# 2003–04 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, West Bromwich Albion F.C. competed in the First Division.

## Season summary

In the 2003–04 season, Albion had their best League Cup run for 22 years, beating Newcastle United and Manchester United before losing to Arsenal in the quarter-finals. The team also enjoyed good form in the league, remaining in the top two from mid-October until the end of the season, winning promotion back to the Premiership, again as runners-up, at the first attempt.
Albion unveiled the Astle Gates outside their home ground, The Hawthorns, in July 2003. The gates are a tribute to the club's former striker, Jeff Astle, who died in January 2002.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Norwich City (C, P) | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 79 | 39 | +40 | 94 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 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 |

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 2003 | Walsall | A | 1–4 | 11,030 (2,400) | Koumas |
| 16 August 2003 | Burnley | H | 4–1 | 22,489 (945) | Šakiri, Hulse, Hughes (2) |
| 23 August 2003 | Watford | A | 1–0 | 15,023 | Hughes |
| 25 August 2003 | Preston North End | H | 1–0 | 24,402 | Hughes (pen) |
| 30 August 2003 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 21,499 | Hulse |
| 13 September 2003 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–1 | 24,954 (1,407) | Gaardsøe, Hulse (2), Diallo (own goal) |
| 16 September 2003 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–1 | 12,874 | |
| 20 September 2003 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–2 | 17,477 (1,843) | Hulse, Koumas |
| 27 September 2003 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 24,297 (1,479) | Dobie |
| 30 September 2003 | Millwall | H | 2–1 | 22,909 (768) | Koumas, Dobie |
| 4 October 2003 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 8,883 (1,600) | Dobie, Clement |
| 14 October 2003 | Sheffield United | H | 0–2 | 27,195 | |
| 18 October 2003 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 24,966 (2,001) | Koumas |
| 21 October 2003 | Wimbledon | H | 0–1 | 22,048 (24) | |
| 25 October 2003 | Rotherham United | A | 3–0 | 7,815 (2,324) | Barker (own goal), Hulse (2) |
| 1 November 2003 | Sunderland | H | 0–0 | 26,135 | |
| 8 November 2003 | West Ham United | A | 4–3 | 30,359 (2,993) | Hulse (2), Deane (own goal), Hughes |
| 22 November 2003 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 22,839 | |
| 25 November 2003 | Cardiff City | A | 1–1 | 17,678 (1,600) | Koumas |
| 29 November 2003 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–0 | 27,331 (4,834) | Koumas (2), Louis-Jean (own goal) |
| 6 December 2003 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 26,194 | Mullins (own goal) |
| 9 December 2003 | Bradford City | A | 1–0 | 11,198 | Dobie |
| 13 December 2003 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–2 | 22,825 | Haas, Gregan |
| 20 December 2003 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 17,616 | |
| 26 December 2003 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 26,412 (1,887) | Gaardsøe |
| 28 December 2003 | Wimbledon | A | 0–0 | 6,376 | |
| 9 January 2004 | Walsall | H | 2–0 | 24,558 (2,178) | Koumas, Horsfield |
| 17 January 2004 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | 13,106 | Horsfield |
| 31 January 2004 | Watford | H | 3–1 | 23,958 (828) | Horsfield (2), Hughes |
| 7 February 2004 | Preston North End | A | 0–3 | 16,569 (2,800) | |
| 14 February 2004 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 25,196 (2,312) | Clement, Hughes |
| 21 February 2004 | Sheffield United | A | 2–1 | 24,805 | Moore, Gaardsøe |
| 28 February 2004 | Rotherham United | H | 0–1 | 24,104 | |
| 2 March 2004 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 23,223 (1,077) | |
| 6 March 2004 | Coventry City | H | 3–0 | 25,414 (2,190) | Horsfield, Hulse, Kinsella |
| 13 March 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–1 | 8,335 | Johnson, Hughes |
| 16 March 2004 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–1 | 26,215 | Hughes (pen), Gaardsøe |
| 27 March 2004 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 24,990 (907) | Moore, Dyer |
| 4 April 2004 | Ipswich Town | A | 3–2 | 24,608 (1,723) | Koumas, Dyer, Horsfield |
| 10 April 2004 | Gillingham | H | 1–0 | 24,524 (684) | Hughes |
| 12 April 2004 | Millwall | A | 1–1 | 13,304 (2,123) | Johnson |
| 18 April 2004 | Sunderland | A | 1–0 | 32,201 (2,721) | Koumas |
| 24 April 2004 | Bradford City | H | 2–0 | 26,143 (565) | Horsfield, Hughes |
| 1 May 2004 | Reading | A | 0–1 | 20,619 | |
| 4 May 2004 | Stoke City | A | 1–4 | 18,352 | Dobie |
| 9 May 2004 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | 26,821 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 2004 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 11,843 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 12 August 2003 | Brentford | H | 4–0 | 10,490 | Hulse (2), Haas, Dobie |
| R2 | 23 September 2003 | Hartlepool United | A | 2–1 | 5,265 | Clement, Hulse |
| R3 | 29 October 2003 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | 46,932 | Ameobi (own goal), Hughes |
| R4 | 3 December 2003 | Manchester United | H | 2–0 | 25,282 (2,593) | Haas, Dobie |
| R5 | 16 December 2003 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | 20,369 (1,688) | |

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Russell Hoult |
| 2 | DF | SUI | Bernt Haas |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement |
| 4 | MF | IRL | James O'Connor |
| 5 | DF | JAM | Darren Moore |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Phil Gilchrist |
| 7 | DF | ENG | Ronnie Wallwork |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Andy Johnson |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Mark Kinsella |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Scott Dobie |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Sean Gregan |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Lee Marshall |
| 17 | DF | ISL | Lárus Sigurðsson |
| 18 | MF | WAL | Jason Koumas |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes |
| 20 | MF | MKD | Artim Šakiri |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | GK | IRL | Joe Murphy |
| 22 | DF | ENG | James Chambers |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Adam Chambers |
| 24 | MF | DEN | Thomas Gaardsøe |
| 25 | DF | NED | Joost Volmer |
| 26 | DF | MLI | Sékou Berthé |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Simon Brown |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Dyer |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Tamika Mkandawire |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Daniel Crane |
| 32 | DF | SEN | Alassane N'Dour (on loan from AS Saint-Etienne) |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Paul Robinson |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Delroy Facey |
| 36 | FW | DEN | Morten Skoubo (on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach) |
| 37 | GK | AUS | Simon Miotto |

### 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 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Michael Appleton (retired) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Danny Dichio (to Millwall) |
| 11 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts (to Wigan Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Ross Adams (to Hednesford Town) |
| 37 | GK | ENG | Kevin Pressman (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday) |

### Transfers
#### In

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Transfer Fee |
| 11 July 2003 | FW | Rob Hulse | Crewe Alexandra | £750,000 |
| 11 July 2003 | MF | James O'Connor | Stoke City | £250,000 |
| 14 July 2003 | DF | Bernt Haas | Sunderland | £500,000 |
| 31 July 2003 | DF | Thomas Gaardsøe | Ipswich Town | £500,000 |
| 31 July 2003 | MF | Artim Šakiri | CSKA Sofia | Nominal |
| 7 August 2003 | DF | Joost Volmer | AZ Alkmaar | Free |
| 18 December 2003 | FW | Geoff Horsfield | Wigan Athletic | £1,000,000 |
| 15 January 2004 | MF | Mark Kinsella | Aston Villa | Free |
| | DF | Sékou Berthé | Troyes | |

#### Out

| Date | Position | Name | Club To | Transfer Fee |
| 30 June 2003 | DF | Des Lyttle | Free Agency | Released |
| 30 June 2003 | MF | Jordão | Free Agency | Released |
| 30 June 2003 | GK | Brian Jensen | Burnley | Free |
| 9 July 2003 | DF | Igor Bališ | Free Agency | Mutual Consent |
| 11 July 2003 | MF | Derek McInnes | Dundee United | Free |
| 19 August 2003 | FW | Bob Taylor | Cheltenham Town | Free |
| | FW | Jason Roberts | Wigan Athletic | |

#### Loan In

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Length | Reference |

#### Loan Out

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Length | Reference |