The 2003–04 season was Colchester United's 62nd season in their history and their sixth successive season in the third tier of

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

, the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. Alongside competing in the Second Division, the club also participated in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. Colchester embarked on cup runs in the FA Cup, reaching the fifth round where they were eliminated by

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, while they also were one fixture away from a trip to the Millennium Stadium in the Football League Trophy after falling to a 4–3 aggregate defeat to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. The U's cup exploits eventually led to a late season drop in form, as they slipped from 5th position to 14th with fixture congestion. They recovered to finished 11th, nine points away from the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Season overview

Phil Parkinson Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently manager of National League side Wrexham. Parkinson is the only manager to take an English fo ...

embarked on his first full season in charge by applying what he had learnt from the final few months of the previous campaign, while gaining his

UEFA A Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

and UEFA B Licence as well as a degree he studied for in his spare time. He introduced

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

to the club, revolutionising the way players trained, ate and rested. The U's participated in a record 15 cup ties during the season, making significant progress in the

and

. Helped by the astute signings of Wayne Andrews and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

youngsters

Craig Fagan Craig Anthony Fagan (born 11 December 1982) is a football coach and former player who was most recently assistant manager of Southend United. He played as a winger or forward, notably in the Premier League for Birmingham City, Derby County and ...

and

Rowan Vine Rowan Lewis Vine (born 21 September 1982) is an English former footballer. A striker, Vine previously played League football for Portsmouth, Brentford, Colchester United, Luton Town, Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Hull City, Milton ...

, Colchester reached the FA Cup fifth round, defeating

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

, and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, courtesy of a Vine

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

, before succumbing to

1–0 at Bramall Lane. Two days after the FA Cup clash, the U's were faced with the task of overcoming a Football League Trophy southern section final first-leg 3–2 deficit against

. The match ended 1–1, with former U's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Steve Wignall's Southend progressing. Fixture congestion was a contributing factor in Colchester's slip down the table from 5th position to 14th, while losing

Karl Duguid Karl Anthony Duguid (born 21 March 1978) is an English former professional footballer. He spent the majority of his playing career with Colchester United where, over two stints, he made over 400 league appearances. He also played for Plymouth ...

to a serious knee injury. At the end of the season, Colchester completed the campaign in eleventh position, nine points adrift of the

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

places.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £0

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £0

Loans in

Loans out

Match details

Second Division

League table

Results round by round

Matches

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Football League Cup

Football League Trophy

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - !colspan="16", ''Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season''

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.

References

General

Books * Websites *

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 2003-04 2003-04 2003–04 Football League Second Division by team