2002–03 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

Blackburn Rovers
2002–03 season
Manager Scotland Graeme Souness
Premier League 6th
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup Semi-finals
UEFA Cup Second round
Top goalscorer League:
Damien Duff (9)

All:
Dwight Yorke (13)[1]
Highest home attendance 30,475 (vs. Manchester United, 22 December 2002)
Lowest home attendance 21,096 (vs. Fulham, 30 November 2002)
Average home league attendance 26,225[2]

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

Season summary

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. 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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Chelsea 38 19 10 9 68 38 +30 67 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
5 Liverpool 38 18 10 10 61 41 +20 64 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round[lower-alpha 1]
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 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round[lower-alpha 2]
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.
  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

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. Position Player
1 United States GK Brad Friedel
2 Australia DF Lucas Neill
3 Turkey MF Tugay Kerimoğlu
4 England DF Andy Todd
6 England DF Craig Short
7 England MF Garry Flitcroft
8 England MF David Dunn
9 England FW Andrew Cole
10 England FW Matt Jansen
11 Republic of Ireland MF Damien Duff
12 Italy FW Corrado Grabbi
13 Republic of Ireland GK Alan Kelly
14 Sweden DF Nils-Eric Johansson
15 England FW Craig Hignett
16 Republic of Ireland MF Alan Mahon
No. Position Player
17 England DF John Curtis
18 Northern Ireland MF Keith Gillespie
19 Trinidad and Tobago FW Dwight Yorke
20 England MF David Thompson
21 England DF Martin Taylor
22 Norway FW Egil Østenstad
23 Germany DF Sebastian Pelzer
25 Norway DF Henning Berg
26 Slovakia DF Vratislav Greško (on loan from Parma)
29 Republic of Ireland MF Jonathan Douglas
31 Scotland FW Paul Gallagher
33 Turkey FW Hakan Şükür
34 England DF Jay McEveley
35 England MF Neil Danns
36 England FW Marc Richards

Left club during season

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

No. Position Player
5 Norway DF Stig Inge Bjørnebye (retired)
10 England FW Matt Jansen (on loan to Coventry City)
No. Position Player
20 Turkey MF Hakan Ünsal (to Galatasaray)
27 England GK Alan Miller (retired)

Reserve squad

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

No. Position Player
24 England MF Darren Dunning
30 Scotland DF Gordon Greer
No. Position Player
32 England GK Ryan Robinson

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player TotalPremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupUEFA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Goalkeepers
1 GK United States Brad Friedel 470370303040
13 GK Republic of Ireland Alan Kelly 3010002000
Defenders
2 DF Australia Lucas Neill 450340304040
4 DF England Andy Todd 1917+51204010
6 DF England Craig Short 30126+11001020
14 DF Sweden Nils-Eric Johansson 39020+1001+102+1040
17 DF England John Curtis 7050001010
21 DF England Martin Taylor 42229+42303030
23 DF Germany Sebastian Pelzer 1000001000
25 DF Norway Henning Berg 19115+1110001+10
26 DF Slovakia Vratislav Greško 100100000000
34 DF England Jay McEveley 15090203+1000
Midfielders
3 MF Turkey Tugay Kerimoğlu 48132+512+104040
7 MF England Garry Flitcroft 404332223+1010
8 MF England David Dunn 36826+2820203+10
11 MF Republic of Ireland Damien Duff 3111269002131
15 MF England Craig Hignett 411+21000010
16 MF Republic of Ireland Alan Mahon 300+20001000
18 MF Northern Ireland Keith Gillespie 34010+1500+202+200+30
20 MF England David Thompson 326234204131
29 MF Republic of Ireland Jonathan Douglas 500+101+200+1000
35 MF England Neil Danns 601+10102010
Forwards
9 FW England Andy Cole 431332+2722442+10
10 FW England Matt Jansen 1320+70221+200+10
12 FW Italy Corrado Grabbi 1531+1010+101+1111
19 FW Trinidad and Tobago Dwight Yorke 431325+88334230
22 FW Norway Egil Østenstad 2528+911+200+202+11
31 FW Scotland Paul Gallagher 100+10000000
33 FW Turkey Hakan Şükür 927+22000000
36 FW England Marc Richards 1000000+1000
Players transferred out during the season
5 DF Norway Stig Inge Bjørnebye 1000001000

Last updated: 31 May 2003
Source: [3]

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[4][5]

Transfers

In

Out

Results

Premier League

FA Cup

League Cup

UEFA Cup

References

  1. "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Goalscorers". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  2. "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Attendance". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  3. https://www.11v11.com/teams/blackburn-rovers/tab/players/season/2003/
  4. "Blackburn Rovers | Match | Club Statistics | Appearances". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  5. https://www.football-lineups.com/team/Blackburn_Rovers/FA_Premier_League_2002-2003/Analysis/
  6. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Todd signs for Blackburn". BBC News. 2002-05-22. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  7. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn bag Pelzer". BBC News. 2002-06-25. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  8. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn sign Yorke". BBC News. 2002-07-26. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  9. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn grab Thompson". BBC News. 2002-08-29. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  10. Souness on Sukur (2002-12-04). "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn sign Sukur". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  11. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackburn Rovers | Gresko seals Blackburn move". BBC News. 2003-02-11. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  12. "BBC SPORT | Football | Hughes faces retirement". BBC News. 2002-05-13. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  13. "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Blackpool | Blackpool sign Grayson". BBC News. 2002-07-19. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  14. "BBC SPORT | Football | Football Transfers". BBC News. 2002-08-01. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  15. John Williams,Rovers chief executive (2003-02-18). "BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Coventry City | Jansen completes Coventry move". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  16. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Blackburn Rovers | Bjornebye quits football". BBC News. 2003-03-11. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  17. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Blackburn Rovers | Miller forced to retire". BBC News. 2003-04-07. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
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