2003–04 Arsenal L.F.C. season

Arsenal Ladies
2003–04 season
Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Manager	Vic Akers
Stadium	Clarence Park
Premier League	Champions
FA Cup	Winners
Premier League Cup	Semi finals
London County Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Jayne Ludlow (18); All: Jayne Ludlow (29)
Biggest win	11-1 (vs Cardiff City, FA Cup, 7 February 2004)
Biggest defeat	2-1 (vs Charlton Athletic, Premier League, 16 October 2003) ; 2-1 (vs Charlton Athletic, Premier League Cup, 14 December 2003) ;
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2002–03 2004–05 →

The 2003–04 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 17th season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, and reclaimed their League Title back from Fulham. They won the FA Cup as well, defeating Charlton Athletic 3–0 in the final to complete a domestic double.^[1] However, they missed out on the Premier League Cup once again, losing in the Semi Finals to Charlton Athletic.^[2] With no Europe to contend with this season, the only other silverware up for grabs was the London County Cup, which Arsenal also won after beating Fulham 4–0 in the Final.

Following their 2–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic in October, Arsenal went unbeaten in the League for the next 108 League matches, a run that ended in 2009 with a 3–0 defeat at home to Everton.^[3]

This was Arsenal's last season using Clarence Park as their home ground, ending their two-season stay at St Albans. The following season, Arsenal returned to Boreham Wood's ground, Meadow Park. This would remain their main home for the next 20 years.

Arsenal's final game of the season against Fulham was played at Highbury. This was the last time the Women's team played at Highbury before the club moved to their new residence at Emirates Stadium in 2006.

Squad Statistics

First team squad

Squad statistics correct as of May 2018^[4]

Squad No.	Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	Signed From
Goalkeepers
1	Emma Byrne	(1979-06-14) 14 June 1979 (age 45)	2000	Fortuna Hjørring
13	Caroline Collie	(1986-08-11) 11 August 1986 (age 38)	2002	Homegrown
	Jasmine Cripps	(1985-11-04) 4 November 1985 (age 39)	1998	Homegrown
Defenders
2	Kirsty Pealling	(1975-04-14) 14 April 1975 (age 49)	1987	Homegrown
5	Leanne Champ	(1983-08-10) 10 August 1983 (age 41)	2001	Millwall Lionesses
6	Faye White	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 47)	1996	Horsham Ladies
11	Clare Wheatley	(1971-02-04) 4 February 1971 (age 54)	1995	Chelsea
12	Julie Fletcher	(1974-09-28) 28 September 1974 (age 50)	2001	Charlton Athletic
15	Yvonne Tracy	(1981-02-27) 27 February 1981 (age 43)	2000	St Patrick's Athletic
17	Hayley Kemp	(1987-06-23) 23 June 1987 (age 37)	1998	Hatfield Youth
18	Anita Asante	(1985-04-27) 27 April 1985 (age 39)	1998	Homegrown
24	Georgie Adams	(1984-11-07) 7 November 1984 (age 40)	1999	Homegrown
30	Carol Harwood
	Cori Daniels	(1986-06-04) 4 June 1986 (age 38)	2002	Homegrown
Midfielders
4	Jayne Ludlow	(1979-01-07) 7 January 1979 (age 46)	2000	Southampton Saints
7	Sian Williams (captain)	(1968-02-02) 2 February 1968 (age 57)	1990	Juve Siderno
8	Ciara Grant	(1978-05-17) 17 May 1978 (age 46)	1998	St Patrick's Athletic
16	Emma Thomas	(1983-10-17) 17 October 1983 (age 41)	1996	Homegrown
21	Lisa Burrows	(1985-08-01) 1 August 1985 (age 39)	2002	Bushey Rangers
22	Jo Potter	(1984-11-13) 13 November 1984 (age 40)	2003	Birmingham City
23	Eleri Earnshaw	(1985-05-17) 17 May 1985 (age 39)	2001	Bangor City
	Veronica Phewa		2003
	Portia Modise	(1983-06-20) 20 June 1983 (age 41)	2003
Forwards
3	Julie Fleeting	(1980-12-18) 18 December 1980 (age 44)	2004	Ross County
9	Alex Scott	(1984-10-14) 14 October 1984 (age 40)	2002	Homegrown
10	Ellen Maggs	(1983-02-16) 16 February 1983 (age 41)	2000	Homegrown
14	Lianne Sanderson	(1988-02-03) 3 February 1988 (age 37)	2003	Homegrown
19	Mihoko Ishida	(1982-06-19) 19 June 1982 (age 42)	2003	Musashigaoka
20	Justine Lorton	(1974-03-11) 11 March 1974 (age 50)	2003	Charlton Athletic
Unknown
	Toni Carelse		2003

Appearances and goals

No.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		PL Cup		LC Cup		Total
No.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Emma Byrne	18	0	5	0	4	0	3	0	30	0
13	Caroline Collie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Jasmine Cripps	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	Kirsty Pealling	18	3	3+1	0	3	0	3	2	27+1	5
5	Leanne Champ	13	0	4	3	4	0	2	0	23	3
6	Faye White	13	0	5	2	3	0	1	0	22	2
11	Clare Wheatley	16+1	0	5	0	1	0	3	0	25+1	0
12	Julie Fletcher	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
15	Yvonne Tracy	10	1	3	1	4	0	2	0	19	2
17	Hayley Kemp	2+2	0	0+1	0	3	1	0+1	0	5+4	1
18	Anita Asante	7+6	0	2	0	2+1	0	2	0	13+7	0
24	Georgie Adams	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	Carol Harwood	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
	Cori Daniels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
4	Jayne Ludlow	18	18	5	1	3+1	4	3	6	29+1	29
7	Sian Williams (captain)	7+1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	10+1	0
8	Ciara Grant	18	10	5	0	3	4	3	0	29	14
16	Emma Thomas	0	0	0	0	1+1	1	0	0	1+1	1
21	Lisa Burrows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Jo Potter	6+10	2	3+2	2	1+2	1	3	4	14+14	9
23	Eleri Earnshaw	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0
	Veronica Phewa	0+1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0
	Portia Modise	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
3	Julie Fleeting	6	7	4	9	0	0	0	0	10	16
9	Alex Scott	9+6	5	0+5	0	2+1	0	2+1	2	13+13	7
10	Ellen Maggs	18	9	5	2	3	0	1+2	1	27+2	12
14	Lianne Sanderson	11+4	6	4	3	3+1	1	2+1	1	20+6	11
19	Mihoko Ishida	0+3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1+3	0
20	Justine Lorton	7+4	1	0+4	2	2+2	1	0+2	1	9+12	5
Unknown
	Toni Carelse	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Rank	No.	Position	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	PL Cup	LC Cup	Total
1	4	MF	Jayne Ludlow	18	1	4	6	29
2	3	FW	Julie Fleeting	7	9	0	0	16
3	8	MF	Ciara Grant	10	0	4	0	14
4	10	FW	Ellen Maggs	9	2	0	1	12
5	14	FW	Lianne Sanderson	6	3	1	1	11
6	22	MF	Jo Potter	2	2	1	4	9
7	9	FW	Alex Scott	5	0	0	2	7
8	20	FW	Justine Lorton	1	2	1	1	5
8	2	DF	Kirsty Pealling	3	0	0	2	5
9	5	DF	Leanne Champ	0	3	0	0	3
10	6	DF	Faye White	0	2	0	0	2
10	15	DF	Yvonne Tracy	1	1	0	0	2
11	16	MF	Emma Thomas	0	0	1	0	1
11	17	DF	Hayley Kemp	0	0	1	0	1
Total				62	25	13	17	117

Clean sheets

Rank	No.	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	PL Cup	LC Cup	Total
1	1	Emma Byrne	9	3	2	3	17
Total			9	3	2	3	17

Transfers, loans and other signings

Transfers in

Announcement date	No.	Position	Player	From club
2003	22	MF	Jo Potter	Birmingham City
2003	19	FW	Mihoko Ishida	Musashigaoka
2003	20	FW	Justine Lorton	Charlton Athletic
12 August 2003^[5]		MF	Veronica Phewa
12 August 2003^[6]		MF	Portia Modise
12 August 2003^[7]			Toni Carelse
2004	3	FW	Julie Fleeting	Ross County

Transfers out

Announcement date	No.	Position	Player	To club
2003		FW	Angela Banks	Retired
2003	3	DF	Pauline MacDonald	Retired
2003		FW	Michele O'Brien	Long Island Lady Riders
2003		MF	Gemma Ritchie	Fulham
2003		FW	Sheuneen Ta	Miami Hurricanes
2003		FW	Ayshea Martyn	Bristol Rovers
2003	13	GK	Jo Price	Bristol City
November 2003^[8]	12	DF	Julie Fletcher	Charlton Athletic

Club

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: O2.

Home

Away

Competitions

FA Women's Premier League

17 August 2003 1	Tranmere Rovers	2–9	Arsenal
		Report	Ludlow 8' Scott Maggs Sanderson Lorton

24 August 2003 2	Arsenal	0–0	Everton	St Albans
		Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

31 August 2003 3	Aston Villa	1–7	Arsenal
	Smith 15'	Report	Scott 35' (o.g.) Ludlow Maggs Grant (pen.)

7 September 2003 4	Doncaster Rovers Belles	0–2	Arsenal
		Report	Ludlow 25', 83'

5 October 2003 5	Arsenal	7–0	Doncaster Rovers Belles	St Albans
	Maggs 6', 62' Ludlow 9' Tracy 20' Scott Grant 56' (77)	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

16 October 2003 6	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Arsenal	Charlton
19:45 BST	Pond Stoney	Report	Ludlow 30'	Stadium: The Valley

26 October 2003 7	Fulham	1–1	Arsenal	Motspur Park
	McArthur 62'	Report	Grant 90+6'	Stadium: Motspur Park

23 November 2003 8	Bristol Rovers	0–3	Arsenal
		Report	Martyn (o.g.) Ludlow 50' Maggs

7 December 2003 9	Arsenal	6–0	Tranmere Rovers	St Albans
14:00 GMT	Ludlow 23', 60', 85' Sanderson Pealling	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

22 February 2004 10	Arsenal	3–1	Bristol Rovers	St Albans
	Ludlow Sanderson Grant	Report	Williams 35'	Stadium: Clarence Park

4 March 2004 11	Birmingham City	0–3	Arsenal
		Report	Potter 17' Sanderson 70' Grant 85'

7 March 2004 12	Leeds United	1–2	Arsenal
	Culvin 30' (pen.)	Report	Ludlow Fleeting

21 March 2004 13	Arsenal	4–0	Leeds United	Borehamwood
	Pealling 16', 42' Grant 60' Fleeting 71'	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park

28 March 2004 14	Arsenal	2–1	Birmingham City	St Albans
	Bassett 57' (o.g.) Ludlow 85'	Report	Gallagher 6'	Stadium: Clarence Park

4 April 2003 15	Everton	1–3	Arsenal
	McDougall	Report	Ludlow 31' Potter 36' Grant

15 April 2004 16	Arsenal	1–0	Charlton Athletic	Borehamwood
	Fleeting 66'	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park

18 April 2004 17	Arsenal	8–0	Aston Villa	St Albans
	Fleeting 21', 60', 69' Maggs Ludlow 47' Potter 49' Grant 50', 58'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

15 May 2004 18	Arsenal	3–1	Fulham	Highbury
19:00 BST	Sanderson 38' Fleeting 53' Maggs 90'	Report	McArthur 85'	Stadium: Highbury

Partial league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arsenal	18	15	2	1	65	11	+54	47	Champions, to European Cup
2	Charlton Athletic	18	15	1	2	52	17	+35	46
3	Fulham	18	14	2	2	60	20	+40	44
4	Leeds United	18	8	4	6	32	28	+4	28
5	Doncaster Rovers	18	8	3	7	41	40	+1	27

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results Summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	15	2	1	65	11	+54	47	8	1	0	34	3	+31	7	1	1	31	8	+23

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H
Result	W	D	W	W	W	L	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Position	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	5	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	1

Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 2018. Source: FA WSL
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Women's Cup

4 January 2004 Fourth Round	Arsenal	3–0	Stockport County	St Albans
	Champ 18' White 75' Tracy	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

25 January 2004 Fifth Round	Middlesbrough	1–6	Arsenal
	Ford	Report	Fleeting Sanderson Ludlow Potter White 80'

7 February 2004 Sixth Round	Arsenal	11–1	Cardiff City	London Colney
	Maggs 24' Fleeting Potter Lorton Champ	Report	Fishlock	Stadium: Arsenal Training Centre

14 March 2004 Semi Final	Bristol Rovers	0–2	Arsenal	Bristol
		Report	Fleeting 74' White 77'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium

3 May 2004 Final	Arsenal	3–0	Charlton Athletic	Shepherd's Bush
	Fleeting 23', 25', 85' Pealling Ludlow	Report	Cope	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 12,244 Referee: Rayner

FA Women's Premier League Cup

14 September 2003 First Round	Arsenal	4–0	Ipswich Town	St Albans
	Thomas 18' Ludlow Potter 90'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

12 October 2003 Second Round	Arsenal	4–2	Sunderland	St Albans
	Lorton 25' Grant	Report	Houghton 7' Lanaghan 51'	Stadium: Clarence Park

2 November 2003 Quarter Final	Arsenal	4–0	Doncaster Rovers Belles	St Albans
	Kemp 4' Ludlow 45', 64' Sanderson 78'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

14 December 2003 Semi Final	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Arsenal	Gravesend
	Hunn 8', 65' 45'	Report	Grant 74'	Stadium: Stonebridge Road

London County Cup

18 January 2004 Round One	Arsenal	4–0	Millwall Lionesses	St Albans
	Ludlow 35', 49', 51' Pealling 43'			Stadium: Clarence Park

15 February 2004 Semi Final	AFC Wimbledon	0–9	Arsenal
			Ludlow 22', 23' Potter 25' Maggs Sanderson Scott

7 April 2004 Final	Arsenal	4–0	Fulham	East Molesey
	Potter Scott Pealling Lorton			Stadium: Imber Court

References

^ Cocozza, Paula (2004-05-04). "Arsenal enjoy Fleeting moment". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "Fulham and Charlton book places". 2003-12-14. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "Ladies: Arsenal 0-3 Everton - Match report". Ladies: Arsenal 0-3 Everton - Match report. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "ARSENAL WFC". Retrieved August 15, 2018.
^ "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ "Charlton Athletic 8 Aston Villa 2". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011.

[1] Cocozza, Paula (2004-05-04). "Arsenal enjoy Fleeting moment". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[2] "Fulham and Charlton book places". 2003-12-14. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[3] "Ladies: Arsenal 0-3 Everton - Match report". Ladies: Arsenal 0-3 Everton - Match report. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[4] "ARSENAL WFC". Retrieved August 15, 2018.

[5] "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[6] "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[7] "Gunners try SA women". 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

[8] "Charlton Athletic 8 Aston Villa 2". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011.

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