN | Jonatan Johansson | 29 | 4 | 16+10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole | 23 | 5 | 8+13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | Scott Parker | 22 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Last updated: 15 May 2004 Source: Competitions

## Results

Results are courtesy of Statto.

### Results per matchday

| 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 | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | D | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | L | L | D | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | D | L | L | D | D | W |
| Position | 18 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Premier League