# 2003–04 West Ham United F.C. season

The 2003–04 season saw West Ham United competing in the First Division for the first time since the 1992–93 season, having been relegated from the Premiership in 18th place the previous year.

## Season summary

Following West Ham's relegation from the Premiership, several key players left the club that summer, including Les Ferdinand, Trevor Sinclair, Frédéric Kanouté, Joe Cole, Paolo Di Canio and Glen Johnson. Young striker Jermain Defoe had also submitted a transfer request just one day after their relegation, but this was rejected and he would remain with the club for the start of the new season. Manager Glenn Roeder, who had since recovered from the brain tumour that caused him to miss the end of the previous season, immediately set about rebuilding his squad, signing Kevin Horlock, Matthew Etherington, Rob Lee and David Connolly prior to the beginning of the campaign. After a win over Preston North End on the opening day, a draw and a loss would follow and Roeder was sacked three games into the season. Sir Trevor Brooking once again took over as caretaker manager, and form improved as they won their next four games. A permanent replacement was soon found for Roeder, when Alan Pardew was bought in from Reading as new manager in October.
Despite continuing to be a prolific goalscorer for the club, disciplinary issues became a problem for striker Jermain Defoe, who was sent off three times and played just 22 out of a possible 34 games due to suspension in the first half of the season. This, combined with his repeated refusal to sign a new contract, meant West Ham allowed him to leave the club in January to sign with Tottenham Hotspur in a swap deal that saw West Ham take out of favour striker Bobby Zamora. Along with Defoe, goalkeeper David James and club mainstay Ian Pearce would also leave for Manchester City and Fulham F.C. respectively.
Under the guidance of Pardew, West Ham performed well enough to finish fourth and earn themselves a playoff finish. They would lose 1–0 to 5th place Ipswich Town in the first leg of their playoff semi-final, but bounced back to win 2–0 in the second, advancing to the final where they would face Crystal Palace at the Millennium Stadium. A goal from Neil Shipperley after 61 minutes would be enough to give Palace the win, consigning the Hammers to another season in English football's second tier.

## Final League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 64 | 42 | +22 | 86 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 3 | Sunderland | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 79 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | West Ham United | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 74 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 84 | 72 | +12 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 72 | 61 | +11 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |

## 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 | CZE | Tomáš Řepka |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Rufus Brevett |
| 4 | MF | SCO | Don Hutchison |
| 5 | MF | ENG | Rob Lee |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Michael Carrick |
| 7 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly |
| 8 | FW | IRL | David Connolly |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Steve Lomas |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Wayne Quinn (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand |
| 16 | MF | NIR | Kevin Horlock |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | FRA | Youssef Sofiane |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Adam Nowland |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nigel Reo-Coker |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Richard Garcia |
| 22 | DF | WAL | Andy Melville |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jon Harley (on loan from Fulham) |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Bobby Zamora |
| 26 | MF | JAM | Jobi McAnuff |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Shaun Byrne |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Brian Deane |
| 30 | GK | CZE | Pavel Srníček |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Stephen Bywater |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Elliott Ward |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Chris Cohen |

### 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 | ENG | David James (to Manchester City) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe (to Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce (to Fulham) |
| 20 | MF | SWE | Niclas Alexandersson (on loan from Everton) |
| 20 | MF | SCO | Robbie Stockdale (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon (on loan from Leeds United) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | David Noble (to Boston United) |
| 30 | DF | FRA | Sebastian Schemmel (to Portsmouth) |
| 30 | GK | SWE | Rami Shaaban (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Neil Mellor (on loan from Liverpool) |

## Results
### First Division

Manager: Glenn Roeder
Caretaker Manager: Trevor Brooking
Manager: Alan Pardew

### FA Cup
## Statistics
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| First Division | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 041.30 |
| Play-offs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 033.33 |
| FA Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 050.00 |
| League Cup | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 066.67 |
| Total | 56 | 24 | 18 | 14 | 80 | 56 | +24 | 042.86 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos | No. | Nat | Name | First Division | Play-offs | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | ST | 9 | | Jermain Defoe | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | ST | 8 | | David Connolly | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | ST | 10 | | Marlon Harewood | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | ST | 29 | | Brian Deane | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | MF | 12 | | Matthew Etherington | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | ST | 25 | | Bobby Zamora | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | DF | 7 | | Christian Dailly | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | MF | 4 | | Don Hutchison | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | MF | 20 | | Nigel Reo-Coker | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | ST | 33 | | Neil Mellor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | 6 | | Michael Carrick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 16 | | Kevin Horlock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 17 | | Hayden Mullins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 19 | | Ian Pearce | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 24 | | Jon Harley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 26 | | Jobi McAnuff | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 67 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 80 |

### League position by matchday

| Round | 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 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | D | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | W | D | L | W | D | L | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | D |
| Position | 7 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | First Division | First Division | Play-offs | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | David James | 31 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | CZE | Pavel Srnicek | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Stephen Bywater | 23 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | CZE | Tomáš Řepka | 47 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Rufus Brevett | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly | 53 | 3 | 43 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Wayne Quinn | 27 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand | 26 | 0 | 9+11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce | 26 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | SCO | Robbie Stockdale | 9 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | WAL | Andy Melville | 17 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jon Harley | 16 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Shaun Byrne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Chris Cohen | 7 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | SCO | Don Hutchison | 27 | 4 | 10+14 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | ENG | Rob Lee | 19 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Michael Carrick | 43 | 1 | 34+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Steve Lomas | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Matthew Etherington | 45 | 6 | 34+1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | NIR | Kevin Horlock | 33 | 1 | 23+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins | 34 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Adam Nowland | 11 | 0 | 2+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | SWE | Niclas Alexandersson | 8 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nigel Reo-Coker | 18 | 2 | 13+2 | 2 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Sebastien Carole | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | JAM | Jobi McAnuff | 13 | 1 | 4+8 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | David Noble | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | IRL | David Connolly | 48 | 14 | 37+2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe | 22 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood | 35 | 14 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | FRA | Youssef Sofiane | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | AUS | Richard Garcia | 10 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Bobby Zamora | 20 | 5 | 15+2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Brian Deane | 32 | 7 | 9+17 | 6 | 0+3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Neil Mellor | 21 | 2 | 8+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |