Blackburn Rovers F.C. finished in the top half of the Premier League for the third successive season, this time ending up in 7th place, ultimately not enough for European qualification. Manager Mark Hughes departed for Manchester City at the end of the season, while successful winger David Bentley was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee. Striker Roque Santa Cruz, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, had the season of his life, scoring 19 league goals, making up for Benni McCarthy's loss of form. Despite interest for richer clubs, Santa Cruz stayed on for another season.
| 2007–08 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Mark Hughes |
| Premier League | 7th |
| FA Cup | Third round |
| League Cup | Fifth round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Roque Santa Cruz (19) All: Roque Santa Cruz (23) |
| Highest home attendance | 30,316 (vs. Manchester United, 19 April) |
| Lowest home attendance | 19,316 (vs. Birmingham City, 7 October) |
| Average home league attendance | 23,916 |
Final league table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Everton | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 58 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a] |
| 9 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round[b] |
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition
Notes:
- ^ As FA Cup winners
- ^ Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.
First-team squad edit
- Squad at end of season[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Left club during season edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Statistics edit
Appearances and goals edit
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup | UEFA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK |  USA
|
Brad Friedel | 48 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Defenders | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF |  NED
|
André Ooijer | 34 | 0 | 23+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF |  ENG
|
Stephen Warnock | 45 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | DF |  CGO
|
Christopher Samba | 41 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF |  NZL
|
Ryan Nelsen | 30 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | DF |  AUS
|
Brett Emerton | 40 | 1 | 31+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF |  GEO
|
Zurab Khizanishvili | 17 | 0 | 10+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF |  SUI
|
Bruno Berner | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF |  SWE
|
Martin Olsson | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | MF |  TUR
|
Tugay Kerimoğlu | 27 | 2 | 12+8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | SUI
|
Johann Vogel | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG
|
David Bentley | 47 | 9 | 37 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 12 | MF |  NOR
|
Morten Gamst Pedersen | 46 | 6 | 32+5 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF |  IRL
|
Steven Reid | 25 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF |  RSA
|
Aaron Mokoena | 26 | 0 | 8+10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG
|
David Dunn | 38 | 1 | 25+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | IRL
|
Keith Treacy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW |  PAR
|
Roque Santa Cruz | 43 | 23 | 36+1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | RSA
|
Benni McCarthy | 38 | 11 | 21+10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | NED
|
Maceo Rigters | 7 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ENG
|
Matt Derbyshire | 33 | 6 | 4+19 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 0+2 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 |
| 30 | FW |  GRN
|
Jason Roberts | 31 | 5 | 11+15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Players transferred out during the season | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | MF |  WAL
|
Robbie Savage | 18 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2008
Source: Competitions
Results edit
Pre-season edit
| 10 July 2007 | Wrexham | 2–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham |
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| 15 July 2007 | Arminia Bielefeld | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld |
| |
| 1 August 2007 | Huddersfield Town | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield |
| |
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| 4 August 2007 | Preston North End | 0–3 | Blackburn Rovers | Deepdale, Preston |
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Premier League edit
Results by matchday edit
| 11 August 2007 1 | Middlesbrough | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough |
| 15:00 | Downing 31' |
Report | Santa Cruz 63' Derbyshire 79' |
Attendance: 25,058 Referee: Andre Marriner |
| 19 August 2007 2 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Arsenal | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Dunn 72' |
Report | van Persie 18' |
Attendance: 24,917 Referee: Alan Wiley |
| 25 August 2007 3 | Everton | 1–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 17:15 | McFadden 74' |
Santa Cruz 15' |
| 2 September 2007 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Manchester City | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | McCarthy 16' |
Report | Attendance: 26,881 Referee: Mike Dean |
| 15 September 2007 5 | Chelsea | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers | Stamford Bridge, London |
| 17:15 | J. Cole  74'Belletti 75' |
Warnock 82' Savage 84' |
| 23 September 2007 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | Portsmouth | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Kanu 25' |
| 29 September 2007 7 | Sunderland | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Stadium of Light, Sunderland |
| 15:00 | Leadbitter 90' |
Bentley 53' Santa Cruz 55' |
| 7 October 2007 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 2–1 | Birmingham City | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Bentley 15' McCarthy 56' (pen.) |
Jerome 68' |
| 20 October 2007 9 | Blackburn Rovers | 4–2 | Reading | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | McCarthy 18', 82' (pen.) Santa Cruz 22'Tugay 32' |
Doyle 80' 90' |
| 28 October 2007 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | White Hart Lane, London |
| 15:00 | Keane 49' (pen.) |
McCarthy 60' Samba 90' |
| 3 November 2007 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–0 | Liverpool | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 17:15 | Report | Attendance: 30,033 Referee: Martin Atkinson |
| 11 November 2007 12 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Blackburn Rovers | Old Trafford, Manchester |
| 15:00 | Ronaldo 34', 35' |
Report | Attendance: 75,710 Referee: Alan Wiley |
| 25 November 2007 13 | Fulham | 2–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Craven Cottage, London |
| 15:00 | Murphy 51' (pen.) Kamara 63' |
Emerton 57' Warnock 79' |
| 28 November 2007 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–4 | Aston Villa | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 20:00 | Carew 29' Barry 53' (pen.)Young 81'Harewood 89' |
| 1 December 2007 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | Newcastle United | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Bentley 54', 67' Tugay 90' |
Martins 47' |
| 9 December 2007 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | West Ham United | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 16:00 | Ashton 52' |
| 15 December 2007 17 | Wigan Athletic | 5–3 | Blackburn Rovers | DW Stadium, Wigan |
| 15:00 | Landzaat 10' Bent 12', 66', 81'Scharner 37' |
Report | Santa Cruz 45', 50', 61' |
Attendance: 16,489 Referee: Mark Clattenburg |
| 23 December 2007 18 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | Chelsea | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 16:10 | J. Cole 22' |
| 27 December 2007 19 | Manchester City | 2–2 | Blackburn Rovers | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester |
| 19:45 | Vassell 27' Ryan Nelsen 30' (o.g.) |
Santa Cruz 28', 84' |
| 30 December 2007 20 | Derby County | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Pride Park Stadium, Derby |
| 13:30 | Oakley 27' Lewis 38' |
Nelsen 32' Santa Cruz 39'Bentley 42'Mokoena 51'Warnock 62' |
Attendance: 30,048 Referee: Peter Walton |
| 2 January 2008 21 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Sunderland | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 20:00 | McCarthy 57' (pen.) |
| 13 January 2008 22 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | Reebok Stadium, Horwich |
| 16:00 | Nolan 43' |
Samba 53' Roberts 90' |
| 19 January 2008 23 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Middlesbrough | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Derbyshire 75' |
Wheater 13' |
| 26 January 2008 24 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Villa Park, Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Young 73' |
Santa Cruz 68' |
| 2 February 2008 25 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–0 | Everton | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 |
| 11 February 2008 26 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Blackburn Rovers | Emirates Stadium, London |
| 20:00 | Senderos 4' Adebayor 90' |
| 24 February 2008 27 | Blackburn Rovers | 4–1 | Bolton Wanderers | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | McCarthy 25' (pen.), 67' (pen.) Bentley 71'Pedersen 90' |
Davies 50' |
| 1 March 2008 28 | Newcastle United | 0–1 | Blackburn Rovers | St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| 15:00 | Derbyshire 90' |
| 8 March 2008 29 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Fulham | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Pedersen 59' |
Bullard 89' |
| 15 March 2008 30 | West Ham United | 2–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Upton Park, London |
| 15:00 | Ashton 39' Sears 81' |
Santa Cruz 19' |
| 22 March 2008 31 | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | Wigan Athletic | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Santa Cruz 12', 63' Roberts 45' |
King 17' (pen.) |
| 29 March 2008 32 | Reading | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers | Madejski Stadium, Reading |
| 15:00 |
| 5 April 2008 33 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Pedersen 30' |
Berbatov 7' |
| 13 April 2008 34 | Liverpool | 3–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Anfield, Liverpool |
| 13:30 | Gerrard 62' Torres 80'Voronin 90' |
Santa Cruz 90' |
| 19 April 2008 35 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Manchester United | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 17:15 | Santa Cruz 21' |
Tevez 88' |
| 27 April 2008 36 | Portsmouth | 0–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Fratton Park, Portsmouth |
| 13:30 | Santa Cruz 74' |
| 3 May 2008 37 | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | Derby County | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Santa Cruz 45', 77' Roberts 47' |
Miller 19' |
| 11 May 2008 38 | Birmingham City | 4–1 | Blackburn Rovers | St Andrew's, Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Murphy 31' Jerome 73', 89'Muamba 90' |
Pedersen 49' |
League Cup edit
| 26 September 2007, 20:00 Round 3 | Blackburn | 3 – 0 | Birmingham | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Bentley 66' Derbyshire 82' (pen.)Santa Cruz 90' |
Attendance: 9,205 |
| 31 October 2007, 19:45 Round 4 | Portsmouth | 1 – 2 | Blackburn | Fratton Park, Portsmouth |
| Kanu 90' |
McCarthy 11' Pedersen 77' |
Attendance: 11,788 |
| 18 December 2007, 20:00 Round 5 | Blackburn | 2 – 3 (a.e.t.) | Arsenal | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Santa Cruz 42', 60' |
Diaby 6' Eduardo 29', 104' |
Attendance: 16,207 |
FA Cup edit
| 5 January 2008, 15:00 Round 3 | Blackburn | 1 – 4 | Coventry | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Bentley 85' |
Mifsud 34', 90' Ward 64' (pen.)Adebloa 83' |
Attendance: 14,421 |
UEFA Intertoto Cup edit
| 22 July 2007, 19:00 Round 3, Leg 1 | FK Vetra  | 0 – 2 | Blackburn | Vetra Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania |
| McCarthy 29' Derbyshire 80' |
Attendance: 5,200 (112 away) Referee: Tony Asumaa (Finland) |
| 28 July 2007, 15:00 Round 3, Leg 2 | Blackburn | 4 – 0 | FK Vetra | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Pedersen 25' Roberts 48'McCarthy 54'Samba 55' |
Attendance: 11,854 Referee: Michael Weiner (Germany) |
UEFA Cup edit
| 16 August 2007, 19:45 Qualifying round 2, Leg 1 | MyPa-47  | 0 – 1 | Blackburn | Kymenlaakson Sähkö, Kouvola, Finland |
| Santa Cruz 6' |
Attendance: 2,012 (93 away) Referee: Olivier Thual (France) |
| 30 August 2007, 20:05 Qualifying round 2, Leg 2 | Blackburn | 2 – 0 | MyPa-47 | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Bentley 48' Roberts 90' |
Attendance: 13,490 Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria) |
| 20 September 2007, 17:00 Round 1, Leg 1 | Larissa  | 2 – 0 | Blackburn | Alcazar Stadium, Larissa, Greece |
| Bakayoko 33' Cleyton 35' |
Attendance: 8,126 Referee: Peter Sippel (Germany) |
| 4 October 2007, 20:00 Round 1, Leg 2 | Blackburn | 2 – 1 | Larissa | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
| Derbyshire 45' (pen.) Warnock 51' |
Cleyton 17' |
Attendance: 20,741 (1,200 away) Referee: Claudio Circhetta (Switzerland) |
Notes edit
- ^ Samba was born in Créteil, France, but also qualified to represent the Republic of the Congo internationally and made his international debut for the Congo in 2004.
- ^ Reid was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his father, and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2001.
- ^ Roberts was born in Park Royal, London, England, but also qualified to represent Grenada internationally through his father, and made his international debut for Grenada in 1999.
- ^ Kane was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and has represented Northern Ireland at youth level, but later chose to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally at level. He would however later switch allegiances back and was called up to the Northern Ireland squad in November 2007.
- ^ Brown was born in Southwark, London, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally, and made his full international debut for Wales in May 2006.
- ^ O'Keefe was born in Whalley, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally, and would represent them at level.
- ^ Griffiths was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, but also qualified to represent Australia internationally, and has represented them at youth level.
References edit
- ^ "FootballSquads - Blackburn Rovers - 2007/08". www.footballsquads.co.uk.