Season: 2003–04
Premier League
League
Second — eleven points behind Arsenal’s Invincibles, four clear of Manchester United.
- Division
- Premier League (Tier 1)
- Manager
- Claudio Ranieri
- Top scorer (league)
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (12)
- Top scorer (all comps)
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (17)
- Avg. league attendance
- 41,234
Cups & Europe
- FA Cup
- Fifth round
- League Cup
- Fifth round
- Europe
- European Cup / Champions League: Semi-finals
Notes
Second — eleven points behind Arsenal’s Invincibles, four clear of Manchester United. Chelsea finished 24–7–7, 67–30, on 79 points (24×3+7), with Liverpool fourth on 60. Home form was 12–4–3 (34–13); away a matching 12–3–4 (33–17). Goal difference +37. Leicester, Leeds and Wolves went down on 33 apiece. It was the first season under Roman Abramovich, who bought the club in July 2003. Claudio Ranieri stayed for the whole campaign — sacked only after it ended, on 31 May 2004. The summer spending reshaped the squad: Duff, Bridge, Makelele, Crespo, Mutu, Joe Cole, Verón, Geremi, Johnson and more arrived; Zola left for Cagliari. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink led the scoring with 12 league goals and 17 in all competitions — ahead of Lampard (10/15), Crespo (10/12), Guðjohnsen (6/13) and Mutu (6/10). Highlights included 5–0 at Wolves, 5–0 over Newcastle at the Bridge, and a 1–0 Bridge win over Manchester United. Domestic cups both stopped in the fifth round. The FA Cup drew 2–2 at Watford then won the replay 4–0, beat Scarborough 1–0 away, and lost 1–2 at Highbury to Arsenal. The Carling Cup beat Notts County 4–2 and Reading 1–0 before Aston Villa won 2–1 at Villa Park. Europe was the story. Champions League third qualifying round cleared Žilina 5–0 on aggregate; Group B (Sparta Prague, Beşiktaş, Lazio) was won; Stuttgart went out 1–0 on aggregate in the last sixteen; Arsenal were beaten 3–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals (Lampard and Bridge at Highbury). Semi-finals against Monaco: 1–3 away, 2–2 at the Bridge — 3–5 on aggregate, and the run ended there. Crowds averaged 41,234 for home league games — high 41,932 against Manchester United, low 40,491 against Bolton. Umbro’s royal blue with white socks, the new white away with the black-and-blue centre stripe, last season’s black as third, and Emirates across the chest framed the runners-up year.
Kits
A white away shirt with a bold central stripe.
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea.htm
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea-change-kits.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C.
Illustration from hex colours (not official kit photography).
On this day (related years)
History
Eras, trophies, and great matches in the History section.
Explore history →Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E2%80%9304_Chelsea_F.C._season
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E2%80%9304_FA_Premier_League
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E2%80%9304_FA_Cup
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E2%80%9304_Football_League_Cup
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E2%80%9304_UEFA_Champions_League
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Ranieri
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._managers
- https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
- https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/2003.htm
- https://bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/2003.htm
- https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Managers.htm
- https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Chelsea%20Managers/Claudio%20Ranieri.htm
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea.htm
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea-change-kits.html