2007–08 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

Blackburn Rovers F.C. finished in the top half of the Premier League for the third successive season, this time ending up in 7th place, ultimately not enough for European qualification. Manager Mark Hughes departed for Manchester City at the end of the season, while successful winger David Bentley was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee. Striker Roque Santa Cruz, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, had the season of his life, scoring 19 league goals, making up for Benni McCarthy's loss of form. Despite interest for richer clubs, Santa Cruz stayed on for another season.

Blackburn Rovers

2007–08 season
Manager	Mark Hughes
Premier League	7th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fifth round
Top goalscorer	League: Roque Santa Cruz (19) All: Roque Santa Cruz (23)
Highest home attendance	30,316 (vs. Manchester United, 19 April)
Lowest home attendance	19,316 (vs. Birmingham City, 7 October)
Average home league attendance	23,916
← 2006–07 2008–09 →

Final league table

Main article: 2007–08 Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Everton	38	19	8	11	55	33	+22	65	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6	Aston Villa	38	16	12	10	71	51	+20	60	Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
7	Blackburn Rovers	38	15	13	10	50	48	+2	58
8	Portsmouth	38	16	9	13	48	40	+8	57	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
9	Manchester City	38	15	10	13	45	53	−8	55	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round[b]

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition
Notes:

1. As FA Cup winners
2. Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[1]

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  NED André Ooijer 3 DF  ENG Stephen Warnock 4 DF  CGO Christopher Samba[note 1] 5 MF  TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu 6 DF  NZL Ryan Nelsen (captain) 7 MF  AUS Brett Emerton 8 MF  SUI Johann Vogel 9 FW  PAR Roque Santa Cruz 10 FW  RSA Benni McCarthy 11 FW  ENG David Bentley

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 MF  NOR Morten Gamst Pedersen 13 DF  GEO Zurab Khizanishvili 14 MF  IRL Steven Reid[note 2] 15 MF  RSA Aaron Mokoena 17 FW  NED Maceo Rigters 19 MF  ENG David Dunn 20 DF  SUI Bruno Berner 22 MF  IRL Keith Treacy 27 FW  ENG Matt Derbyshire 29 DF  SWE Martin Olsson 30 FW  GRN Jason Roberts[note 3]

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 8 MF  WAL Robbie Savage (to Derby County)

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 DF  ENG Andy Taylor (to Tranmere Rovers)

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 16 DF  SUI Stéphane Henchoz 18 FW  SCO Paul Gallagher 21 MF  GER Sergio Peter 26 DF  IRL Eddie Nolan 28 DF  NIR Tony Kane[note 4] 31 GK  FIN Peter Enckelman 32 GK  WAL Jason Brown[note 5] 33 GK  ENG Frank Fielding

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 GK  FRO Gunnar Nielsen 35 DF  ENG Dean Winnard 36 MF  ENG Josh O'Keefe[note 6] 37 MF  AUS Rostyn Griffiths[note 7] 38 FW  ENG Jamie Clarke 44 FW  ITA Raffaele De Vita 45 MF  SCO Bryan Hodge

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		UEFA Intertoto Cup		UEFA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	USA	Brad Friedel	48	0	38	0	1	0	3	0	2	0	4	0
Defenders
2	DF	NED	André Ooijer	34	0	23+4	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	4	0
3	DF	ENG	Stephen Warnock	45	2	37	1	0	0	1+1	0	2	0	4	1
4	DF	CGO	Christopher Samba	41	3	33	2	1	0	3	0	2	1	2	0
6	DF	NZL	Ryan Nelsen	30	0	22	0	0+1	0	2	0	2	0	3	0
7	DF	AUS	Brett Emerton	40	1	31+2	1	1	0	1+1	0	0	0	3+1	0
13	DF	GEO	Zurab Khizanishvili	17	0	10+3	0	1	0	1+1	0	0	0	0+1	0
20	DF	SUI	Bruno Berner	4	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF	SWE	Martin Olsson	4	0	0+2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
Midfielders
5	MF	TUR	Tugay Kerimoğlu	27	2	12+8	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	2+2	0
8	MF	SUI	Johann Vogel	6	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	MF	ENG	David Bentley	47	9	37	6	1	1	3	1	2	0	4	1
12	MF	NOR	Morten Gamst Pedersen	46	6	32+5	4	0+1	0	2	1	2	1	3+1	0
14	MF	IRL	Steven Reid	25	0	20+4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
15	MF	RSA	Aaron Mokoena	26	0	8+10	0	1	0	2+1	0	1+1	0	2	0
19	MF	ENG	David Dunn	38	1	25+6	1	0	0	3	0	0+1	0	3	0
22	MF	IRL	Keith Treacy	2	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW	PAR	Roque Santa Cruz	43	23	36+1	19	0	0	2+1	3	0	0	3	1
10	FW	RSA	Benni McCarthy	38	11	21+10	8	1	0	1+1	1	2	2	1+1	0
17	FW	NED	Maceo Rigters	7	0	0+2	0	1	0	0+1	0	0+2	0	1	0
27	FW	ENG	Matt Derbyshire	33	6	4+19	3	0+1	0	2+1	1	0+2	1	1+3	1
30	FW	GRN	Jason Roberts	31	5	11+15	3	0	0	1	0	2	1	2	1
Players transferred out during the season
8	MF	WAL	Robbie Savage	18	0	10+2	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	2+1	0

Last updated: 31 June 2008
Source: Competitions

Results

Pre-season

Wrexham v Blackburn Rovers

10 July 2007	Wrexham	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Arminia Bielefeld v Blackburn Rovers

15 July 2007	Arminia Bielefeld	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld

Huddersfield Town v Blackburn Rovers

1 August 2007	Huddersfield Town	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield

Preston North End v Blackburn Rovers

4 August 2007	Preston North End	0–3	Blackburn Rovers	Deepdale, Preston

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	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	D	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	L	D	L	W	L	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	D	D	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	D	L	D	W	W	L
Position	5	11	11	9	10	11	10	9	8	6	7	8	9	9	8	9	9	10	9	9	9	8	9	8	8	9	9	7	8	9	8	7	8	9	9	8	7	7

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

Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers

11 August 2007 1	Middlesbrough	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
15:00	Downing 31'	Report	Santa Cruz 63' Derbyshire 79'	Attendance: 25,058 Referee: Andre Marriner

Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal

19 August 2007 2	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Arsenal	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Dunn 72'	Report	van Persie 18'	Attendance: 24,917 Referee: Alan Wiley

Everton v Blackburn Rovers

25 August 2007 3	Everton	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Goodison Park, Liverpool
17:15	McFadden 74'		Santa Cruz 15'

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City

2 September 2007 4	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Manchester City	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	McCarthy 16'	Report		Attendance: 26,881 Referee: Mike Dean

Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers

15 September 2007 5	Chelsea	0–0	Blackburn Rovers	Stamford Bridge, London
17:15	J. Cole  74' Belletti  75'		Warnock  82' Savage  84'

Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth

23 September 2007 6	Blackburn Rovers	0–1	Portsmouth	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00			Kanu 25'

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers

29 September 2007 7	Sunderland	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Stadium of Light, Sunderland
15:00	Leadbitter 90'		Bentley 53' Santa Cruz 55'

Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City

7 October 2007 8	Blackburn Rovers	2–1	Birmingham City	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Bentley 15' McCarthy 56' (pen.)		Jerome 68'

Blackburn Rovers v Reading

20 October 2007 9	Blackburn Rovers	4–2	Reading	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	McCarthy 18', 82' (pen.) Santa Cruz 22' Tugay 32'		Doyle 80' 90'

Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers

28 October 2007 10	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	White Hart Lane, London
15:00	Keane 49' (pen.)		McCarthy 60' Samba 90'

Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool

3 November 2007 11	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Liverpool	Ewood Park, Blackburn
17:15		Report		Attendance: 30,033 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers

11 November 2007 12	Manchester United	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	Old Trafford, Manchester
15:00	Ronaldo 34', 35'	Report		Attendance: 75,710 Referee: Alan Wiley

Fulham v Blackburn Rovers

25 November 2007 13	Fulham	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	Craven Cottage, London
15:00	Murphy 51' (pen.) Kamara 63'		Emerton 57' Warnock 79'

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

28 November 2007 14	Blackburn Rovers	0–4	Aston Villa	Ewood Park, Blackburn
20:00			Carew 29' Barry 53' (pen.) Young 81' Harewood 89'

Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United

1 December 2007 15	Blackburn Rovers	3–1	Newcastle United	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Bentley 54', 67' Tugay 90'		Martins 47'

Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United

9 December 2007 16	Blackburn Rovers	0–1	West Ham United	Ewood Park, Blackburn
16:00			Ashton 52'

Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers

15 December 2007 17	Wigan Athletic	5–3	Blackburn Rovers	DW Stadium, Wigan
15:00	Landzaat 10' Bent 12', 66', 81' Scharner 37'	Report	Santa Cruz 45', 50', 61'	Attendance: 16,489 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea

23 December 2007 18	Blackburn Rovers	0–1	Chelsea	Ewood Park, Blackburn
16:10			J. Cole 22'

Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers

27 December 2007 19	Manchester City	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
19:45	Vassell 27' Ryan Nelsen 30' (o.g.)		Santa Cruz 28', 84'

Derby County v Blackburn Rovers

30 December 2007 20	Derby County	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Pride Park Stadium, Derby
13:30	Oakley 27' Lewis  38'		Nelsen  32' Santa Cruz 39' Bentley 42' Mokoena  51' Warnock  62'	Attendance: 30,048 Referee: Peter Walton

Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland

2 January 2008 21	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Sunderland	Ewood Park, Blackburn
20:00	McCarthy 57' (pen.)

Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers

13 January 2008 22	Bolton Wanderers	1–2	Blackburn Rovers	Reebok Stadium, Horwich
16:00	Nolan 43'		Samba 53' Roberts 90'

Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough

19 January 2008 23	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Middlesbrough	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Derbyshire 75'		Wheater 13'

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

26 January 2008 24	Aston Villa	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Villa Park, Birmingham
15:00	Young 73'		Santa Cruz 68'

Blackburn Rovers v Everton

2 February 2008 25	Blackburn Rovers	0–0	Everton	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers

11 February 2008 26	Arsenal	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	Emirates Stadium, London
20:00	Senderos 4' Adebayor 90'

Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers

24 February 2008 27	Blackburn Rovers	4–1	Bolton Wanderers	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	McCarthy 25' (pen.), 67' (pen.) Bentley 71' Pedersen 90'		Davies 50'

Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers

1 March 2008 28	Newcastle United	0–1	Blackburn Rovers	St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
15:00			Derbyshire 90'

Blackburn Rovers v Fulham

8 March 2008 29	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Fulham	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Pedersen 59'		Bullard 89'

West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers

15 March 2008 30	West Ham United	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Upton Park, London
15:00	Ashton 39' Sears 81'		Santa Cruz 19'

Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic

22 March 2008 31	Blackburn Rovers	3–1	Wigan Athletic	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Santa Cruz 12', 63' Roberts 45'		King 17' (pen.)

Reading v Blackburn Rovers

29 March 2008 32	Reading	0–0	Blackburn Rovers	Madejski Stadium, Reading
15:00

Blackburn Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur

5 April 2008 33	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Pedersen 30'		Berbatov 7'

Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers

13 April 2008 34	Liverpool	3–1	Blackburn Rovers	Anfield, Liverpool
13:30	Gerrard 62' Torres 80' Voronin 90'		Santa Cruz 90'

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United

19 April 2008 35	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Manchester United	Ewood Park, Blackburn
17:15	Santa Cruz 21'		Tevez 88'

Portsmouth v Blackburn Rovers

27 April 2008 36	Portsmouth	0–1	Blackburn Rovers	Fratton Park, Portsmouth
13:30			Santa Cruz 74'

Blackburn Rovers v Derby County

3 May 2008 37	Blackburn Rovers	3–1	Derby County	Ewood Park, Blackburn
15:00	Santa Cruz 45', 77' Roberts 47'		Miller 19'

Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers

11 May 2008 38	Birmingham City	4–1	Blackburn Rovers	St Andrew's, Birmingham
15:00	Murphy 31' Jerome 73', 89' Muamba 90'		Pedersen 49'

League Cup

Blackburn v Birmingham

26 September 2007, 20:00 Round 3	Blackburn	3 – 0	Birmingham	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Bentley 66' Derbyshire 82' (pen.) Santa Cruz 90'			Attendance: 9,205

Portsmouth v Blackburn

31 October 2007, 19:45 Round 4	Portsmouth	1 – 2	Blackburn	Fratton Park, Portsmouth
	Kanu 90'		McCarthy 11' Pedersen 77'	Attendance: 11,788

Blackburn v Arsenal

18 December 2007, 20:00 Round 5	Blackburn	2 – 3 (a.e.t.)	Arsenal	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Santa Cruz 42', 60'		Diaby 6' Eduardo 29', 104'	Attendance: 16,207

FA Cup

Blackburn v Coventry

5 January 2008, 15:00 Round 3	Blackburn	1 – 4	Coventry	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Bentley 85'		Mifsud 34', 90' Ward 64' (pen.) Adebloa 83'	Attendance: 14,421

UEFA Intertoto Cup

FK Vetra v Blackburn

22 July 2007, 19:00 Round 3, Leg 1	FK Vetra	0 – 2	Blackburn	Vetra Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania
			McCarthy 29' Derbyshire 80'	Attendance: 5,200 (112 away) Referee: Tony Asumaa (Finland)

Blackburn v FK Vetra

28 July 2007, 15:00 Round 3, Leg 2	Blackburn	4 – 0	FK Vetra	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Pedersen 25' Roberts 48' McCarthy 54' Samba 55'			Attendance: 11,854 Referee: Michael Weiner (Germany)

UEFA Cup

MyPa-47 v Blackburn

16 August 2007, 19:45 Qualifying round 2, Leg 1	MyPa-47	0 – 1	Blackburn	Kymenlaakson Sähkö, Kouvola, Finland
			Santa Cruz 6'	Attendance: 2,012 (93 away) Referee: Olivier Thual (France)

Blackburn v MyPa-47

30 August 2007, 20:05 Qualifying round 2, Leg 2	Blackburn	2 – 0	MyPa-47	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Bentley 48' Roberts 90'			Attendance: 13,490 Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Larissa v Blackburn

20 September 2007, 17:00 Round 1, Leg 1	Larissa	2 – 0	Blackburn	Alcazar Stadium, Larissa, Greece
	Bakayoko 33' Cleyton 35'			Attendance: 8,126 Referee: Peter Sippel (Germany)

Blackburn v Larissa

4 October 2007, 20:00 Round 1, Leg 2	Blackburn	2 – 1	Larissa	Ewood Park, Blackburn
	Derbyshire 45' (pen.) Warnock 51'		Cleyton 17'	Attendance: 20,741 (1,200 away) Referee: Claudio Circhetta (Switzerland)

Notes

1. Samba was born in Créteil, France, but also qualified to represent the Republic of the Congo internationally and made his international debut for the Congo in 2004.
2. Reid was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his father, and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2001.
3. Roberts was born in Park Royal, London, England, but also qualified to represent Grenada internationally through his father, and made his international debut for Grenada in 1999.
4. Kane was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and has represented Northern Ireland at youth level, but later chose to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally at level. He would however later switch allegiances back and was called up to the Northern Ireland squad in November 2007.
5. Brown was born in Southwark, London, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally, and made his full international debut for Wales in May 2006.
6. O'Keefe was born in Whalley, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally, and would represent them at level.
7. Griffiths was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, but also qualified to represent Australia internationally, and has represented them at youth level.