Blackburn Rovers | BRFC Scores, News, Transfers, Fixtures
> Club Information
- Full Name : Blackburn Rovers F.C.
- Nicknames : Rovers, Blue and Whites, The Riversiders.
- Founded : 1875.
- Rivals : Burnley, Bolton.
- Home Ground : Ewood Park.
- Club Owner : The Trustees of the Jack Walker 1987 Settlement.
- Manager : Sam Allardyce.
- Captain : Christopher Samba.
- League : Barclays Premier League (England).
- Sponsor : Crown Paints.
> Stadium Information
Ewood Park
- Location : Blackburn, England.
- Capacity : 31,367 (all seated).
- Pitch Surface : Grass.
- UEFA Rating : N/A
- Built : 1882.
- Opened : 1882.
- Renovated : Various.
Main Stand (built).
1904, The Jack Walker Stand (built).
1928, The Blackburn End Stand (built).
1912, The Riverside End Stand (built).
1903, The WEC Group Darwen End Stand (built).
- Owner : Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
- Operator : Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
- Architect : Archibald Leitch
> Manager Information
Sam Allardyce
- Date Of Birth : 19 October 1954.
- Place Of Birth : Dudley, England.
- Age : 55.
- Managerial History :
:: 1989–1991 West Bromwich Albion (assistant manager)
:: 1991–1992 Limerick
:: 1994–1996 Blackpool
:: 1997–1999 Notts County
:: 1999–2007 Bolton Wanderers
:: 2007–2008 Newcastle United
:: 2008– Blackburn Rovers
> Club Kits
Honours
-Domestic Honours
1994–1995 Premier League Champions
1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891, 1928 FA Cup winners
1882,1960 FA Cup runners-up
1959 FA Youth Cup winners
1998, 2000 FA Youth Cup runners-up
2002 League Cup winners
1987 Full Members Cup winners
1912 Charity Shield winners
1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1896, 1901,
1902, 1904, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1945
1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2007 Lancashire Senior Cup winners
1993–94 Premier League runners-up
1911–12, 1913–14 League Division 1 (now Premier League) champions
2000–01 League Division 1 (now the Championship) runners-up
1938–39 League Division 2 (now the Championship) champions
1957–58 League Division 2 runners-up
1974–75 League Division 3 (now League One) champions
1979–80 League Division 3 runners-up
League Information
- Name : Premier League.
- Founded : 1992.
- Number Of Teams : 20/
- Relegation To : Football League Championship
- Current Champions : Chelsea F.C.
- Current Runners Up : Manchester United F.C.
- Most Successful Club : Manchester United F.C. & Liverpool F.C.
- Previous Champions : Chelsea F.C., Manchester United F.C.
> Club Records
Most League appearances:
Derek Fazackerley, 593+3sub, 1970/71 to 1986/87
Record goalscorer:
Simon Garner, 194 goals (168 league), 1978/79 to 1991/92
Record attendance at Ewood Park:
62,255 v Bolton Wanderers, FA Cup 6th round, 2 March 1929
Transfer Fee Paid:
£8m to Manchester United for Andrew Cole in December 2001
Transfer Fee Received:
£18m from Manchester City F.C. for Roque Santa Cruz in June 2009
Record win:
11–0 v Rossendale United, Ewood Park, FA Cup 1st round 13 October 1884
Record League win:
9–0 v Middlesbrough, Ewood Park, Division 2, 6 November 1954
Record away win:
8–2 v West Ham United, Division 1, 26 December 1963
Record League defeat:
0–8 v Arsenal, Division 1, 25 February 1933 0–8 v Lincoln City, Division 2, 29 August 1953
Record home League defeat:
1–7 v Notts County, 14 March 1891 1–7 v Middlesbrough, 29 November 1947
Record aggregate League score:
13: 5–8 v Derby County, 6 September 1890
Most points gained in a season (2pts):
60 (1974/75)
Most points gained in a season (3pts):
91 (2000/01)
Least points gained in a season (2pts):
20 (1965/66)
Least points gained in a season (3pts):
35 (1998/99)
Most consecutive League appearances:
Walter Crook, 208 (1934–46)
Most goals scored by a player in a season:
Ted Harper, 43, Division 1, 1925/26
Most goals scored by a player in a match:
Tommy Briggs, 7 v Bristol Rovers, Ewood Park, Division 2, 5 February 1955
Most hat-tricks in a season:
8, 1963/64
Most individual hat-tricks:
13, Jack Southworth, 1887–1893
Most FA Cup appearances:
Ronnie Clayton, 56, 1949–1969
Most League Cup appearances:
Derek Fazackerley, 38, 1969–1987
Youngest player to appear for Rovers:
Harry Dennison, aged 16 yrs and 155 days against Bristol City, Division 1, 8 April 1911
Oldest player to appear for Rovers:
Bob Crompton, 40 yrs and 150 days against Bradford, Division 1, 23 February 1920
Longest undefeated FA Cup run:
24 games including 3 consecutive FA Cup wins, 1884–86. Still an FA Cup record
> The Mascot
Name: Roar the Lion
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Species: Lion
> Team History
The early years
The club Blackburn Rovers was the idea of John Lewis and Arthur Constantine during a seventeen-man meeting at the Leger Hotel, Blackburn on 5 November 1875. The club's first secretary was Walter Duckworth, and Lewis was its first treasurer. Many of the initial members were wealthy and well-connected, and this helped the club survive and rise beyond the large number of other local teams around at the time. Blackburn has had a particular strong history of football, Rovers were not the town's only side in the 19th century; other rivals included Blackburn Olympic FC (1883 winners of the FA Cup) and Blackburn Park Road FC, among others.
The first match played by Blackburn Rovers took place in Church, Lancashire on 18 December 1875 and was a 1–1 draw. Although the make-up of the team was not recorded it is generally thought to be: Thomas Greenwood (goal), Jack Baldwin, Fred Birtwistle, (full-backs), Arthur Thomas, J. T. Sycelmore (half-backs), Walter Duckworth, John Lewis, Thomas Dean, Arthur Constantine, Harry Greenwood, Ed Youngson (forwards), in a 2–2–6 formation.
At the time, the club had no ground of its own and no gate receipts. The only income came from members' subscriptions, which totalled £2 8s 0d during the first season.
During the 1876–77 season, Rovers finally gained a ground of its own by renting a piece of farmland at Oozehead, on the west side of town facing Preston New Road. The ground was little more than a meadow with a pool in the middle that had to be covered with planks and turf for matches. But it did allow the club to collect gate receipts totalling 6s 6d for the season. Occasional games were also played at Pleasington Cricket Ground.
Subsequently Blackburn Rovers rented Alexandra Meadows, the home of the East Lancashire Cricket Club, for their matches. The inaugural game at Alexandra Meadows was played against Partick Thistle, the most prestigious club Rovers had played until then. The result was a 2–1
win for Blackburn, with two goals from Richard Birtwistle.
On 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association. On 1 November 1879 the club played in the F.A. Cup for the first time, beating the Tyne Association Football Club 5–1. Rovers were eventually put out of the competition in the third round after suffering a heavy 6–0 defeat by Nottingham Forest.
Controversy erupted during 1880 when the club used players not from Blackburn to fill in for unavailable team members—this violated what, at the time, was considered an important principle of the LFA. The situation became worse at the start of the 1881 season when a Darwen player transferred to Blackburn Rovers. The move caused a great deal of bitterness between the clubs and local populations. Accusations of professionalism began to fly, with Darwen accusing Blackburn Rovers of offering the player in question, Fergie Suter, improved terms. However, Suter had initially moved to Darwen from Scotland and given up his trade as stonemason to play for the club. So the professional/amateur divide was already blurred. Nevertheless, subsequent matches between Blackburn Rovers and Darwen were fractious affairs both on and off the pitch. The teams were drawn against each other in the fourth round of the Lancashire Cup, and the clubs refused to agree on a date for the match. As a result the LFA ejected both teams from the competition. This type of controversy would only be resolved five years later in
1885 with the legalisation of professionalism.
During the 1881–82 season, the club continued to rent the facilities at Alexandra Meadows, but began to look towards a move elsewhere. As the leading club in the area, it was felt that Rovers needed its own ground. A ground was leased at Leamington Street and £500 was spent on a new grandstand capable of seating 600 to 700 spectators. Boards were placed around the pitch to help prevent a repeat of the crowd troubles with Darwen, and a large ornate entrance arch was erected bearing the name of the club and ground.
On 25 March 1882 the club won through to the final of the F.A. Cup against the Old Etonians. Blackburn Rovers was the first provincial team to reach the final, but the result was a 1–0 defeat by the Old Etonians. There was no repeat of the previous season's success during the 1882–83 season, when Rovers suffered a bitter defeat 1–0 at the hands of Darwen in the second-round. Local rivals Blackburn Olympic went on to be the first provincial team to actually win the F.A. Cup.
Rovers finally won the F.A. Cup on 29 March 1884—the year Thomas Mitchell joined as manager—at the Kennington Oval with a 2–1 victory over the Scottish team Queen's Park F.C. Had it not been for this cup success the club would have folded leaving Blackburn Olympic the primary team in Blackburn. The same teams played the F.A. Cup final again the next season, with Blackburn Rovers again emerging victorious, with a 2–0 score. Rovers repeated this success yet again the next season, winning the final against West Bromwich Albion. For this three-in-a-row of F.A. Cup victories, the club was awarded a specially commissioned silver shield and given the unique privilege of displaying the club crest on its corner flags.
The 1885–86 season was the birth of the legal professional footballer, and Blackburn Rovers spent £615 on player wages for the season. Despite the new professionalism, it was a disappointing season for the club — an unusually high number of defeats would culminate in Rovers losing its three-year grip on the F.A. Cup when it lost 2–0 in the second round to the Scottish club Renton on 4 December 1886 at the Leamington Street ground. Further defeats followed in the other major cups that season.
The Football League and Ewood Park
On 2 March 1888, William McGregor, a Birmingham shopkeeper and a committee member of Aston Villa Football Club, sent a letter to five clubs — Blackburn Rovers among them — suggesting that twelve of the leading clubs should organise a series of home and away matches between themselves. With the introduction of professional players, it seemed natural that better organisation should be brought to the complex and chaotic system of friendly and competitive matches prevalent at the time. On 22 March 1888 John Birtwistle represented Blackburn Rovers at a meeting of a number of clubs at the Anderton Hotel in London. This meeting, and subsequent ones, led to the creation of the Football League, with Blackburn Rovers as part of it. Rovers finished the inaugural season of the league in fourth place, and unbeaten at home.
Blackburn Rovers again reached the F.A. Cup final on 29 March 1890 at the Kennington Oval. The club claimed the trophy, for the fourth time, by beating Sheffield Wednesday a hefty 6–1—with left forward William Townley scoring three goals and becoming the first player to achieve a hat-trick in the F.A. Cup final. The summer of 1890 brought yet another significant event in the history of Blackburn Rovers with the decision to move again. The choice of new home was Ewood Park, and it remained the club's home for the next century or more.
Ewood Park was built in 1882, the idea of four local businessmen, and it had hosted a number of sporting events. In 1890 Blackburn Rovers purchased the ground and spent a further £1000 on refurbishments to bring it up to standard. The first match was played on 13 September 1890 against Accrington, with a 0–0 draw result.
The 1890–91 season saw Blackburn Rovers win the F.A. Cup for fifth time against Notts County F.C. with a 3–1 victory—but this success marked the beginning of a lengthy period without silverware at national level. With Mitchell still in the manager's seat, Rovers continued their solid league form – Rovers never finished worse than ninth in the top flight until after Mitchell's departure in 1896.
During the 1897–98 season the club stayed in the first division only as the result of a decision to increase the number of teams from 16 to 18. The season did, however, mark the beginning of Bob Crompton's 45-year association with the club, both as a player and eventually as an F.A. Cup winning manager.
The final years of the 19th century brought little success for Blackburn Rovers and several narrow escapes from relegation.
Early 20th century
Blackburn Rovers continued to struggle during the early years of the 20th century, but the results began a gradual improvement. Major renovations were made to Ewood Park: in 1905 the Darwen End was covered at a cost of £1680 and the new Nuttall Stand was opened on New Year's Day 1907. During the first three decades of the 20th century, Blackburn Rovers were still considered a top side in the English league. They were league champions in 1912 and 1914, and F.A Cup winners in 1928, but the F.A Cup win was their last major trophy for nearly 70 years.
Mid 20th century
Blackburn Rovers maintained a respectable mid-table position in the First Division until they were finally relegated (along with Aston Villa) from the top flight (for the first time since the foundation of the league) in the 1935–36 season. Their final match prior to relegation was a triumph. By the last game of the season, they were already certain to be relegated, but at Villa Park, they beat the home side, thus dragging the only other team of the original Football League who had never been relegated, Aston Villa, with them. They struggled in the second division for the next two seasons, until winning the Second Division title in the final season before the war.
When the league resumed after the war, Blackburn Rovers were relegated in their second season (1947–48) and remained in the second division for the following ten years. After promotion in 1958, they again returned to the mid-table position they had occupied in the earlier part of the century. During this time, they seldom made a serious challenge for a major trophy – although they did reach the 1960 FA Cup final when managed by Scot Dally Duncan. Rovers lost this game 3–0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers after playing most of the game with only 10 men on the field. Full back Dave Whelan was lost during the game to a broken leg, the game being played in the days before substitutes were allowed. Despite losing, cup final man of the match was future Scotland manager Ally MacLeod (left winger MacLeod scored 47 goals in 193 appearances for Rovers). During the 1960s Blackburn Rovers had several players who made it into national teams.
There were brief hopes of a return to glory in the 1963-64 season, when a remarkable 8-2 away win over West Ham United in east London on Boxing Day took them to the top of the league. However, their lead of the league was short lived and they finished the season some way down the table as the title was seized by a Liverpool side who would record a further 12 league titles over the next 26 years, while Blackburn's fortunes took a very different route.
They were again relegated from the First Division in 1966 and began a 26-year exile from the top division.
1970s and 1980s: More frustration
During the 1970s, Blackburn Rovers bounced between the Second and Third Divisions, winning the Third Division title in 1975, but never mounted a challenge for promotion to the First Division despite the efforts of successive managers to put the club back on track. They went up as runners up in the Third Division in 1980 and have remained in the upper two tiers of the English league ever since. In 1988–89 they mounted their first serious promotion challenge for many years, and reached the Second Division playoff final in its last-ever season of the home-away two-legged format – but lost to Crystal Palace. A defeat in the 1989–90 Second Division playoff semi-finals brought more frustration to Ewood Park, but the following season saw the club taken over by local steelworks owner and lifelong supporter Jack Walker (1929–2000).
1990s: The Jack Walker revolution
Back at the top (1991–1994)
Jack Walker's takeover was too late to save Rovers from finishing a dismal 19th in the Second Division at the end of the 1990–91 season, but the new owner had made millions of pounds available to spend on new players. Blackburn Rovers began the 1991–92 season with Don Mackay still manager, but he was soon sacked to make way for Kenny Dalglish – who had resigned as Liverpool manager some months earlier, after a six-year spell in charge had yielded five major trophies. Dalglish made several substantial signings during the season. After his appointment Rovers climbed the league, eventually opening up a significant gap at the top of the table. It seemed a foregone conclusion that Rovers would win the Second Division title, but an unexpected twist followed. Rovers lost six games in a row, causing them to fall out of the play-off places, but Rovers fought back and a 3–1 victory at Plymouth got Rovers to the final play off place. The club had got to the play-offs three times previously without success. The semi-final was against Derby County but Blackburn Rovers got off to a bad start as Derby went into a two nil lead. Rovers recovered strongly in the second half to win 4–2. A 2–1 Derby win in the second leg could not stop Blackburn Rovers reaching the play-off final at Wembley where they beat Leicester City 1–0 thanks to a Mike Newell penalty. Newell, a former Leicester striker, had missed most of the 1991–92 season due to a broken leg, but his stylish comeback was enough to book Blackburn Rovers place in the new Premier League for 1992–93, ending 26 years outside the top flight.
Rovers made headlines in the summer of 1992 by paying an English record fee of £3.5million for the 22-year-old Southampton and England centre forward Alan Shearer. Other expensive signings during the 1992–93 season included Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux, Middlesbrough winger Stuart Ripley and Coventry striker Kevin Gallacher. An impressive Blackburn side remained in the title challenge for most of the season before finishing fourth in the final table, that season not quite enough for UEFA Cup place. Leeds midfielder David Batty and Southampton goalkeeper Tim Flowers were two key signings who helped Blackburn progress in 1993–94 and finish Premier League runners-up to arch rivals Manchester United. Rovers broke the English transfer fee record again a few weeks later when paying Norwich City £5million for 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton. Sutton's prolific striking partnership with Alan Shearer would be dubbed the "SAS", an abbreviation for "Sutton and Shearer" and the elite British special forces unit the SAS. Blackburn Rovers scored the 1000th goal in Premier League history. Mike Newell was on target in April 1993 in a 3–1 win at Nottingham Forest.
Premier League champions (1994–1995)
Early exits from the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup were frustrating for Rovers in 1994–95, but turned out for the best as they could concentrate on the league and the challenge with arch rivals Manchester United for the Premier League title. During the season Blackburn Rovers suffered two highly controversial defeats by Manchester United. Firstly Henning Berg was wrongly sent off at Ewood Park with Rovers leading 1–0 as TV replays clearly showed he had won the ball from Lee Sharpe, with Eric Cantona equalising with the resulting penalty and Manchester United going on to win 4–2, and secondly an equaliser from captain Tim Sherwood was disallowed controversially at Old Trafford when Alan Shearer was ruled to have fouled Roy Keane in the build up, with United taking the game 1–0. Rovers led for most of the season but a 2–1 defeat at Dalglish's old club Liverpool on the final day of the season looked to have blown the club's dreams to pieces. But the news came through that their arch rivals Manchester United could only manage a 1–1 draw at West Ham United and the league title was back at Blackburn Rovers for the first time since 1914. Jack Walker's dream had come true: within five years of buying the club, he had taken them from strugglers in the old Second Division to champions of the Premier League.
Ray Harford era (1995–1997)
Kenny Dalglish moved upstairs to the position of Director of Football at the end of the Premier League winning season, and handed over the reins to his assistant Ray Harford.
Blackburn Rovers made a poor start to the 1995–96 season, and found themselves in the bottom half for most of the first half of the season. Rovers also struggled in the Champions League and finished bottom of their group with just four points. A 7–0 victory over Nottingham Forest on the day of the official opening of the redeveloped Ewood Park and a 4–1 win over Rosenborg (including a nine minute Mike Newell hat-trick, which is still the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history) were two highlights of an otherwise disappointing seasons. Alan Shearer was instrumental again, becoming the first striker to score more than 30 Premier League goals in three successive seasons. Blackburn Rovers improved as the season went on, finishing seventh in the Premier League and narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place.
Alan Shearer was top goalscorer at Euro 96 and was linked to domestic and international clubs. The main talk in the national media was of Shearer joining hated rivals Manchester United. However Shearer was sold to hometown club Newcastle United for a then world record fee of £15million in the summer of 1996, and Rovers were unable to find a suitable replacement.
A terrible start to the 1996–97 Premier League campaign saw Harford resign in late October with the club bottom of the division, having failed to win any of their first ten games. Relegation looked a real possibility, just two seasons after winning the league. The club immediately began the process of recruiting his replacement.
On 16 December 1996 with Rovers hovering above the relegation zone, it was announced at an Ewood Park press conference that Sven-Göran Eriksson had signed an "unconditional contract" with Rovers to take over as manager at the end of the season on 1 July 1997 when his contract with Italian Serie A club U.C. Sampdoria expired. The Swede had already visited Ewood Park and the club training facilities at Brockhall as well as sending representatives to watch Rovers' Premier League clashes on his behalf.
It was hoped that the signing of Eriksson would usher in a new era of success after the continuing difficulties following Ray Harford's disappointing tenure as manager. "Not only do I want us to be a top club in this country, I want European football to be the norm for us", said club owner Jack Walker. "If we get support as high as we want it and the public back us in every way they can then we could even consider [redeveloping] the Walkersteel Stand". Eriksson's move to Lancashire would not come to fruition, however.
Renewed hope and downfall (1997–1999)
Roy Hodgson joined the club from Inter Milan in the summer of 1997, and appeared to have had a positive effect on the club. He marked his arrival with the signings of highly rated Swedish striker Martin Dahlin and promising defender Stephane Henchoz. Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher led a prolific attack, and were able to help the team overcome the disappointing form of Dahlin, who struggled with a back injury. UEFA cup football was secured with a 6th place finish, and there were plenty of entertaining games, such as a 4–3 defeat to Leeds which saw all 7 goals coming within the first 32 minutes, and a 5–3 success over Leicester at Ewood Park. Although some of these results went against them, it summed up Hodgson's newly installed attacking ideology. With European football coming up, and the prospect of a title challenge on the horizon, things looked promising at the start of the 1998–99 season.
However, Rovers made a poor start to the campaign and Hodgson was sacked in December less than an hour after a 2–0 home defeat to bottom side Southampton, a result that locked Rovers in the relegation zone. The £7.5m signing of young Southampton striker Kevin Davies was a disaster, with Davies only netting once, against Charlton in a rare win, in 24 games. To make matters worse, team captain and midfield enforcer Tim Sherwood was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, leaving the side without a leader. Brian Kidd, the hugely successful Manchester United assistant manager, was named as Hodgson's successor. However, he could not save them as the club slipped away, relegation was confirmed with a scoreless draw at home to Manchester United in the penultimate game of the season. So, just four years after lifting the Premier League title, Blackburn Rovers were now back in the second tier of English Football.
2000s: Life after Walker
New millennium with Souness at the helm
1999–2000 was a massive disappointment for Rovers, who began the season as promotion favourites. Brian Kidd was sacked in October with the club hovering just above the Division One relegation zone, and first-team coach Tony Parkes was named caretaker manager once again. Parkes was eventually given the job on full-time time basis until the end of the season, but only remained in charge until March when the club appointed Graeme Souness as their new manager. The final humiliation of the season came in the form of a 1–4 home defeat to Manchester City, a result that secured them promotion, something Rovers should have but did not achieve.
Jack Walker died just after the start of the 2000–01, and the club dedicated its promotion challenge in memory of their benefactor. Fittingly, they returned to the Premier League after a much improved season, albeit that they finished second to Fulham. Blackburn Rovers relied on the form of their young stars Matt Jansen, Damien Duff and David Dunn and on the performances of goalkeeper Brad Friedel, whom Souness had previously coached at Galatasaray and whom he signed on a free transfer when he arrived at Rovers.
A statue now stands in the shadows of the Blackburn End, as a permanent tribute to Jack Walker.
Return to the Premier League and League Cup success
In 2001–02, Blackburn record signing Andy Cole was bought in for £8million, as was Turkish playmaker Tugay Kerimoğlu, Italian hotshot Corrado Grabbi and full back Lucas Neill were signed to strengthen an already solid squad. With David Dunn and Damien Duff both shining, the season was a memorable one. More significantly, Blackburn Rovers won their first-ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – where Cole proved his worth by scoring the winning goal in the 69th minute after Matt Jansen had put Rovers in front. Their cup success meant a place in the UEFA Cup for 2002–03.
The following season, Souness signed Dwight Yorke from Manchester United, as Matt Jansen was involved in a motor cycle accident during pre-season that left him with serious head injuries. Blackburn Rovers progress continued as they finished sixth on the last day, with an impressive 4–0 win away at Tottenham, to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second season running. Again it was Duff and Dunn who shone brightest, while goalkeeper Brad Friedel was one of the league's best players, However, the club had to be content with a disappointing exit from the UEFA Cup to eventual finalists Celtic, despite this, the club went into the 2003–04 with great expectations.
At the start of 2003–04 the sale of fan favourites Damien Duff and David Dunn meant that Rovers were always going to struggle to emulate the previous season's form. With transfer funds would be available, Souness replaced Duff with the highly rated Australian winger Brett Emerton from Feyenoord and Stephen Reid, while Lorenzo Amoruso, the Rangers defender, was also signed. Henning Berg was among the other departures. The season started promisingly, as newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers were defeated 5–1 at Ewood. The signing of Rangers captain Barry Ferguson for £7.5 million prompted talk of a surprise title challenge. However, results dipped, and the club began a long sequence of home defeats that left them in towards relegation danger. Souness's job was put on the line, and the club eventually were left needing a late turnaround, inspired by little known striker Jon Stead, to avoid relegation back to the English first division. 15th place was secured by a run of 4 wins from the final 6 games, sparked by a 4–3 victory at Fulham.
Mark Hughes era (2004–2008)
Souness left just after the start of 2004–05 to take charge at Newcastle. Rovers appointed Welsh national coach Mark Hughes as his successor, a key player in the club's promotion and League Cup successes a few seasons earlier. Hughes secured Rovers Premier League survival for the 2004–05 season as well as an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, with Rovers finishing 15th once again, with Hughes's arrival coinciding with the team becoming one of the most solid teams in the league, thanks to astute signings such as Ryan Nelsen and Aaron Mokoena, and good motivational skills. He was able to strengthen the setup for 2005–06 with the £3.2 million transfer of much sought-after Wales international striker Craig Bellamy from Newcastle United. Following a 1–0 victory over league champions Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers secured the 6th place in the league and a spot in the UEFA Cup for the 2006–07 season – their third European qualification in five years, and their sixth foray into Europe since 1994.
After qualifying for Europe, Rovers signed South African striker Benni McCarthy from Porto as a replacement for the departing Craig Bellamy. Blackburn Rovers finished top of their group and were drawn against Bayer Leverkusen; they suffered a narrow 3–2 defeat in the first leg of their tie against Bayer Leverkusen, but a 0–0 draw in the second leg saw them bow out of the competition. The club was busy during the January transfer window, signing David Dunn, Stephen Warnock, Christopher Samba and Bruno Berner. Rovers reached the Semi Final of the FA Cup in 2007, they defeated Everton, Luton, Arsenal (after replay) and Manchester City. However they would go on to be defeated by Chelsea in the semi-final, with the game going into extra time. Rovers finished the season 10th in the league, with McCarthy netting 18 league goals. The club also qualified for the Intertoto Cup, which they successfully came through.
To prepare for the 2007–08 season Rovers invested in three new players, signing Paraguay international Roque Santa Cruz from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Dutch under-21 star Maceo Rigters and young goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen. Blackburn would be knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Greek team Larissa, and also suffer a defeat to Coventry, in the FA Cup. Rovers confirmed an application to the following season's Intertoto competition. However, Blackburn lost 4–1 to Birmingham City on the final day of the season to deny them the Intertoto spot, which went to Aston Villa. Rovers ended in a respectable 7th position in the Premier League, their third consecutive top half finish.
Paul Ince spell (2008)
In May 2008, Mark Hughes left Blackburn Rovers for the vacancy at Manchester City. Several names were mooted to replace Hughes, including former players Mike Newell and Alan Shearer. Other managers linked included former England Manager Steve McClaren and former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, former Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce and Paul Ince, who took Milton Keynes Dons to the League Two title in 2007–08, was also linked with the manager's job. On 22 June 2008, it was officially confirmed by the Blackburn Rovers website that Ince had indeed been brought in to manage Rovers, signing a three-year deal with the club. Ince's first job was to persuade some of the wantaway players to stay. On 4 July, Ince signed experienced coach Archie Knox as his assistant.
Before the start of the 2008–09 season, regular goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) and England international winger David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur) left the club for a combined fee of around £19.5 million. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson then became Ince's first signing on the 25 July for a fee of £3.5 million.
Although the 2008–09 Premier League season began well for Ince and Blackburn, with a win over Everton, other results were not as good and on 16 December, following a run of eleven games without a win, Ince was relieved of his duties at Blackburn.
Sam Allardyce era (2008–present)
On 17 December, it was announced that Sam Allardyce had been appointed as Ince's replacement at Blackburn Rovers on a three-year contract.
In in 2009/10 season, Blackburn completed a memorable double under Sam Allardyce over their bitter rivals Burnley in the East Lancashire derby with a 1–0 win. Blackburn had won 3–2 in the previous meeting between the two earlier in the season at Ewood Park. In the final two games of the season, Blackburn inflicted defeats on Arsenal and Aston Villa to finish tenth which left the club in the top half of the League for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Club future
In January 2008, the Dan Williams-led consortium interested in taking the club over withdrew interest. The club are prepared to sell and other groups are still interested.
On Sunday 20 April 2008, Blackburn Rovers were yet again linked with another consortium led bid. This time from new JJB Sports owner Chris Ronnie, and an Icelandic based consortium. Whether this will lead to a formal bid being presented to the Walker Trustees, is still yet to be seen.
On Sunday 8 June 2008, Blackburn Rovers were again linked to Chris Ronnie's consortium in the National Press. In which the Sunday People reported "Chris Ronnie is closing in on his takeover of Blackburn Rovers", the article also went on to say "Ronnie has had four (4) meetings with Rothschilds, the financiers selling the club for the Jack Walker Trustees, and there has been 'significant progress."
However, on 6 July, it was revealed that Ronnie had pulled out of a bid to buy the club.
On 6 June 2010, it was revealed in the tabloids that two parties were interested in acquiring Blackburn Rovers. On 10 June 2010, it was further revealed the identity of one of the perspective buyers was Saurin Shah, a little known Indian entrepreneur who is reported to have ambitions of better uniting Blackburn Rovers with its Asian population and forming a possible connection with a Indian I-League club, possibly I-League champions Dempo SC. However since this initial interest, no further development seems to have been made in the following months since the interest was revealed.
On 4 July 2010, it was further revealed in the tabloids that Indian Business Tycoon Ahasan Ali Syed, head of Bahrain-Swiss based investment firm Western Gulf Advisory, has made a formal approach to the club's advisers, Rothschild's. It was further revealed that the businessmen intended putting £300 million investment into the club long-term, and further intended to pay off Rovers estimated £20 million of debt. On 13 August 2010, it was reported that Ahsan Ali Syed was due at Rovers on 16 August 2010, to sign a four-week period of exclusivity. On 16 August 2010, as had been revealed to be due earlier. A fleet of cars with members of Ahasan Ali Syed's team arrived at Blackburn Rovers's ground Ewood Park to sign the exclusivity period to purchase the club.
On 29 August 2010, it was reported by local newspaper The Lancashire Telegraph' that Syed was "hopeful of completing the due diligence process this week" (Beginning 30 August) said Syed Spokesperson Julia Thiem. A full 2 weeks ahead of the earlier arranged 4 week period. Thiem went on to say; "Then we will approach the Premier League to complete the paperwork needed. We also have to make an offer to the minority shareholders of the club." On the same day, it was also reported by the newspapers The News of the World and The Sunday People that two possible news owners were showing interest in buying the club. One a unnamed trio of Australian Tycoons[20] and the other a unnamed Asian group.
> Squad
> Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Mark Bunn
Jason Brown
> Squad
> Defenders
Martin Olsson
Christopher Samba (team captain)
Gaël Givet
Ryan Nelsen (vice-captain/club captain)
Michel Salgado
Phil Jones
Gavin Gunning
Grant Hanley
Pascal Chimbonda
Josh Morris
> Squad
> Midfielders
Brett Emerton
David Dunn
El Hadji Diouf
Vince Grella
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Amine Linganzi
Steven N'Zonzi
Keith Andrews
> Squad
> Forwards
Nikola Kalinić
Aaron Doran
Benjani
David Hoilett
Jason Roberts
Mame Biram Diouf (on loan from Manchester United)
> Squad
> Reserves
Josh Morris
Callum O'Connor
Jackson Ramm
Zac Aley
Jason Lowe
Michael Potts
Julio Santa Cruz
> Squad
> Academy
Christopher Dilo
Damilola Ajagbe
Jason Banton
Alex Billington
Ryan Edwards
Micah Evans
Jadan Hall
Reece Hands
Raheem Hanley
Adam Henley
Tom Hitchcock
Will James
James Knowles
Cameron Lindsay
Jamie Maclaren
Anthony O'Connor
Osayamen Osawe
Andy Parry
Matthew Pearson
Filip Pivkovski
Besnik Rustemaj
John Todd
Matthew Urwin
Toni Vastić
Peter Wylie
Jordan Preston
> Player Roles
- Captain : Christopher Samba
Samba completed a transfer from Hertha BSC to Blackburn Rovers of the Premier League signing a three-and-a-half year deal for £450,000 on 25 January 2007, and being given the number 21 shirt. He made his Rovers debut against Luton Town in the FA Cup Fourth Round, as a 69th minute sub for Ryan Nelsen and his Premiership debut on 31 January against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a 3-0 defeat. On 17 March, Samba scored his first goal in a Blackburn shirt vs. West Ham United, with a header in the 47th minute, in a 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park. He then netted his second goal for Blackburn in a 3-1 victory over Watford at Ewood Park on 18 April, playing the full 90 minutes with Ryan Nelsen. At the end of the 2006-2007 campaign, he made 19 appearances, scoring 2 goals in 14 premier league outings.
Following Samba's performances in his debut season, he established himself as a starter in the 2007–08 campaign. On 22 October 2007, Blackburn announced Samba had signed a new long-term contract keeping him at the club until the summer of 2012. At the end of the 2007-2008 campaign, he made a total of 40 appearances, scoring 3 goals in all competitions.
Although being a defender, he has made several appearances as a striker in the latter stages of the 2008–09 season. On 4 April, with Blackburn losing 1–0 against Tottenham, Samba started the second half up front. Blackburn went on to win 2–1, with manager Sam Allardyce claiming Samba's impact as "key to victory". On 11 April 2009, during the next league match against Liverpool, Samba began the match as a lone striker with Benni McCarthy being left on the bench. He continued to play as a striker in the next match against Wigan Athletic in the 2–0 win for Blackburn. At the end of the 2008-2009 campaign, he made 39 appearances, scoring 3 goals in all competitions, including 35 Barclays Premier League starts, and 4 Cup ties.
He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against Aston Villa on 26 September 2009. In November 2009, Samba signed a new five-year deal with the club that sees him contracted until the summer of 2014. On 5 December 2009, he made his 95th Premier League appearance against Liverpool in a goalless encounter at Ewood Park. He then made his 100th premier league start for Blackburn against Fulham at Ewood Park in a 2–0 victory a game in which Samba himself got on the scoresheet from a corner when he shot the ball high into the roof of the net. He scored his third premier league goal of the 2009–10 season, on 13 March, against Tottenham Hotspur in the 80th minute in a 3–1 defeat at White Hart Lane, this headed strike was also his ninth premier league goal since joining Rovers back in January 2007.
On 3 May 2010, Samba scored the winning goal as Blackburn Rovers beat Arsenal 2–1 at Ewood Park. He was also picked as captain for the game, despite club captain Ryan Nelsen and vice-captain David Dunn both playing from the start. As of 9 May 2010, Chris Samba, has made 131 appearances, and has scored 12 goals for them in all competitions. At the end of the 2009-2010 campaign, he made a total of 33 starts, and scored 4 goals in 30 premier league games.
Christopher Samba was appointed Blackburn Rovers team captain for the 2010-11 season with Ryan Nelsen moving to vice-captain, and getting the club captains role at Ewood Park. As to date, he has made 137 appearances, scoring 13 goals for them in all competitions. In August 2010, Samba has started 3 Barclays Premier League matches, and has played in 1 League Cup tie, vs. Norwich City in a 3-1 win. On 28 August, he started in his 114th premier league outing, and featured in his 115th altogether in the Barclays Premier League against Arsenal, playing the full 90 minutes, and captaining the team in a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park, alongside Ryan Nelsen. In September, Samba, scored 1 goal in 3 Barclays Premier League starts, vs. Fulham at Ewood Park, in a 1-1 draw. As of October 2010, he has so far made 9 appearances, scoring 1 in all competitions.
- Corner Taker : Morten Gamst Pedersen
- Free-Kick Taker : Morten Gamst Pedersen
Pedersen was signed by former Blackburn boss Graeme Souness back in 2004, just in time ahead of the new campaign 2004–05. The Norwegian international made his Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on August 28, 2004, a match Blackburn were leading until deep into injury time. He initially struggled to make an impact in the Premier League and had lengthy period of not being selected after Graeme Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes as the Blackburn manager in September 2004. However he started the year of 2005 in style, scoring against Cardiff City on his return to side and going on to score three goals in his next three matches. In his first season in English football he featured in 27 matches and scored 8 goals in all competitions.
2005–06 saw Pedersen make the left-midfield position his own and he has become well known for scoring many spectacular goals, such as a volley against Fulham in August 2005 which won BBC Match of the Day's Goal of the Month. The highlight of his Blackburn career came in September 2005 when he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
During the 2006–07 season, Pedersen seemingly struggled for form during the early half of the league season, but returned to form in the second half of the campaign. With new management under Paul Ince in 2008, Pedersen found himself in and out of the team, but when Ince was dismissed in December 2008 and Sam Allardyce was appointed Pedersen regained a regular starting position. He has been frequently used a central attacking midfielder under Allardyce, initially with great success.
After a year of transfer negotiations, Blackburn announced that Pedersen had signed a new four-year deal at Ewood Park on 19 May 2010, which would see him stay contracted until the summer of 2014. He went on to make more than 200 appearances for them, and scored three goals in the 2009–10 Premier League campaign, in which Blackburn finished 10th, achieving 50 points and winning 10 league games at home and three away. Blackburn chairman, John Williams, who completed the formalities of the deal, added: "Sam made this, together with finding a striker, being our summer priority. "He regards Morten as a key member of the Rovers squad and his future at Ewood Park is now secure."
- Penalty Taker : David Dunn
In January 2007, Dunn looked set to return to Lancashire in a transfer to Bolton after manager Sam Allardyce negotiated a fee for the midfielder, but on January 17, it was revealed that Dunn had turned his back on Bolton, having already passed his medical, in favour of a return to hometown club Blackburn for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year deal believed to be £2.2 million.
He managed to play a small part in the remainder of the 2006–07 season and managed to earn a free kick against Sheffield United which led to Rovers scoring a last minute winner.
On 3 February 2007, he played his first Premiership match since his return to Blackburn Rovers against Sheffield United. At the end of this campaign he managed to feature in 16 games in all competitions in total, including appearing in 11 Premier League matches.
Dunn was a regular for Rovers in the 2007–08 season, in which he made 31 league appearances and scored once, against Arsenal. In total during this eventful campaign for Dunn he appeared in 38 games in all competitions and scored one goal against Arsenal in the league. He was appointed vice-captain by new manager Paul Ince for the 2008–09 season, but the player managed only 17 appearances in all competitions, scoring once, in a season disrupted by niggling injuries. Despite missing the first two games of the 2009–10 season Dunn returned in the League Cup clash against Gillingham and scored on his return in a 3–1 win in the second round making Rovers progress to the third round of the tournament.
He then hit top form for Rovers, scoring first goals in the Premier League including strikes against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers and a memorable equaliser against local East Lancashire rivals Burnley at Ewood Park. Dunn made his 260th appearance for Blackburn Rovers in a home fixture with Chelsea at Ewood Park in a 1–1 draw on 21 March 2010, playing for 56 minutes before being replaced by Australian international Brett Emerton. He scored twice against Birmingham City on 24 March 2010 in a 2–1 victory at Ewood Park, one in front of the Darwen End in the 5th minute with him shooting with his left foot right in the corner of the goal and the other goal came on 67 minutes with a well timed header from a corner taken by winger El-Hadji Diouf from the left by line, and he celebrated in front of the Walkersteel Blackburn End with all the Rovers supporters, and received a yellow card for going into the crowd. On 28 March, Dunn scored the winning goal from the penalty spot against rivals Burnley at Turf Moor.
On 26 January 2010, with Dunn's contract expiring at Rovers, he signed a new long-term two-and-a-half year contract to keep him with his boyhood club until at least July 2012. He then scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season against Arsenal in the 2–1 win at Ewood Park. Over the course of the 2009–10 season, Dunn scored in both games against Burnley and Arsenal, the latter of which being his 50th goal for his hometown club.
> Statistics
League Table
Top Goalscorers
Tevez - Man City - 7
Berbatov - Man Utd - 6
Drogba - Chelsea - 6
Malouda - Chelsea - 6
Bent - Sunderland - 5
Cahill - Everton - 4
Carroll - Newcastle - 4
Elmander - Bolton - 4
Kalou - Chelsea - 4
Walcott - Arsenal - 4
Chamakh - Arsenal - 3
Downing - Aston Villa - 3
Gardner - Birmingham - 3
Gerrard - Liverpool - 3
Harewood - Blackpool - 3
Most Assists
Luis Nani - Man Utd - 7
Chris Brunt - WBA - 5
Didier Drogba - Chelsea - 5
Matthew Etherington - Stoke City - 5
Peter Crouch - Tottenham - 4
Marc Albrighton - Aston Villa - 3
Andrey Arshavin - Arsenal - 3
Ashley Cole - Chelsea - 3
Sebastian Larsson - Birmingham - 3
Wayne Rooney - Man Utd - 3
Paul Scholes - Man Utd - 3
Fernando Torres - Liverpool - 3
Luke Varney - Blackpool - 3
Charlie Adam - Blackpool - 2
Nicolas Anelka - Chelsea - 2
Most Yellow Cards
James Perch - Newcastle - 5
Dean Whitehead - Stoke City - 5
Kevin Davies - Bolton - 4
Steve Gohouri - Wigan Athletic - 4
Stephen Warnock - Aston Villa - 4
Marc Albrighton - Aston Villa - 3
Christophe Berra - Wolves - 3
Lee Bowyer - Birmingham - 3
Robert Huth - Stoke City - 3
Gonzalo Jara - WBA - 3
Roger Johnson - Birmingham - 3
Laurent Koscielny - Arsenal - 3
Scott Parker - West Ham Utd - 3
Paul Scholes - Man Utd - 3
Gretar Steinsson - Bolton - 3
Most Red Cards
Lee Cattermole - Sunderland - 2
Christophe Berra - Wolves - 1
Gary Cahill - Bolton - 1
Joe Cole - Liverpool - 1
Ian Evatt - Blackpool - 1
Craig Gardner - Birmingham - 1
Karl Henry - Wolves - 1
Jussi Jaaskelainen - Bolton - 1
Ivan Klasnic - Bolton - 1
Laurent Koscielny - Arsenal - 1
James Morrison - WBA - 1
Alex Song - Arsenal - 1
Jack Wilshere - Arsenal - 1
> Transfers
- In
Benjani Mwaruwari (Free Agent)
Hérold Goulon (Free Agent)
- Out
N/A
- Loans In
Mame Biram Diouf (loan, Manchester United)
- Loans Out
Nick Blackman (at Motherwell)
Jason Brown (at Leeds United)
Alan Judge (at Notts County F.C.)
Jake Kean (youth loan at Hartlepool United)
Frank Fielding (at Derby County)
Zurab Khizanishvili (at Reading)
Alex Marrow (at Crystal Palace)
Maceo Rigters (at Willem II)
Jordan Bowen (at Bamber Bridge)
> Fixtures & Results
Pre-Season
Sk Sturm Graz (0-0)
Southport (3-0)
Fleetwood Town (2-0)
Preston North End (0-3)
Huddersfield Town (0-1)
Rangers (1-2)
Aek Athens (1-2)
Sydney FC (2-1)
Hearts (1-1)
Celtic (2-1)
Barclays Premier League
Everton (1-0) H
Birmingham (1-2) A
Arsenal (1-2) H
Man City (1-1) A
Fulham (1-1) H
Blackpool (2-1) A
Stoke City (0-1) A
League Cup
Norwich (3-1) H
Aston Villa (1-3) A
Last edited by Jelavic18|RFC on Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:57 am; edited 1 time in total
I'm going to use this as my sig! 
Bent may come on as a sub if things are going badly, we'll see.
