2002–03 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

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

Blackburn Rovers

2002–03 season
Manager	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]
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

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. 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

Main article: 2002–03 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	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

Squad at end of 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 1 GK  USA Brad Friedel 2 DF  AUS Lucas Neill 3 MF  TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu 4 DF  ENG Andy Todd 6 DF  ENG Craig Short 7 MF  ENG Garry Flitcroft 8 MF  ENG David Dunn 9 FW  ENG Andy Cole 10 FW  ENG Matt Jansen 11 MF  IRL Damien Duff 12 FW  ITA Corrado Grabbi 13 GK  IRL Alan Kelly 14 DF  SWE Nils-Eric Johansson 15 FW  ENG Craig Hignett 16 MF  IRL Alan Mahon

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF  ENG John Curtis 18 MF  NIR Keith Gillespie 19 FW  TRI Dwight Yorke 20 MF  ENG David Thompson 21 DF  ENG Martin Taylor 22 FW  NOR Egil Østenstad 23 DF  GER Sebastian Pelzer 25 DF  NOR Henning Berg 26 DF  SVK Vratislav Greško (on loan from Parma) 29 MF  IRL Jonathan Douglas 31 FW  SCO Paul Gallagher 33 FW  TUR Hakan Şükür 34 DF  ENG Jay McEveley 35 MF  ENG Neil Danns 36 FW  ENG Marc Richards

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 5 DF  NOR Stig Inge Bjørnebye (retired) 10 FW  ENG Matt Jansen (on loan to Coventry City)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  TUR Hakan Ünsal (to Galatasaray) 27 GK  ENG Alan Miller (retired)

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 24 MF  ENG Darren Dunning 30 DF  SCO Gordon Greer

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 GK  ENG Ryan Robinson

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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	USA	Brad Friedel	47	0	37	0	3	0	3	0	4	0
13	GK	IRL	Alan Kelly	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	AUS	Lucas Neill	45	0	34	0	3	0	4	0	4	0
4	DF	ENG	Andy Todd	19	1	7+5	1	2	0	4	0	1	0
6	DF	ENG	Craig Short	30	1	26+1	1	0	0	1	0	2	0
14	DF	SWE	Nils-Eric Johansson	39	0	20+10	0	1+1	0	2+1	0	4	0
17	DF	ENG	John Curtis	7	0	5	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
21	DF	ENG	Martin Taylor	42	2	29+4	2	3	0	3	0	3	0
23	DF	GER	Sebastian Pelzer	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
25	DF	NOR	Henning Berg	19	1	15+1	1	1	0	0	0	1+1	0
26	DF	SVK	Vratislav Greško	10	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	DF	ENG	Jay McEveley	15	0	9	0	2	0	3+1	0	0	0
Midfielders
3	MF	TUR	Tugay Kerimoğlu	48	1	32+5	1	2+1	0	4	0	4	0
7	MF	ENG	Garry Flitcroft	40	4	33	2	2	2	3+1	0	1	0
8	MF	ENG	David Dunn	36	8	26+2	8	2	0	2	0	3+1	0
11	MF	IRL	Damien Duff	31	11	26	9	0	0	2	1	3	1
15	MF	ENG	Craig Hignett	4	1	1+2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
16	MF	IRL	Alan Mahon	3	0	0+2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
18	MF	NIR	Keith Gillespie	34	0	10+15	0	0+2	0	2+2	0	0+3	0
20	MF	ENG	David Thompson	32	6	23	4	2	0	4	1	3	1
29	MF	IRL	Jonathan Douglas	5	0	0+1	0	1+2	0	0+1	0	0	0
35	MF	ENG	Neil Danns	6	0	1+1	0	1	0	2	0	1	0
Forwards
9	FW	ENG	Andy Cole	43	13	32+2	7	2	2	4	4	2+1	0
10	FW	ENG	Matt Jansen	13	2	0+7	0	2	2	1+2	0	0+1	0
12	FW	ITA	Corrado Grabbi	15	3	1+10	1	0+1	0	1+1	1	1	1
19	FW	TRI	Dwight Yorke	43	13	25+8	8	3	3	4	2	3	0
22	FW	NOR	Egil Østenstad	25	2	8+9	1	1+2	0	0+2	0	2+1	1
31	FW	SCO	Paul Gallagher	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	FW	TUR	Hakan Şükür	9	2	7+2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	FW	ENG	Marc Richards	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
Players transferred out during the season
5	DF	NOR	Stig Inge Bjørnebye	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Last updated: 31 May 2003
Source: ^[3]

Transfers

In

• Andy Todd - Charlton Athletic, 22 May, £750,000 (rising to £1,000,000 depending on appearances)^[4]
• Sebastian Pelzer - 1. FC Kaiserslautern II, 25 June, undisclosed^[5]
• Dwight Yorke - Manchester United, 26 July, £2,000,000 (rising to £2,600,000 depending on appearances and team performance)^[6]
• David Thompson - Coventry City, 29 August, £1,500,000 (rising to £2,500,000 depending on player and team performances)^[7]
• Hakan Şükür - unattached (last played for Parma), 4 December, free^[8]
• Vratislav Greško - Parma, 11 February, four-month loan^[9]

Out

• Mark Hughes - released, 13 May^[10]
• Simon Grayson - Blackpool, 19 July, free^[11]
• Hakan Ünsal - Galatasaray, 27 August, £650,000^[12]
• Matt Jansen - Coventry City, 18 February, four-month loan^[13]
• Stig Inge Bjørnebye - retired, 11 March^[14]
• Alan Miller - retired, 7 April^[15]
• James Thomas - released

Results

Premier League

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	W	D	L	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	D	D	L	L	W	D	L	W	D	D	W	D	D	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	D	W	D	W
Position	10	9	9	10	15	14	10	9	10	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	10	10	9	10	11	8	10	9	11	12	11	9	8	7	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	6

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland

17 August 2002 1	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Sunderland	Blackburn
		Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 27,122 Referee: David Elleray

Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool

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

Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers

31 August 2002 4	Middlesbrough	1–0	Blackburn Rovers	Middlesbrough
	Job 90'	Report		Stadium: Riverside Stadium

Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea

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

Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers

15 September 2002 6	Manchester City	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	Manchester
15:00	Anelka 80' Goater 90' Tiatto  67'	Report	Thompson 26' Cole 54'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 34,130

Blackburn Rovers v Leeds United

22 September 2002 7	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Leeds United	Blackburn
	Flitcroft 24'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,415 Referee: Graham Poll

West Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers

30 September 2002 8	West Bromwich Albion	0–2	Blackburn Rovers	West Bromwich
		Report	Dwight Yorke 72' (pen.) Damien Duff 76'	Stadium: The Hawthorns

Blackburn Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur

6 October 2002 9	Blackburn Rovers	1–2	Tottenham Hotspur	Blackburn
	Egil Østenstad 59'	Report	Robbie Keane 6' Jamie Redknapp 89'	Stadium: Ewood Park

Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United

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  4' Shearer 36' (pen.), 48'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 27,307 Referee: Alan Wiley

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers

26 October 2002 (2002-10-26) 11	Arsenal	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	London
15:00 BST	Edu 45' Henry  83'	Report	Edu 6' (o.g.) Østenstad  37' Johansson  45' Yorke 51' Flitcroft  70'  79'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,064 Referee: Graham Barber

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

3 November 2002 12	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Aston Villa	Blackburn
		Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Southampton v Blackburn Rovers

9 November 2002 13	Southampton	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Southampton
	James Beattie 38' (pen.)	Report	Andy Cole 90'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium

Blackburn Rovers v Everton

17 November 2002 14	Blackburn Rovers	0–1	Everton	Blackburn
		Report	Kevin Campbell 19'	Stadium: Ewood Park

Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Fulham

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

Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers

7 December 2002 17	Bolton Wanderers	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Horwich
	Jay-Jay Okocha 8'	Report	Craig Short 90'	Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium

Everton v Blackburn Rovers

14 December 2002 18	Everton	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Walton, Liverpool
	Lee Carsley 12' Wayne Rooney 25'	Report	Andy Cole 6'	Stadium: Goodison Park

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United

22 December 2002 19	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Manchester United	Blackburn
	Garry Flitcroft 40'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers

26 December 2002 20	Liverpool	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Liverpool
	Riise 17'	Report	Cole 77'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,075 Referee: Neale Barry

Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United

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

Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough

1 January 2003 22	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Middlesbrough	Blackburn
	Dwight Yorke 57'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers

11 January 2003 23	Sunderland	0–0	Blackburn Rovers	Sunderland
		Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light

Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City

18 January 2003 24	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Birmingham City	Blackburn
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Duff 19' Todd  28'	Report	John 83'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,331 Referee: Clive Wilkes

West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers

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

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

2 February 2003 26	Aston Villa	3–0	Blackburn Rovers	Aston, Birmingham
	Dion Dublin 2', 40' Gareth Barry 81'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park

Blackburn Rovers v Southampton

8 February 2003 27	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Southampton	Blackburn
	David Thompson 26'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City

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

Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal

15 March 2003 30	Blackburn Rovers	2–0	Arsenal	Blackburn
	Duff 22' Tugay 52'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers

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

Fulham v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Charlton Athletic

12 April 2003 33	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Charlton Athletic	Blackburn
	Damien Duff 34'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers

21 April 2003 35	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Bolton Wanderers	Blackburn
		Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 28,862 Referee: Mike Dean

Leeds United v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v West Bromwich Albion

3 May 2003 37	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	West Bromwich Albion	Blackburn
	Damien Duff 11'	Report	Jason Koumas 54'	Stadium: Ewood Park

Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers

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

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland

25 January 2003 4	Blackburn Rovers	3–3	Sunderland	Blackburn
	Andy Cole 14', 73' Dwight Yorke 90'		Marcus Stewart 2' Michael Proctor 52' Kevin Phillips 70'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 14,315

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers

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 Kevin Kilbane Jody Craddock Gavin McCann		David Thompson Andy Cole Corrado Grabbi

League Cup

Blackburn Rovers v Walsall

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 Corrado Grabbi David Dunn Alan Mahon Marc Richards		Danny Sonner Tony Barras Darren Wrack Darren Bazeley David Zdrilic

Blackburn Rovers v Rotherham United

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

Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers

17 December 2002 5	Wigan Athletic	0–2	Blackburn Rovers	Wigan
			Cole 16', 80'	Stadium: JJB Stadium Attendance: 16,922 Referee: Andy D'Urso

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers

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

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United

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

Blackburn Rovers v CSKA Sofia

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)

CSKA Sofia v Blackburn Rovers

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)

Celtic v Blackburn Rovers

31 October 2002 Round 2 Leg 1	Celtic	1–0	Blackburn Rovers
	Henrik Larsson 85'			Referee: Hermann Albrecht (Germany)

Blackburn Rovers v Celtic

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

  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