2002–03 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

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Blackburn Rovers
2002–03 season
ManagerScotland Graeme Souness
Premier League6th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSemi-finals
UEFA CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Damien Duff (9)
All: Dwight Yorke (13)[1]
Highest home attendance30,475 (vs. Manchester United, 22 December 2002)
Lowest home attendance21,096 (vs. Fulham, 30 November 2002)
Average home league attendance26,225[2]

During the 2002–03 English football season, Blackburn Rovers competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary[edit]

After a season of consolidation in the Premiership the previous season (capped with victory in the League Cup), Blackburn Rovers enjoyed their best season since winning the title in 1995, finishing in sixth place and qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the second year in a row. While their UEFA Cup campaign was not especially impressive (only beating CSKA Sofia on away goals before being knocked out by eventual runners-up Celtic), their continued progress under Graeme Souness gave the fans much hope for the following season. Blackburn also embarked on another strong run in the League Cup for the second successive year, although they failed to defend their title after suffering a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the semi-finals. The star man for Blackburn this season was American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who was named as the goalkeeper in the PFA Team of the Year.

Final league table[edit]

Main article: 2002–03 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Chelsea 38 19 10 9 68 38 +30 67 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
5 Liverpool 38 18 10 10 61 41 +20 64 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
6 Blackburn Rovers 38 16 12 10 52 43 +9 60
7 Everton 38 17 8 13 48 49 −1 59
8 Southampton 38 13 13 12 43 46 −3 52 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b]
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Since Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Cup via the league, their place in the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners reverted to the league and was awarded to Blackburn Rovers as the highest-placed team not already qualified for European competitions.
  2. ^ Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners went to Southampton, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

First-team squad[edit]

Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Brad Friedel
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill
3 MF Turkey TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu
4 DF England ENG Andy Todd
6 DF England ENG Craig Short
7 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft
8 MF England ENG David Dunn
9 FW England ENG Andrew Cole
10 FW England ENG Matt Jansen
11 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Damien Duff
12 FW Italy ITA Corrado Grabbi
13 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Kelly
14 DF Sweden SWE Nils-Eric Johansson
15 FW England ENG Craig Hignett
16 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Mahon
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF England ENG John Curtis
18 MF Northern Ireland NIR Keith Gillespie
19 FW Trinidad and Tobago TRI Dwight Yorke
20 MF England ENG David Thompson
21 DF England ENG Martin Taylor
22 FW Norway NOR Egil Østenstad
23 DF Germany GER Sebastian Pelzer
25 DF Norway NOR Henning Berg
26 DF Slovakia SVK Vratislav Greško (on loan from Parma)
29 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jonathan Douglas
31 FW Scotland SCO Paul Gallagher
33 FW Turkey TUR Hakan Şükür
34 DF England ENG Jay McEveley
35 MF England ENG Neil Danns
36 FW England ENG Marc Richards

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player
5 DF Norway NOR Stig Inge Bjørnebye (retired)
10 FW England ENG Matt Jansen (on loan to Coventry City)
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Turkey TUR Hakan Ünsal (to Galatasaray)
27 GK England ENG Alan Miller (retired)

Reserve squad[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF England ENG Darren Dunning
30 DF Scotland SCO Gordon Greer
No. Pos. Nation Player
32 GK England ENG Ryan Robinson

Statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals[edit]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK United States USA Brad Friedel 47 0 37 0 3 0 3 0 4 0
13 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Kelly 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Defenders
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill 45 0 34 0 3 0 4 0 4 0
4 DF England ENG Andy Todd 19 1 7+5 1 2 0 4 0 1 0
6 DF England ENG Craig Short 30 1 26+1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
14 DF Sweden SWE Nils-Eric Johansson 39 0 20+10 0 1+1 0 2+1 0 4 0
17 DF England ENG John Curtis 7 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
21 DF England ENG Martin Taylor 42 2 29+4 2 3 0 3 0 3 0
23 DF Germany GER Sebastian Pelzer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
25 DF Norway NOR Henning Berg 19 1 15+1 1 1 0 0 0 1+1 0
26 DF Slovakia SVK Vratislav Greško 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 DF England ENG Jay McEveley 15 0 9 0 2 0 3+1 0 0 0
Midfielders
3 MF Turkey TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu 48 1 32+5 1 2+1 0 4 0 4 0
7 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft 40 4 33 2 2 2 3+1 0 1 0
8 MF England ENG David Dunn 36 8 26+2 8 2 0 2 0 3+1 0
11 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Damien Duff 31 11 26 9 0 0 2 1 3 1
15 MF England ENG Craig Hignett 4 1 1+2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
16 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Mahon 3 0 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
18 MF Northern Ireland NIR Keith Gillespie 34 0 10+15 0 0+2 0 2+2 0 0+3 0
20 MF England ENG David Thompson 32 6 23 4 2 0 4 1 3 1
29 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jonathan Douglas 5 0 0+1 0 1+2 0 0+1 0 0 0
35 MF England ENG Neil Danns 6 0 1+1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0
Forwards
9 FW England ENG Andy Cole 43 13 32+2 7 2 2 4 4 2+1 0
10 FW England ENG Matt Jansen 13 2 0+7 0 2 2 1+2 0 0+1 0
12 FW Italy ITA Corrado Grabbi 15 3 1+10 1 0+1 0 1+1 1 1 1
19 FW Trinidad and Tobago TRI Dwight Yorke 43 13 25+8 8 3 3 4 2 3 0
22 FW Norway NOR Egil Østenstad 25 2 8+9 1 1+2 0 0+2 0 2+1 1
31 FW Scotland SCO Paul Gallagher 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 FW Turkey TUR Hakan Şükür 9 2 7+2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 FW England ENG Marc Richards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
Players transferred out during the season
5 DF Norway NOR Stig Inge Bjørnebye 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Last updated: 31 May 2003
Source: [3]

Starting 11[edit]

Considering starts in all competitions[4][5]

Transfers[edit]

In[edit]

Out[edit]

Results[edit]

Premier League[edit]

Results by matchday[edit]

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAHA
ResultDWDLLDWWLWWDDLLWDLWDDWDDLLWWWWLWWLDWDW
Position1099101514109108888899101091011810911121198787777776
Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
17 August 2002 1 Blackburn Rovers 0–0 Sunderland Blackburn
Report Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 27,122
Referee: David Elleray
24 August 2002 2 Birmingham City 0–1 Blackburn Rovers Birmingham
15:00 BST (UTC+01) Report Yorke 13' Stadium: St. Andrew's
Attendance: 28,563
Referee: Dermot Gallagher
28 August 2002 3 Blackburn Rovers 2–2 Liverpool Blackburn
Dunn 15'
Grabbi 83'		 Report Murphy 31'
Riise 77'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 29,207
Referee: Steve Bennett
31 August 2002 4 Middlesbrough 1–0 Blackburn Rovers Middlesbrough
Job 90' Report Stadium: Riverside Stadium
11 September 2002 5 Blackburn Rovers 2–3 Chelsea Blackburn
David Dunn 18' (pen.)
David Thompson 45'		 Report Jesper Grønkjær 38'
Gianfranco Zola 52', 80'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
15 September 2002 6 Manchester City 2–2 Blackburn Rovers Manchester
15:00 Anelka 80'
Goater 90'
Tiatto Red card 67'		 Report Thompson 26'
Cole 54'		 Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 34,130
22 September 2002 7 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Leeds United Blackburn
Flitcroft 24' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 25,415
Referee: Graham Poll
30 September 2002 8 West Bromwich Albion 0–2 Blackburn Rovers West Bromwich
Report Dwight Yorke 72' (pen.)
Damien Duff 76'		 Stadium: The Hawthorns
6 October 2002 9 Blackburn Rovers 1–2 Tottenham Hotspur Blackburn
Egil Østenstad 59' Report Robbie Keane 6'
Jamie Redknapp 89'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
19 October 2002 10 Blackburn Rovers 5–2 Newcastle United Blackburn
15:00 Dunn 5' (pen.), 8'
Taylor 55', 74'
Griffin 65' (o.g.)		 Report Dabizas Red card 4'
Shearer 36' (pen.), 48'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 27,307
Referee: Alan Wiley
26 October 2002 (2002-10-26) 11 Arsenal 1–2 Blackburn Rovers London
15:00 BST Edu 45'
Henry Yellow card 83'		 Report Edu 6' (o.g.)
Østenstad Yellow card 37'
Johansson Yellow card 45'
Yorke 51'
Flitcroft Yellow card 70' Yellow-red card 79'		 Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 38,064
Referee: Graham Barber
3 November 2002 12 Blackburn Rovers 0–0 Aston Villa Blackburn
Report Stadium: Ewood Park
9 November 2002 13 Southampton 1–1 Blackburn Rovers Southampton
James Beattie 38' (pen.) Report Andy Cole 90' Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
17 November 2002 14 Blackburn Rovers 0–1 Everton Blackburn
Report Kevin Campbell 19' Stadium: Ewood Park
24 November 2002 15 Charlton Athletic 3–1 Blackburn Rovers Charlton, London
Paul Konchesky 59'
Richard Rufus 74'
Jason Euell 90'		 Report David Thompson 60' Stadium: The Valley
30 November 2002 16 Blackburn Rovers 2–1 Fulham Blackburn
Dwight Yorke 36'
Rufus Brevett 77' (o.g.)		 Report Steve Marlet 60' Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 21,096
7 December 2002 17 Bolton Wanderers 1–1 Blackburn Rovers Horwich
Jay-Jay Okocha 8' Report Craig Short 90' Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium
14 December 2002 18 Everton 2–1 Blackburn Rovers Walton, Liverpool
Lee Carsley 12'
Wayne Rooney 25'		 Report Andy Cole 6' Stadium: Goodison Park
22 December 2002 19 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Manchester United Blackburn
Garry Flitcroft 40' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
26 December 2002 20 Liverpool 1–1 Blackburn Rovers Liverpool
Riise 17' Report Cole 77' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,075
Referee: Neale Barry
28 December 2002 21 Blackburn Rovers 2–2 West Ham United Blackburn
Damien Duff 4'
Andy Cole 78'		 Report Martin Taylor 24' (o.g.)
Jermain Defoe 86'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
1 January 2003 22 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Middlesbrough Blackburn
Dwight Yorke 57' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
11 January 2003 23 Sunderland 0–0 Blackburn Rovers Sunderland
Report Stadium: Stadium of Light
18 January 2003 24 Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Birmingham City Blackburn
15:00 GMT (UTC) Duff 19'
Todd Red card 28'		 Report John 83' Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 23,331
Referee: Clive Wilkes
29 January 2003 25 West Ham United 2–1 Blackburn Rovers Upton Park, London
Paolo Di Canio 58' (pen.)
Jermain Defoe 89'		 Report Dwight Yorke 38' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
2 February 2003 26 Aston Villa 3–0 Blackburn Rovers Aston, Birmingham
Dion Dublin 2', 40'
Gareth Barry 81'		 Report Stadium: Villa Park
8 February 2003 27 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Southampton Blackburn
David Thompson 26' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
22 February 2003 28 Chelsea 1–2 Blackburn Rovers Fulham, London
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 90' Report Dwight Yorke 86'
David Dunn 90'		 Stadium: Stamford Bridge
1 March 2003 29 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Manchester City Blackburn
15:00 Dunn 13' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 28,647
Referee: Steve Dunn
15 March 2003 30 Blackburn Rovers 2–0 Arsenal Blackburn
Duff 22'
Tugay 52'		 Report Stadium: Ewood Park
22 March 2003 31 Newcastle United 5–1 Blackburn Rovers Newcastle upon Tyne
15:00 Solano 24'
Robert 61'
Jenas 85'
Gresko 89' (o.g.)
Bellamy 90'		 Report Duff 54' Stadium: St James' Park
Attendance: 52,106
Referee: Neale Barry
7 April 2003 32 Fulham 0–4 Blackburn Rovers White City, London
Report David Dunn 37' (pen.)
Hakan Şükür 42', 54'
Damien Duff 53'		 Stadium: Loftus Road
12 April 2003 33 Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Charlton Athletic Blackburn
Damien Duff 34' Report Stadium: Ewood Park
19 April 2003 34 Manchester United 3–1 Blackburn Rovers Old Trafford, Manchester
Ruud van Nistelrooy 20'
Paul Scholes 42', 61'		 Report Henning Berg 24' Stadium: Old Trafford
21 April 2003 35 Blackburn Rovers 0–0 Bolton Wanderers Blackburn
Report Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 28,862
Referee: Mike Dean
26 April 2003 36 Leeds United 2–3 Blackburn Rovers Leeds, West Yorkshire
Viduka 21'
Smith 90'		 Report Dunn 38' (pen.)
A. Cole 69'
Todd 78'		 Stadium: Elland Road
3 May 2003 37 Blackburn Rovers 1–1 West Bromwich Albion Blackburn
Damien Duff 11' Report Jason Koumas 54' Stadium: Ewood Park
11 May 2003 38 Tottenham Hotspur 0–4 Blackburn Rovers Tottenham, London
Report Dwight Yorke 5'
Craig Hignett 45'
Damien Duff 48'
Andy Cole 60'		 Stadium: White Hart Lane

FA Cup[edit]

4 January 2003 3 Aston Villa 1–4 Blackburn Rovers
Juan Pablo Angel 41' Matt Jansen 17', 60'
Dwight Yorke 52', 71'		 Attendance: 23,884
25 January 2003 4 Blackburn Rovers 3–3 Sunderland Blackburn
Andrew Cole 14', 73'
Dwight Yorke 90'		 Marcus Stewart 2'
Michael Proctor 52'
Kevin Phillips 70'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 14,315
5 February 2003 4R Sunderland 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3-0 p)		 Blackburn Rovers
Kevin Phillips 10'
Gavin McCann 79'		 Garry Flitcroft 50', 90' Attendance: 15,745
Penalties
Kevin Phillips soccer ball with check mark
Kevin Kilbane soccer ball with check mark
Jody Craddock soccer ball with red X
Gavin McCann soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with red X David Thompson
soccer ball with red X Andy Cole
soccer ball with red X Corrado Grabbi

League Cup[edit]

6 November 2002 3 Blackburn Rovers 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)		 Walsall Blackburn
Corrado Grabbi 45'
Ian Roper 105' (o.g.)		 Zigor Aranalde 67' (pen.)
David Zdrilic 98'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Penalties
John Curtis soccer ball with check mark
Corrado Grabbi soccer ball with check mark
David Dunn soccer ball with check mark
Alan Mahon soccer ball with check mark
Marc Richards soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Danny Sonner
soccer ball with check mark Tony Barras
soccer ball with red X Darren Wrack
soccer ball with check mark Darren Bazeley
soccer ball with check mark David Zdrilic
4 December 2002 4 Blackburn Rovers 4–0 Rotherham United Blackburn
Yorke 12', 39'
Cole 16'
Duff 43'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 11,220
Referee: Matt Messias
17 December 2002 5 Wigan Athletic 0–2 Blackburn Rovers Wigan
Cole 16', 80' Stadium: JJB Stadium
Attendance: 16,922
Referee: Andy D'Urso
7 January 2003 Semi Final
Leg 1		 Manchester United 1–1 Blackburn Rovers Manchester
20:00 Scholes 58' Report Thompson 61' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 62,740
Referee: Uriah Rennie
22 January 2003 Semi Final
Leg 2		 Blackburn Rovers 1–3 Manchester United Blackburn
20:00 Cole 12' Report Scholes 30', 42'
van Nistelrooy 77' (pen.)		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 29,048
Referee: Jeff Winter

UEFA Cup[edit]

19 September 2002 Round 1
Leg 1		 Blackburn Rovers 1–1 CSKA Sofia Blackburn
Corrado Grabbi 27' Velizar Dimitrov 23' Stadium: Ewood Park
Referee: Bruno Coué (France)
3 October 2002 Round 1
Leg 2		 CSKA Sofia 3–3 Blackburn Rovers
Emil Gargorov 66', 88' (pen.)
Agnaldo 69'		 David Thompson 30'
Egil Østenstad 56'
Damien Duff 58'		 Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel)
31 October 2002 Round 2
Leg 1		 Celtic 1–0 Blackburn Rovers
Henrik Larsson 85' Referee: Hermann Albrecht (Germany)
14 November 2002 Round 2
Leg 2		 Blackburn Rovers 0–2 Celtic Blackburn
Henrik Larsson 15'
Chris Sutton 68'		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Referee: Cosimo Bolognino (Italy)

Scores Overview[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Opposition Home score Away score Double
Arsenal 2–0 2–1 4–1
Aston Villa 0–0 0–3 0–3
Birmingham City 1–1 1–0 1–0
Bolton Wanderers 0–0 1–1 1–1
Charlton Athletic 1–0 1–3 2–3
Chelsea 2–3 2–1 4–4
Everton 0–1 1–2 1–3
Fulham 2–1 4–0 6–1
Leeds United 1–0 3–2 4–2
Liverpool 2–2 1–1 3–3
Manchester City 1–0 2–2 3–2
Manchester United 1–0 1–3 2–3
Middlesbrough 1–0 0–1 1–1
Newcastle United 5–2 1–5 6–7
Southampton 1–0 1–1 2–1
Sunderland 0–0 0–0 0–0
Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 4–0 5–2
West Bromwich Albion 1–1 2–0 3–1
West Ham United 2–2 1–2 3–4

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Goalscorers". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Attendance". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "All Blackburn Rovers players: 2003".
  4. ^ "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Appearances". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Blackburn Rovers in FA Premier League 2002/2003 analysis and predictions". football-lineups.com.
  6. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Todd signs for Blackburn". BBC Sport. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn bag Pelzer". BBC Sport. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn sign Yorke". BBC Sport. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn grab Thompson". BBC Sport. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  10. ^ Souness on Sukur (4 December 2002). "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn sign Sukur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Gresko seals Blackburn move". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Football | Hughes faces retirement". BBC Sport. 13 May 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Football | Teams | Blackpool | Blackpool sign Grayson". BBC Sport. 19 July 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Football | Football Transfers". BBC Sport. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  15. ^ John Williams,Rovers chief executive (18 February 2003). "Football | Teams | Coventry City | Jansen completes Coventry move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Football | My Club | Blackburn Rovers | Bjornebye quits football". BBC Sport. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Football | My Club | Blackburn Rovers | Miller forced to retire". BBC Sport. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

External links[edit]

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