# 2003–04 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Crystal Palace competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Crystal Palace started the season on the right foot, winning their first three games to top the table, but that was as good as it got under manager Steve Kember and, after a 5–0 defeat at newly promoted Wigan Athletic in November saw the club in 20th place, Kember was sacked (chairman Simon Jordan had previously declared that Kember would have a "job for life" at Palace). Kit Symons stepped up as caretaker until Northern Irishman and former Palace striker Iain Dowie was appointed. Under Dowie, Palace rocketed up the table to reach the play-offs. After beating Sunderland on penalties in the semi-final to reach the Millennium Stadium, they beat West Ham United to regain promotion to the Premiership.
Crucial to Palace's promotion was striker Andy Johnson, who scored 28 times in the league alone. He finished as the First Division's top scorer, and was voted as the club's Player of the Year.

## Kit

English company Admiral Sportswear became Palace's kit manufacturers. The new home kit retained the navy shorts worn last season, albeit with a new blue and red striped design along the sides, and the navy socks, which now featured white trim. Palace's traditional blue and red striped shirts were modified with navy trim on the sleeves.
Churchill Insurance remained the kit sponsors for the fourth consecutive season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 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 |
| 7 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 60 | 45 | +15 | 71 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 71 | |

## Results

Crystal Palace's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 2003 | Burnley | A | 3–2 | 12,976 | Freedman (3, 1 pen) |
| 16 August 2003 | Watford | H | 1–0 | 15,333 | Shipperley |
| 23 August 2003 | Wimbledon | A | 3–1 | 6,113 | Butterfield, Freedman (pen), Hughes |
| 26 August 2003 | Sheffield United | H | 1–2 | 15,466 | Johnson |
| 30 August 2003 | Millwall | A | 1–1 | 14,425 | Watson |
| 13 September 2003 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | 27,324 | Johnson |
| 16 September 2003 | Bradford City | H | 0–1 | 13,514 | |
| 20 September 2003 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–2 | 17,477 | Freedman, Johnson |
| 27 September 2003 | Norwich City | A | 1–2 | 16,425 | Derry |
| 1 October 2003 | West Ham United | A | 0–3 | 31,861 | |
| 4 October 2003 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 16,160 | Routledge, Shipperley |
| 14 October 2003 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 14,344 | Butterfield |
| 18 October 2003 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | 18,715 | Freedman |
| 21 October 2003 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–4 | 15,483 | Johnson, Freedman (2, 1 pen) |
| 25 October 2003 | Gillingham | A | 0–1 | 8,889 | |
| 1 November 2003 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–5 | 6,796 | |
| 8 November 2003 | Preston North End | H | 1–1 | 14,608 | Johnson |
| 22 November 2003 | Walsall | A | 0–0 | 6,910 | |
| 25 November 2003 | Stoke City | A | 1–0 | 10,277 | Johnson |
| 29 November 2003 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | 14,622 | Edwards |
| 6 December 2003 | Preston North End | A | 1–4 | 12,836 | Derry |
| 9 December 2003 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–3 | 12,259 | Butterfield |
| 13 December 2003 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–0 | 16,935 | Johnson |
| 20 December 2003 | Reading | A | 3–0 | 12,743 | Johnson (2), Routledge |
| 26 December 2003 | Millwall | H | 0–1 | 19,737 | |
| 28 December 2003 | Ipswich Town | A | 3–1 | 27,629 | Johnson, Gray |
| 10 January 2004 | Burnley | H | 0–0 | 15,276 | |
| 17 January 2004 | Watford | A | 5–1 | 15,017 | Johnson (2, 1 pen), Routledge, Gray, Freedman |
| 24 January 2004 | Bradford City | A | 2–1 | 10,310 | Johnson, Shipperley |
| 31 January 2004 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 20,552 | Johnson (2), Granville |
| 7 February 2004 | Sheffield United | A | 3–0 | 23,816 | Johnson, Popovic, Shipperley |
| 14 February 2004 | Stoke City | H | 6–3 | 16,715 | Johnson (3, 2 pens), Hughes, Shipperley, Routledge |
| 21 February 2004 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | 21,856 | Hughes |
| 28 February 2004 | Gillingham | H | 1–0 | 17,485 | Butterfield |
| 6 March 2004 | Reading | H | 2–2 | 17,853 | Freedman, Johnson |
| 13 March 2004 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–3 | 28,306 | Shipperley, Granville |
| 20 March 2004 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 23,798 | Routledge |
| 27 March 2004 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–2 | 24,990 | |
| 6 April 2004 | Rotherham United | A | 2–1 | 6,001 | Gray, Shipperley |
| 10 April 2004 | Cardiff City | A | 2–0 | 16,656 | Johnson, Routledge |
| 12 April 2004 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 23,977 | Freedman |
| 17 April 2004 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–1 | 18,799 | Granville |
| 21 April 2004 | Sunderland | H | 3–0 | 18,291 | Johnson (pen), Shipperley, Freedman |
| 24 April 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 3–2 | 8,136 | Johnson (3, 1 pen) |
| 1 May 2004 | Walsall | H | 1–0 | 21,518 | Johnson |
| 9 May 2004 | Coventry City | A | 1–2 | 22,195 | Freedman |

### First Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st Leg | 14 May 2004 | Sunderland | H | 3–2 | 25,287 | Shipperley, Butterfield, Johnson |
| SF 2nd Leg | 17 May 2004 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 (won 5–4 on pens) | 34,536 | Powell |
| F | 29 May 2004 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 72,523 | Shipperley |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–3 | 32,340 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 12 August 2003 | Torquay United | A | 1–1 (won 3–1 on pens) | 3,366 | Freedman |
| R2 | 23 September 2003 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–1 | 4,904 | Johnson (2 pens) |
| R3 | 28 October 2003 | Blackpool | A | 3–1 | 6,010 | Johnson (2), Freedman |
| R4 | 3 December 2003 | Aston Villa | A | 0–3 | 24,258 | |

## Players
### 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 |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Curtis Fleming |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Granville |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield |
| 5 | DF | WAL | Kit Symons |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Tony Popovic |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Andy Johnson |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Jamie Smith |
| 13 | GK | FRA | Cédric Berthelin |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Mark Hudson (on loan from Fulham) |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge |
| 23 | FW | WAL | Gareth Williams |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Mikele Leigertwood |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Ben Surey |
| 27 | GK | BEL | Nico Vaesen (on loan from Birmingham City) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Tom Soares |
| 29 | MF | MRI | Gavin Heeroo |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Lance Cronin |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Darren Powell |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Tariq Nabil |

### 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Matt Clarke (retired) |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins (to West Ham United) |
| 19 | DF | WAL | Rob Edwards (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | GK | NOR | Thomas Myhre (on loan from Sunderland) |
| 31 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi (to Stoke City) |