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

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

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal (C) 38 26 9 3 79 36+43 87 2002–03 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Liverpool 38 24 8 6 67 30+37 80
3 Manchester United 38 24 5 9 87 45+42 77 2002–03 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4 Newcastle United 38 21 8 9 74 52+22 71
5 Leeds United 38 18 12 8 53 37+16 66 2002–03 UEFA Cup First round 1
6 Chelsea 38 17 13 8 66 38+28 64
7 West Ham United 38 15 8 15 48 579 53
8 Aston Villa 38 12 14 12 46 471 50 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round
9 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 8 16 49 534 50
10 Blackburn Rovers 38 12 10 16 55 51+4 46 2002–03 UEFA Cup First round 2
11 Southampton 38 12 9 17 46 548 45
12 Middlesbrough 38 12 9 17 35 4712 45
13 Fulham 38 10 14 14 36 448 44 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup Second round
14 Charlton Athletic 38 10 14 14 38 4911 44
15 Everton 38 11 10 17 45 5712 43
16 Bolton Wanderers 38 9 13 16 44 6218 40
17 Sunderland 38 10 10 18 29 5122 40
18 Ipswich Town (R) 38 9 9 20 41 64 −23 36 2002–03 UEFA Cup Qualifying round 3
Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division
19 Derby County (R) 38 8 6 24 33 63 −30 30 Relegation to the 2002–03 Football League First Division
20 Leicester City (R) 38 5 13 20 30 64 −34 28

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

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

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
18 August 2001 Derby CountyA1–228,236Blake
22 August 2001 Manchester UnitedH2–229,836Beckham (own goal), Gillespie
25 August 2001 Tottenham HotspurH2–124,992Mahon, Duff
8 September 2001 SunderlandA0–145,103
16 September 2001 Ipswich TownA1–122,126Jansen
19 September 2001 Bolton WanderersH1–125,949Neill
22 September 2001 EvertonH1–027,732Grabbi
30 September 2001 Aston VillaA0–228,623
14 October 2001 West Ham UnitedH7–122,712Flitcroft, Dunn, Johnson, McCann (own goal), Tugay, Jansen, Hignett
20 October 2001 ArsenalA3–338,108Gillespie, Dunn (2)
29 October 2001 Leicester CityH0–021,873
3 November 2001 SouthamptonA2–130,523Tugay, Hignett
17 November 2001 LiverpoolH1–128,859Jansen
24 November 2001 ChelseaA0–037,978
1 December 2001 MiddlesbroughH0–123,849
9 December 2001 Leeds UnitedH1–228,309Berg
15 December 2001 Newcastle UnitedA1–250,064Dunn
22 December 2001 Charlton AthleticA2–025,857Duff, Dunn
26 December 2001 SunderlandH0–329,869
29 December 2001 Derby CountyH0–123,529
1 January 2002 Tottenham HotspurA0–135,131
12 January 2002 Charlton AthleticH4–123,365Tugay, Cole, Hignett, Jansen
19 January 2002 Manchester UnitedA1–267,552Hignett
30 January 2002 ArsenalH2–325,893Jansen (2)
2 February 2002 West Ham UnitedA0–235,307
9 February 2002 FulhamA0–219,580
2 March 2002 Bolton WanderersA1–127,203Jansen
5 March 2002 Aston VillaH3–021,988Dunn, Duff, Cole
13 March 2002 Ipswich TownH2–123,305Duff, Cole
17 March 2002 Leeds UnitedA1–339,857Jansen
30 March 2002 Leicester CityA1–216,236Hughes
1 April 2002 SouthamptonH2–028,851Duff, Yordi
10 April 2002 ChelseaH0–025,441
20 April 2002 MiddlesbroughA3–126,932Yordi, Cole, Dunn (pen)
23 April 2002 Newcastle UnitedH2–226,712Gillespie, Cole
28 April 2002 EvertonA2–134,976Jansen, Cole
8 May 2002 LiverpoolA3–440,663Duff, Cole, Jansen
11 May 2002 FulhamH3–030,487Cole (2), Duff

FA Cup

Main article: 2001–02 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R35 January 2002 BarnsleyA1–112,314Hignett
R3R16 January 2002 BarnsleyH3–110,203Grabbi, Dunn (pen), Johansson
R426 January 2002 MillwallA1–015,004Cole
R516 February 2002 MiddlesbroughA0–120,921

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R212 September 2001 Oldham AthleticH2–09,559Jansen, Dunning
R310 October 2001 MiddlesbroughH2–1 (a.e.t.)9,536Hignett, Short
R428 November 2001 Manchester CityH2–017,907Johansson, Johnson
R511 December 2001 ArsenalH4–013,278Jansen (3), Hughes
SF First Leg 16 January 2002 Sheffield WednesdayA2–130,883Hignett, Cole
SF Second Leg 22 January 2002 Sheffield WednesdayH4–2 (won 6-3 on agg)26,844Jansen, Duff, Cole, Hignett
F24 February 2002 Tottenham HotspurN2–172,500Jansen, Cole

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[2]

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 England DF John Curtis
3 Turkey MF Tugay Kerimoğlu
4 Norway DF Henning Berg
5 Norway DF Stig Inge Bjørnebye
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 Wales FW Mark Hughes
14 Sweden DF Nils-Eric Johansson
15 England MF Craig Hignett
No. Position Player
16 Republic of Ireland MF Alan Mahon
17 Spain FW Yordi (on loan from Real Zaragoza)
18 Northern Ireland MF Keith Gillespie
20 Norway FW Egil Østenstad
21 Italy FW Corrado Grabbi
22 Turkey DF Hakan Ünsal
23 Republic of Ireland GK Alan Kelly
24 England MF Darren Dunning
27 England GK Alan Miller
28 England DF Martin Taylor
29 Republic of Ireland MF Jonathan Douglas
30 Scotland DF Gordon Greer
31 Australia DF Lucas Neill

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
9 England FW Marcus Bent (to Ipswich Town)
13 Australia GK John Filan (to Wigan Athletic)
14 Wales FW Nathan Blake (to Wolverhampton Wanderers)
17 Republic of Ireland MF Jason McAteer (to Sunderland)
No. Position Player
19 Northern Ireland MF Damien Johnson (to Birmingham City)
22 Republic of Ireland DF Jeff Kenna (to Birmingham City)
29 England DF Marlon Broomes (to Sheffield Wednesday)
Republic of Ireland DF Fred Murray (to Cambridge United)

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
25 England DF Simon Grayson
26 Wales FW James Thomas
No. Position Player
32 England GK Ryan Robinson
34 England FW 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'
Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur
BLACKBURN ROVERS:
GK 1 United States Brad Friedel
RB 28England Martin Taylor
CB 4 Norway Henning Berg (c)
CB 14Sweden Nils-Eric Johansson
LB 5 Norway Stig Inge Bjørnebye
RM 18Northern Ireland Keith Gillespie  75'
CM 8 England David Dunn
CM 12Wales Mark Hughes
LM 11Republic of Ireland Damien Duff
CF 10England Matt Jansen  74'
CF 9 England Andrew Cole
Substitutes:
GK 27England Alan Miller
DF 2 England John Curtis
MF 15England Craig Hignett  75'
MF 16Republic of Ireland Alan Mahon
FW 17Spain Yordi  74'
Manager:
Scotland Graeme Souness
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR:
GK 1 Scotland Neil Sullivan
RB 18Wales Ben Thatcher
CB 6 England Chris Perry
CB 26England Ledley King
LB 3 Argentina Mauricio Taricco  79'
RM 7 England Darren Anderton
CM 8 England Tim Sherwood
CM 14Uruguay Gustavo Poyet  84'
LM 23Germany Christian Ziege
CF 10England Teddy Sheringham
CF 9 England Les Ferdinand
Substitutes:
GK 13United States Kasey Keller
DF 30England Anthony Gardner
MF 29Wales Simon Davies  79'
FW 11Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov
FW 16Norway Steffen Iversen  84'
Manager:
England Glenn Hoddle

References

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