# 2003–04 Carlisle United F.C. season

For its 2003–04 season, Carlisle United F.C. competed in the English Football League Division Three. Carlisle United achieved a record of 12–9–15, the second-worst record in the third division. The club's 23rd-place finish in the division led to them being relegated to the Football Conference National for the 2004–05 season.
The team started the season being managed by Roddy Collins, but Collins was sacked after a four-game run of losses at the start of the season. player-manager Paul Simpson took over for the rest of the campaign,.

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 Glennon |
| 2 | MF | ENG | Paul Arnison |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Tom Cowan |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Paul Raven |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Brian Shelley |
| 6 | DF | NIR | Darren Kelly |
| 7 | DF | IRL | Peter Murphy |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Chris Billy |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Richie Foran |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Peter Duffield |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Adam Rundle |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Lee Andrews |
| 13 | DF | IRL | Will McDonagh |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Kevin Gray |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Mark Summerbell |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Kelvin Langmead (on loan from Preston North End) |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Craig Farrell |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Brendan McGill |
| 21 | FW | ENG | David Molloy |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Peter Keen |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Kevin Henderson |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Michael Jack |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Paul Simpson |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Paul Gardiner |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Mark Boyd |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Andy Preece |

### 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 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Mark Birch (to Gretna) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Lee Maddison (to Gretna) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Shaun Smith (on loan from Hull City) |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Richie Foran (on loan to Oxford United) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Steve Livingstone (retired) |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Brian Wake (to Gretna) |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Craig Russell (to Darlington) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Paul Warhurst (released) |
| 16 | DF | IRL | Des Byrne (released) |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Ryan Baldacchino (to Gretna) |
| 25 | DF | ENG | David Lynn (to Workington) |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Steven Schumacher (on loan from Everton) |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Matty Fryatt (on loan from Walsall) |

## Results & fixtures
### Third Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 54 | 69 | −15 | 52 | |
| 21 | Rochdale | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 50 | |
| 22 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 69 | 72 | −3 | 49 | |
| 23 | Carlisle United (R) | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 46 | 69 | −23 | 45 | Relegation to Football Conference |
| 24 | York City (R) | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 35 | 66 | −31 | 44 | Relegation to Football Conference |

#### Matches

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score |
| 1 | 9 August | York City | H | 1–2 |
| 2 | 16 August | Yeovil Town | A | 0–3 |
| 3 | 23 August | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–2 |
| 4 | 25 August | Boston United | A | 0–1 |
| 5 | 30 August | Cambridge United | H | 0–0 |
| 6 | 6 September | Darlington | A | 0–2 |
| 7 | 13 September | Rochdale | H | 3–2 |
| 8 | 16 September | Northampton Town | A | 0–2 |
| 9 | 20 September | Southend United | A | 2–2 |
| 10 | 27 September | Swansea City | H | 1–2 |
| 11 | 30 September | Leyton Orient | H | 0–1 |
| 12 | 4 October | Kidderminster Harriers | A | 1–2 |
| 13 | 12 October | Hull City | A | 1–2 |
| 14 | 18 October | Macclesfield Town | H | 0–1 |
| 15 | 21 October | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–4 |
| 16 | 25 October | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–2 |
| 17 | 1 November | Lincoln City | A | 0–2 |
| 18 | 15 November | Mansfield Town | H | 0–2 |
| 19 | 22 November | Cheltenham Town | A | 1–2 |
| 20 | 29 November | Doncaster Rovers | H | 0–1 |
| 21 | 13 December | Oxford United | A | 1–2 |
| 22 | 20 December | Torquay United | H | 2–0 |
| 23 | 26 December | Bury | A | 3–1 |
| 24 | 28 December | Darlington | H | 1–1 |
| 25 | 3 January | Boston United | H | 2–1 |
| 26 | 10 January | York City | A | 0–2 |
| 27 | 17 January | Yeovil Town | H | 2–0 |
| 28 | 24 January | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–1 |
| 29 | 7 February | Bury | H | 2–1 |
| 30 | 14 February | Hull City | H | 1–1 |
| 31 | 17 February | Cambridge United | A | 2–2 |
| 32 | 21 February | Macclesfield Town | A | 1–1 |
| 33 | 6 March | Torquay United | A | 1–4 |
| 34 | 9 March | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–0 |
| 35 | 13 March | Oxford United | H | 2–0 |
| 36 | 16 March | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 |
| 37 | 20 March | Rochdale | A | 0–2 |
| 38 | 23 March | Scunthorpe United | A | 3–2 |
| 39 | 27 March | Southend United | H | 1–2 |
| 40 | 3 April | Swansea City | A | 2–1 |
| 41 | 10 April | Kidderminster Harriers | H | 1–0 |
| 42 | 12 April | Leyton Orient | A | 1–1 |
| 43 | 17 April | Lincoln City | H | 0–2 |
| 44 | 24 April | Mansfield Town | A | 3–2 |
| 45 | 1 May | Cheltenham Town | H | 1–1 |
| 46 | 8 May | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–1 |

### English League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Carlisle United Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| 1 | 12 August | Walsall | A | 1–2 | | | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Carlisle United Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| 1 | 8 November | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–3 | | | |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Attendance |
| 1 | 14 October | Rochdale | H | 2–0 | 1,828 |
| 2 | 3 November | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–0 | 1,346 |
| QF | 9 December | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–3 | 2,869 |