# 2003–04 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season Summary

While the dismal ending to the previous season, combined with losses in their opening two matches lead to fears that Sunderland might spend the season battling a second successive relegation, a run of 7 wins from their next 10 matches quickly ended any such fears. A couple of spells of indifferent form meant that the club didn't convincingly challenge for automatic promotion until the closing stages of the season, and then another poor run of form in the season's closing stages, including the loss of a six-pointer to fellow promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, just as quickly ended any such hopes. Sunderland were still considered favourites going into the play-offs, but a loss on penalties to Crystal Palace, who had gate-crashed the play-offs on the final day of the season, meant a second season in Division One (or, as it would be re-branded the following season, the Championship).

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 4 August 2003 | MF | Jeff Whitley | Manchester City | Free |
| 5 August 2003 | DF | Gary Breen | West Ham United | Free |
| 25 September 2003 | MF | Tommy Smith | Watford | Free |
| 3 October 2003 | MF | Alan Quinn | Sheffield Wednesday | Loan |
| 30 October 2003 | MF | Stewart Downing | Middlesbrough | Loan |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 7 January 2004 | MF | Kevin Cooper | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Loan |
| 6 February 2004 | FW | Darren Byfield | Rotherham United | Swap with Michael Proctor |
| 12 March 2004 | DF | Colin Cooper | Middlesbrough | Loan |
| 24 March 2004 | MF | Carl Robinson | Portsmouth | Loan |

### Out
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 June 2003 | MF | Stefan Schwarz | Retired | Retired |
| 11 June 2003 | DF | Cliff Byrne | Scunthorpe United | Free |
| 1 July 2003 | FW | David Bellion | Manchester United | Free |
| 3 July 2003 | GK | Jurgen Macho | Chelsea | Free |
| 9 July 2003 | FW | Lilian Laslandes | Nice | Free |
| 9 July 2003 | DF | Bernt Haas | West Bromwich Albion | £400,000 |
| 24 July 2003 | MF | Gavin McCann | Aston Villa | £2.25 million |
| 31 July 2003 | DF | Jody Craddock | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1.75 million |
| 8 August 2003 | GK | Thomas Sorensen | Aston Villa | £2.25 million |
| 14 August 2003 | FW | Kevin Phillips | Southampton | £3.25 million |
| 20 August 2003 | MF | Nicolás Medina | Leganés | Season-long loan |
| 23 August 2003 | FW | Tore André Flo | Siena | Undisclosed |
| 29 August 2003 | MF | Claudio Reyna | Manchester City | £2.5 million |
| 29 August 2003 | DF | Emerson Thome | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 1 September 2003 | MF | Kevin Kilbane | Everton | £1 million |
| 1 September 2003 | DF | Michael Gray | Celtic | Four-month loan (September to December) |
| 25 September 2003 | FW | Keith Graydon | Scarborough | Free |
| 3 October 2003 | FW | Michael Reddy | Sheffield Wednesday | Loan |
| 3 October 2003 | FW | Chris Brown | Doncaster Rovers | Loan |
| 23 October 2003 | GK | Thomas Myhre | Crystal Palace | Loan |
| 13 November 2003 | DF | Craig James | Darlington | Loan |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 27 January 2004 | DF | Michael Gray | Blackburn Rovers | Free |
| 6 February 2004 | FW | Neil Teggart | Darlington | Loan |
| 6 February 2004 | FW | Michael Proctor | Rotherham United | Swap for Darren Byfield |
| 25 February 2004 | MF | Jonjo Dickman | York City | Loan |
| 15 March 2004 | GK | Michael Ingham | Wrexham | Loan |
| 19 March 2004 | DF | Craig James | Port Vale | Loan |
| 25 March 2004 | MF | Chris Black | Doncaster Rovers | Free |

## 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 | EST | Mart Poom |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Stephen Wright |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 4 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Gary Breen |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Ben Clark |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Matt Piper |
| 8 | MF | NIR | Jeff Whitley |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Kevin Kyle |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marcus Stewart |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Tommy Smith |
| 12 | MF | WAL | John Oster |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Michael Ingham |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | IRL | Sean Thornton |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Darren Williams |
| 17 | FW | JAM | Darren Byfield |
| 18 | DF | IRL | Phil Babb |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Thomas Butler |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Paul Thirlwell |
| 22 | DF | SWE | Joachim Björklund |
| 24 | MF | WAL | Carl Robinson (on loan from Portsmouth) |
| 25 | MF | IRL | Colin Healy |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter |
| 33 | DF | ARG | Julio Arca |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Simon Ramsden |
| 40 | GK | NOR | Thomas Myhre |

### 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 |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane (to Everton) |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Michael Proctor (to Rotherham United) |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Colin Cooper (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips (to Southampton) |
| 19 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Kevin Cooper (on loan from Wolves) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Chris Black (to Doncaster Rovers) |
| 24 | MF | USA | Claudio Reyna (to Manchester City) |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Stewart Downing (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 29 | FW | NOR | Tore André Flo (to Siena) |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Craig James (to Port Vale) |
| 37 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome (to Bolton Wanderers) |
| 42 | MF | ARG | Nicolás Medina (on loan to Leganés) |

### Reserves

    The following players did not appear for the first-team this 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 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Jonjo Dickman |
| 27 | MF | IRL | Richie Ryan |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Patrick Collins |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Chris Brown |
| 32 | DF | IRL | Mark Rossiter |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Chris Scott |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 38 | MF | NIR | Chris Kingsberry |
| 39 | FW | NIR | Neil Teggart |
| 41 | GK | ENG | Ben Alnwick |
| 42 | GK | SCO | Euan McLean |
| 43 | FW | IRL | Michael Reddy |
| — | DF | ENG | Sean Taylor |

## Results

Sunderland's score comes first.
| Win | Draw | Loss |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 2003 | First round | Mansfield Town | Field Mill | 2-1 | 5,665 | Kyle, Artell (own goal) |
| 23 September 2003 | Second round | Huddersfield Town | Stadium of Light | 2-4 | 13,516 | Kyle (2) |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 2 January 2004 | Third round | Hartlepool United | Stadium of Light | 1-0 | 40,816 | Arca |
| 24 January 2004 | Fourth round | Ipswich Town | Portman Road | 2-1 | 21,406 | Smith, Arca |
| 14 February 2004 | Fifth round | Birmingham City | Stadium of Light | 1-1 | 24,966 | Kyle |
| 25 February 2004 | Fifth round replay | Birmingham City | St Andrew's | 2-0 (after extra time) | 25,645 | Smith (2) |
| 7 March 2004 | Quarter-final | Sheffield United | Stadium of Light | 1-0 | 37,115 | Smith |
| 4 April 2004 | Semi-final | Millwall | Old Trafford | 0-1 | 56,112 | |

### Football League First Division
#### 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 summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 4 December 2018. Source: 11v11

#### Results 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 | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | L | D | W | D | L | D | D | D | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | D | D | W | W |
| Position | 21 | 23 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 2003 | Nottingham Forest | City Ground | 0-2 | 23,529 | |
| 16 August 2003 | Millwall | Stadium of Light | 0-1 | 24,877 | |
| 23 August 2003 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 2-0 | 14,080 | Thornton, Stewart |
| 25 August 2003 | Watford | Stadium of Light | 2-0 | 23,600 | Wright, Stewart (pen) |
| 30 August 2003 | Bradford City | Valley Parade | 4-0 | 14,116 | Thornton, Stewart, Arca, Breen |
| 13 September 2003 | Crystal Palace | Stadium of Light | 2-1 | 27,324 | Kyle, Stewart (pen) |
| 16 September 2003 | Stoke City | Britannia Stadium | 1-3 | 15,005 | Kyle |
| 20 September 2003 | Derby County | Pride Park | 1-1 | 22,535 | Poom |
| 26 September 2003 | Reading | Stadium of Light | 2-0 | 22,420 | Arca, Oster |
| 30 September 2003 | Ipswich Town | Stadium of Light | 3-2 | 24,840 | Breen, Oster, Kyle |
| 4 October 2003 | Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | 1-0 | 27,008 | Kyle |
| 14 October 2003 | Cardiff City | Stadium of Light | 0-0 | 26,835 | |
| 18 October 2003 | Walsall | Stadium of Light | 1-0 | 36,278 | Stewart |
| 21 October 2003 | Rotherham United | Stadium of Light | 0-0 | 24,506 | |
| 25 October 2003 | Norwich City | Carrow Road | 0-1 | 16,427 | |
| 1 November 2003 | West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns | 0-0 | 26,135 | |
| 4 November 2003 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium | 3-1 | 9,066 | Downing, Oster, Stewart |
| 8 November 2003 | Coventry City | Stadium of Light | 0-0 | 27,247 | |
| 22 November 2003 | Crewe Alexandra | Gresty Road | 3-0 | 9,807 | |
| 29 November 2003 | Burnley | Stadium of Light | 1-1 | 29,852 | Kyle |
| 2 December 2003 | Wigan Athletic | Stadium of Light | 1-1 | 22,167 | Downing (pen) |
| 8 December 2003 | Coventry City | Highfield Road | 1-1 | 12,913 | Downing |
| 13 December 2003 | West Ham United | Boleyn Ground | 2-3 | 30,329 | Oster, McAteer |
| 20 December 2003 | Wimbledon | Stadium of Light | 2-1 | 22,334 | Proctor, Stewart (pen) |
| 26 December 2003 | Bradford City | Stadium of Light | 3-0 | 29,639 | McAteer, Smith, Kyle |
| 28 December 2003 | Rotherham United | Millmoor | 2-0 | 11,455 | Stewart (2, 1 pen) |
| 10 January 2004 | Nottingham Forest | Stadium of Light | 1-0 | 26,340 | Arca |
| 17 January 2004 | Millwall | The Den | 1-2 | 13,048 | Stewart |
| 7 February 2004 | Watford | Vicarage Road | 2-2 | 16,798 | Stewart, Byfield |
| 21 February 2004 | Cardiff City | Ninian Park | 0-4 | 17,337 | |
| 3 March 2004 | Walsall | Bescot Stadium | 3-1 | 7,185 | Arca, Stewart, Kyle |
| 10 March 2004 | Preston North End | Stadium of Light | 3-3 | 27,181 | Stewart (pen), Thornton, Mears (own goal) |
| 13 March 2004 | West Ham United | Stadium of Light | 2-0 | 29,533 | Whitley, Kyle |
| 16 March 2004 | Stoke City | Stadium of Light | 1-1 | 24,510 | Byfield |
| 20 March 2004 | Reading | Madjeski Stadium | 2-0 | 18,019 | Byfield, Smith |
| 23 March 2004 | Gillingham | Stadium of Light | 2-1 | 23,262 | Byfield, Thornton |
| 27 March 2004 | Derby County | Stadium of Light | 2-1 | 30,838 | Smith, Oster |
| 6 April 2004 | Wimbledon | National Hockey Stadium | 2-1 | 4,800 | Byfield, Stewart |
| 9 April 2004 | Sheffield United | Stadium of Light | 3-0 | 27,472 | Breen, Smith, Kyle |
| 12 April 2004 | Ipswich Town | Portman Road | 0-1 | 26,801 | |
| 18 April 2004 | West Bromwich Albion | Stadium of Light | 0-1 | 32,201 | |
| 21 April 2004 | Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park | 0-3 | 18,291 | |
| 24 April 2004 | Wigan Athletic | JJB Stadium | 0-0 | 11,380 | |
| 1 May 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | Stadium of Light | 1-1 | 25,311 | Whitley |
| 4 May 2004 | Norwich City | Stadium of Light | 1-0 | 35,174 | Robinson |
| 9 May 2004 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 2-1 | 18,252 | Breen, Kyle |

### Football League First Division play-offs

| Date | Leg | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 14 May 2004 | Leg 1 | Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park | 2–3 | 25,287 | Kyle, Stewart (pen) |
| 17 May 2004 | Leg 2 | Crystal Palace | Stadium of Light | 2–1 (4–4 on aggregate, Sunderland lost 5–4 on penalties) | 34,536 | Kyle, Stewart |

## Goal scorers

| Position | Nation | Number | Name | League | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| FW | | 10 | Marcus Stewart | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| FW | | 9 | Kevin Kyle | 12 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| MF | | 11 | Tommy Smith | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| MF | | 33 | Julio Arca | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| FW | | 17 | Darren Byfield | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| MF | | 12 | John Oster | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| MF | | 15 | Sean Thornton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| DF | | 5 | Gary Breen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| MF | | 24 | Stewart Downing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| MF | | 4 | Jason McAteer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | | 8 | Jeff Whitley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| / | / | / | Own goals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| MF | | 24 | Carl Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | | 2 | Stephen Wright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GK | | 1 | Mart Poom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | | 14 | Michael Proctor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| / | / | / | Totals | 62 | 4 | 7 | 73 |