2001–02 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

Blackburn Rovers
2001–02 season
Chairman	John Williams
Manager	Graeme Souness
FA Premier League	10th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: ; Matt Jansen (10); All: ; Matt Jansen (16)
Average home league attendance	25,984
	← 2000–01 2002–03 →

During the 2001–02 English football season, Blackburn Rovers competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

Blackburn had a decidedly iffy start to the season, winning just four of their first 14 league games, a run which also included a staggering eight draws and just two defeats. However, they soon had little time to savour their Worthington Cup glory that resulted from a 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on 24 February - they were deep in the relegation mire and occupying third place from bottom following a dreadful winter period, as they won two and lost ten in 12 games, the two wins seeing them do a decidedly one-sided double over Charlton Athletic (2-0 away and 4-1 home). But Graeme Souness inspired his side, bolstered by the arrival of striker Andy Cole, to a considerable turnaround in form - seeing them win six in their final 12 games - which saw them climb to 10th place in the final table. UEFA Cup qualification had already been achieved thanks to the Worthington Cup triumph, but the club's fans were left wondering whether it could have been achieved automatically had it not been for the club's dismal winter period. Especially, their league record produced four more defeats than wins in contrast to a final goal difference of +4, concluding them as a comprehensively winning team despite their inconsistency.

At the end of the season, striker Mark Hughes retired at the age of 38, after a playing career spanning 22 years that had yielded two league titles, four FA Cups, a Cup Winners' Cup and three League Cups.

Final league table

Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl2 qr Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team Template:Fb cl team |- style="background:#fcc;" |rowspan="2"|18 | rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"|Ipswich Town (R) |rowspan="2"|38 |rowspan="2"|9 |rowspan="2"|9 |rowspan="2"|20 |rowspan="2"|41 |rowspan="2"|64 |rowspan="2"|−23 |rowspan="2"|36 | style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; background:#bbebff;"|2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying round ³ |- | style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; background:#fcc;"|Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division |- style="background:#fcc;" |19 | style="text-align:left;" |Derby County (R) |38 |8 |6 |24 |33 |63 |−30 |30 | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:92.5%; "|Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division |- style="background:#fcc;" |20 | style="text-align:left;" |Leicester City (R) |38 |5 |13 |20 |30 |64 |−34 |28 Template:Fb cl footer

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

¹Since Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Chelsea, the losing finalists.

²Blackburn Rovers qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners

³Despite relegation, Ipswich Town qualified for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round as Fair Play Award winners

Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
18 August 2001	Derby County	A	1–2	28,236	Blake
22 August 2001	Manchester United	H	2–2	29,836	Beckham (own goal), Gillespie
25 August 2001	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–1	24,992	Mahon, Duff
8 September 2001	Sunderland	A	0–1	45,103
16 September 2001	Ipswich Town	A	1–1	22,126	Jansen
19 September 2001	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	25,949	Neill
22 September 2001	Everton	H	1–0	27,732	Grabbi
30 September 2001	Aston Villa	A	0–2	28,623
14 October 2001	West Ham United	H	7–1	22,712	Flitcroft, Dunn, Johnson, McCann (own goal), Tugay, Jansen, Hignett
20 October 2001	Arsenal	A	3–3	38,108	Gillespie, Dunn (2)
29 October 2001	Leicester City	H	0–0	21,873
3 November 2001	Southampton	A	2–1	30,523	Tugay, Hignett
17 November 2001	Liverpool	H	1–1	28,859	Jansen
24 November 2001	Chelsea	A	0–0	37,978
1 December 2001	Middlesbrough	H	0–1	23,849
9 December 2001	Leeds United	H	1–2	28,309	Berg
15 December 2001	Newcastle United	A	1–2	50,064	Dunn
22 December 2001	Charlton Athletic	A	2–0	25,857	Duff, Dunn
26 December 2001	Sunderland	H	0–3	29,869
29 December 2001	Derby County	H	0–1	23,529
1 January 2002	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1	35,131
12 January 2002	Charlton Athletic	H	4–1	23,365	Tugay, Cole, Hignett, Jansen
19 January 2002	Manchester United	A	1–2	67,552	Hignett
30 January 2002	Arsenal	H	2–3	25,893	Jansen (2)
2 February 2002	West Ham United	A	0–2	35,307
9 February 2002	Fulham	A	0–2	19,580
2 March 2002	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–1	27,203	Jansen
5 March 2002	Aston Villa	H	3–0	21,988	Dunn, Duff, Cole
13 March 2002	Ipswich Town	H	2–1	23,305	Duff, Cole
17 March 2002	Leeds United	A	1–3	39,857	Jansen
30 March 2002	Leicester City	A	1–2	16,236	Hughes
1 April 2002	Southampton	H	2–0	28,851	Duff, Yordi
10 April 2002	Chelsea	H	0–0	25,441
20 April 2002	Middlesbrough	A	3–1	26,932	Yordi, Cole, Dunn (pen)
23 April 2002	Newcastle United	H	2–2	26,712	Gillespie, Cole
28 April 2002	Everton	A	2–1	34,976	Jansen, Cole
8 May 2002	Liverpool	A	3–4	40,663	Duff, Cole, Jansen
11 May 2002	Fulham	H	3–0	30,487	Cole (2), Duff

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	5 January 2002	Barnsley	A	1–1	12,314	Hignett
R3R	16 January 2002	Barnsley	H	3–1	10,203	Grabbi, Dunn (pen), Johansson
R4	26 January 2002	Millwall	A	1–0	15,004	Cole
R5	16 February 2002	Middlesbrough	A	0–1	20,921

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2	12 September 2001	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	9,559	Jansen, Dunning
R3	10 October 2001	Middlesbrough	H	2–1 (a.e.t.)	9,536	Hignett, Short
R4	28 November 2001	Manchester City	H	2–0	17,907	Johansson, Johnson
R5	11 December 2001	Arsenal	H	4–0	13,278	Jansen (3), Hughes
SF First Leg	16 January 2002	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–1	30,883	Hignett, Cole
SF Second Leg	22 January 2002	Sheffield Wednesday	H	4–2 (won 6-3 on agg)	26,844	Jansen, Duff, Cole, Hignett
F	24 February 2002	Tottenham Hotspur	N	2–1	72,500	Jansen, Cole

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	USA	Brad Friedel
2	DF	ENG	John Curtis
3	MF	TUR	Tugay Kerimoğlu
4	DF	NOR	Henning Berg
5	DF	NOR	Stig Inge Bjørnebye
6	DF	ENG	Craig Short
7	MF	ENG	Garry Flitcroft
8	MF	ENG	David Dunn
9	FW	ENG	Andrew Cole
10	FW	ENG	Matt Jansen
11	MF	IRL	Damien Duff
12	FW	WAL	Mark Hughes
14	DF	SWE	Nils-Eric Johansson
15	MF	ENG	Craig Hignett


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	IRL	Alan Mahon
17	FW	ESP	Yordi (on loan from Real Zaragoza)
18	MF	NIR	Keith Gillespie
20	FW	NOR	Egil Østenstad
21	FW	ITA	Corrado Grabbi
22	DF	TUR	Hakan Ünsal
23	GK	IRL	Alan Kelly
24	MF	ENG	Darren Dunning
27	GK	ENG	Alan Miller
28	DF	ENG	Martin Taylor
29	MF	IRL	Jonathan Douglas
30	DF	SCO	Gordon Greer
31	DF	AUS	Lucas Neill

Left club during season

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
9	FW	ENG	Marcus Bent (to Ipswich Town)
13	GK	AUS	John Filan (to Wigan Athletic)
14	FW	WAL	Nathan Blake (to Wolverhampton Wanderers)
17	MF	IRL	Jason McAteer (to Sunderland)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	MF	NIR	Damien Johnson (to Birmingham City)
22	DF	IRL	Jeff Kenna (to Birmingham City)
29	DF	ENG	Marlon Broomes (to Sheffield Wednesday)
—	DF	IRL	Fred Murray (to Cambridge United)

Reserve squad

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	DF	ENG	Simon Grayson
26	FW	WAL	James Thomas


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
32	GK	ENG	Ryan Robinson
34	FW	ENG	Marc Richards

Statistics

Top scorers

Premier League

Football League Cup Final line-up

24 February 2002

14:00

Blackburn Rovers	2 – 1	Tottenham Hotspur
Jansen 25' Cole 69'	Report	Ziege 33'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 72,500

Referee: Graham Poll (Hertfordshire)

Blackburn Rovers

Tottenham Hotspur


BLACKBURN ROVERS:
GK	1	Brad Friedel
RB	28	Martin Taylor
CB	4	Henning Berg (c)
CB	14	Nils-Eric Johansson
LB	5	Stig Inge Bjørnebye
RM	18	Keith Gillespie	75'
CM	8	David Dunn
CM	12	Mark Hughes
LM	11	Damien Duff
CF	10	Matt Jansen	74'
CF	9	Andrew Cole
Substitutes:
GK	27	Alan Miller
DF	2	John Curtis
MF	15	Craig Hignett	75'
MF	16	Alan Mahon
FW	17	Yordi	74'
Manager:
Graeme Souness


TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR:
GK	1	Neil Sullivan
RB	18	Ben Thatcher
CB	6	Chris Perry
CB	26	Ledley King
LB	3	Mauricio Taricco	79'
RM	7	Darren Anderton
CM	8	Tim Sherwood
CM	14	Gustavo Poyet	84'
LM	23	Christian Ziege
CF	10	Teddy Sheringham
CF	9	Les Ferdinand
Substitutes:
GK	13	Kasey Keller
DF	30	Anthony Gardner
MF	29	Simon Davies	79'
FW	11	Serhiy Rebrov
FW	16	Steffen Iversen	84'
Manager:
Glenn Hoddle

References

[1] ttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/2001-2002/results

[2] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2001-2002/faprem/blackbrn.htm

[1]

[2]

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