2003–04 Manchester City F.C. season
| Manchester City | |
| Season 2003–04 | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Publicly traded company |
| Chairman | John Wardle |
| Manager | Kevin Keegan |
| Team captain | Sylvain Distin |
| Home stadium |
City of Manchester Stadium (a.k.a. Eastlands and CoMS) |
| PremierLeague | Sixteenth |
| League Cup | Fourth round |
| FA Cup | Fifth round |
| UEFA Cup | Second round |
| Top goalscorer |
League: Nicolas Anelka (17 goals) (5th highest in Premier League) All comps: Nicolas Anelka (25 goals) |
| Average home attendance |
46,834 – over 19 PL home games (3rd highest in Premier League) |
| Highest home attendance |
47,304 v Chelsea 28 February 2004 |
| Highest away attendance |
67,645 v Manchester United 13 December 2003 |
| Lowest home attendance |
29,067 v Sporting Lokeren 24 September 2003 |
| Lowest away attendance |
5,500 v Groclin Dyskobolia 27 November 2003 |
← 2002–03  2004–05 →
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| Results summary - all competitions | ||||
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 7 | 12 | 5 | 29.2% |
| Away | 9 | 6 | 12 | 33.3% |
| Both | 16 | 18 | 17 | 31.4% |
| Results summary - Premier League | ||||
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 9 | 5 | 26.3% |
| Away | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21.1% |
| Both | 9 | 14 | 15 | 23.7% |
The 2003–04 season was Manchester City Football Club's second consecutive season playing in the Premier League, the top division of English football, and its seventh season since the Premier League was first created with Manchester City as one of the its original 22 founding member clubs. Overall, it was the team's 112th season playing in a division of English football, most of which have been spent in the top flight.
After finishing ninth during the club's final season at 80-year-old Maine Road, Manchester City's debut season at the City of Manchester Stadium was a major disappointment. A ninth-place finish had not been good enough to earn City an opportunity to play in the UEFA Cup but the team was rewarded with that opportunity anyway due to being awarded a "Fair Play" slot in the UEFA Cup competition this season. City reached the second round proper of the competition thanks to aggregate victories against The New Saints and Lokeren, but exited the competition on the away goals rule after two draws against Polish club Groclin.
Having embarked on a new era for the club by signing a host of experienced players in the summer, such as Claudio Reyna and Steve McManaman, to combine with such burgeoning talents coming through from the MCFC youth academy as Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright-Phillips, City started their season very brightly with three wins in five games, sending them near the top of the table. They were still in the top-half of the table after winning five, drawing three and losing three of their first 11 games, with three notably big wins: a 3–0 opening-game away win at Charlton Athletic, a 4–1 home victory over Aston Villa and a 6–2 thumping of Bolton Wanderers. However, a dreadful 3–0 home defeat against unlikely opponents Leicester City in November started a gradual downturn in form and City then ended up battling against relegation. At one point, City went on a run of winning only one game out of 18 league and cup matches played, sparking media rumours of unrest in the squad. Survival in the Premier League was not confirmed until City won their 36th game of the league season. That victory meant that City were six points ahead of the relegation places, but the club's survival was effectively confirmed due to it having a far superior goal difference to Leicester, Leeds and Wolves, who were relegated.
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