2012–13 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

The 2012–13 season was Blackburn Rovers' 125th season as a professional football club. It was their first season back in the Football League Championship after an 11-year run in the Premier league English football.^[1]

Blackburn Rovers

2012–13 season
Chairman	Venky's
Manager	Steve Kean (resigned) Eric Black (caretaker) Henning Berg (sacked) Gary Bowyer (caretaker) Michael Appleton (sacked) Gary Bowyer (caretaker)
Ground	Ewood Park
Championship	17th
FA Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Jordan Rhodes (27) All: Jordan Rhodes (28)
Highest home attendance	20,735 vs Burnley (League, 17 March 2013)
Lowest home attendance	5,504 vs Bristol City (FA Cup, 5 January 2013)
Average home league attendance	14,998
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

Despite relegation the new season began with the owners backing Steve Kean. There were many signings in the summer, the most notable one being the signing of Jordan Rhodes for £8 million. The fee was a record transfer for a championship team and shattered the previous transfer record.

Summary

Rovers started the season with four wins in the first six games. Their first defeat came in their seventh game against Middlesbrough at Ewood Park. Their performance in that game piled on intense pressure and speculation against Kean.

A week later, after Kean had travelled with the players to the capital on Friday for the game against Charlton, he attended a press conference in the afternoon, but news came at 7pm that he had resigned. Rumours suggested alleged outside interference. He described his position 'untenable' and no longer prepared to carry on as manager.

The sudden and unexpected nature of Kean's departure meant assistant manager Eric Black was the obvious choice for caretaker. Rovers started slowly under the temporary boss waiting four games before the first win. However, Rovers did manage to collect eight points and three clean sheets.

The search for a new manager took the Rovers board an entire month before finally opting for former Rovers defender Henning Berg. The choice of an out-of-work manager and football pundit for Norwegian TV surprised many who were calling for an experienced and a big name manager.

Berg's reign began with disappointment, his debut game against Crystal Palace marked the end of Blackburn's unbeaten away run. His solitary victory came at Peterborough; the same match saw Jordan Rhodes's first hat-trick for Rovers. Rovers were unlucky under Berg, especially against Huddersfield and Burnley when they succumbed to late equalisers. The team began to lack confidence and it showed in their results.

During Berg's ten games in charge Rovers lost six times, dropping from the play-offs spots to 17th place, the poor run of form forced the owners to sack the manager and the coaching staff a day later on Boxing Day.

After the sacking Reserve team coach Gary Bowyer and Youth coach Terry McPhillips took on the reigns and under caretaker management Rovers started brightly, helping Rovers gain a win over Barnsley which ended Rovers six match winless run, while their second win over Nottingham Forest ended an eleven-game run without a clean sheet. Rovers carried on the momentum into the FA cup with a win over Bristol City.

On Wednesday 9 January. Derek Shaw confirmed Rovers's interest in Blackpool manager Michael Appleton despite an announcement a week earlier from global adviser that a move for a new manager would be put on hold till the end of January. Just before Friday evening fixture Rovers named Michael Appleton as the manager. Bowyer's brief spell in charge remained unbeaten as they finished the game against Wolves with a draw.

Appleton took training on the Monday and wasted no time bring in his own staff, choosing Ashley Westwood as the assistant manager and John Keeley as goalkeeping coach. Appleton's tenure started badly with a loss to Charlton which wasn't a good spectacle. Rovers started slowly and the poor atmosphere partly blamed by the presence of the Venky's who had visited Ewood Park to watch the game. Rovers conceded first, but failed to establish control despite pulling a goal back from Jordan Rhodes, Charlton quickly retook the lead and the game finished 2–1 to the away team.

Michael Appleton's second game was much more encouraging, they were destined to win the game until a clumsy foul by substitute David Goodwillie after injury time resulted in a penalty, Brighton duly converted the penalty and snatched an unlikely draw in front of 12,230, lowest crowd at Ewood park in the league. At the third attempt, Rovers managed their first victory under Appleton with a conclusive 3–0 win over Derby County in the 4th round of the FA cup. Appleton's first win at Ewood Park occurred in the following match, 2–0 victory over Bristol City.

Appleton used the January transfer window as an opportunity to trim the squad, at least 10 players were either released or moved out on loan. Rovers missed out on the permanent transfer of DJ Campbell at the last minute, but managed to secure him on a loan agreement, later in February Man City youth defender Karim Rekik and former Rover David Bentley joined the squad. Rovers win over Ipswich saw Jordan Rhodes score for the seventh successive game, a record only achieved by four Rovers players. Rhodes could have extended the run to eight games if it were for the referee not awarding a penalty for a blatant handball by Brighton defender el-Abd.

In the next game Rovers produced one of the shocks of the FA cup with a 1–0 win over Arsenal, they came into the game as clear under-dogs and kept under sustained pressure throughout the game, but forward Kazim Richards strike on 72 minutes put Rovers into the lead, the team fought on to secure a famous victory at the Emirates for the first time.

Rovers experienced their first defeat in 7 outings in the following game against Hull. More defeats followed against Leicester, Peterborough and Bolton, the point they picked up in that period was a scoreless draw to Leeds. Rovers carried on the poor run of results into the FA cup losing out in a replay with Millwall. In the east Lancashire derby against Burnley, Rovers stole a point with a last gasp strike deep into stoppage time scored by David Dunn.

On 19 March 2013 after 67 days in charge of the club Michael Appleton was sacked as manager of the club.^[2][3] following the second sacking of the season Gary Bowyer resumed caretaker manager for the second time.

Rovers winless run extended to 11 games as they were beaten 3–0 at Cardiff before slipping to a 3–2 loss at Sheffield Wednesday. The Hillsborough defeat put Rovers in the Championship's bottom three and left fans with deep fears of a second successive relegation.

Many supporters were then left puzzled as Gary Bowyer was asked to travel to India with Paul Agnew and Derek Shaw to meet the owners ahead of a crucial home game against Derby. But Bowyer returned saying reassurances he had received from the owners would help the squad, and Rovers beat Derby 2–0 before following that up with victory over Huddersfield.

A 4–0 loss at Watford kept them in the mix but then followed a comeback triumph at Millwall that put Rovers five points away from the relegation zone with only two games left to play. A home draw against Crystal Palace then left them effectively safe.

But there remained issues off the field, with internal problems played out in court during Henning Berg's £2.25m claim against the club. Berg won the case, but before that Rovers' own lawyers admitted the club was 'out of control' and 'a shambles'.

They added that Shaw was operating without the authority of the owners and was subject to a disciplinary investigation over Berg's contract. Rovers finished the season in 17th place in the Championship after a 1–1 draw at Birmingham on the final day. Jordan Rhodes netted again but his tally of 29 league goals left him one behind Championship top scorer Glenn Murray, of Crystal Palace.

Rovers finished four points clear of the bottom three, but three points adrift of Burnley. Off the field Derek Shaw and secretary Ian Silvester travelled to India to meet the owners, but Shaw's future remained unclear after the talks. Both returned to England and went back to work as normal.^[4]

Division stats

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
15	Blackpool	46	14	17	15	62	63	−1	59
16	Middlesbrough	46	18	5	23	61	70	−9	59
17	Blackburn Rovers	46	14	16	16	55	62	−7	58
18	Sheffield Wednesday	46	16	10	20	53	61	−8	58
19	Huddersfield Town	46	15	13	18	53	73	−20	58

Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2013. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Split table

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	14	16	16	55	62	−7	58	10	6	7	27	23	+4	4	10	9	28	39	−11

Last updated: 1 January 2013.
Source: BBC Football

Fixtures and results

Pre-season friendlies

Fleetwood Town v Blackburn Rovers

21 July 2012	Fleetwood Town	0 – 2	Blackburn Rovers	Accrington
12:00		Report	Mauro Formica 7' Nuno Gomes 55'	Stadium: Crown Ground

Blackburn Rovers v Accrington Stanley

21 July 2012	Blackburn Rovers	0 – 1	Accrington Stanley	Accrington
15:00		Report	Robinson 68' (o.g.)	Stadium: Crown Ground

Rochdale v Blackburn Rovers

25 July 2012	Rochdale	1 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Rochdale
19:30	Hanley 75' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1375

Blackburn Rovers v AEK Athens

29 July 2012	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 1	AEK Athens	Fleetwood
14:00	Gomes 7' Best 29'	Report	Kourellas 76'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 994

Go Ahead Eagles v Blackburn Rovers

3 August 2012	Go Ahead Eagles	4 – 2	Blackburn Rovers	Deventer
20:00			Goodwillie Pedersen	Stadium: De Adelaarshorst

N.E.C. Nijmegen v Blackburn Rovers

5 August 2012 *	N.E.C. Nijmegen	0 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Nijmegen
14:30				Stadium: Stadion de Goffert Attendance: 0 (BCD)

Cork City v Blackburn Rovers

12 August 2012	Cork City	1 – 3	Blackburn Rovers	Cork
15:00	A. Connel 6'		Kazim-Richards 17', 51' Pedersen 60'	Stadium: Turners Cross

• Pre-season game against N.E.C. on 5 August 2012 at Stadion de Goffert cancelled due to fan unrest.^[5] However behind closed doors training match played ending 0–0.^[6] It has since been confirmed Rovers fans were not involved and had been an issue with Dutch fans.^[7]

Championship

All results are from the BBC's website.

August

Ipswich Town v Blackburn Rovers

18 August 2012 1	Ipswich Town	1 − 1	Blackburn Rovers	Portman Road
15:00	Lowe 83' (o.g.)		Kazim-Richards 21'	Attendance: 19,117

Blackburn Rovers v Hull City

22 August 2012 2	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 0	Hull City	Ewood Park
19:45	Kazim-Richards 77'			Attendance: 13,562

Blackburn Rovers v Leicester City

25 August 2012 3	Blackburn Rovers	2 − 1	Leicester City	Ewood Park
15:00	Nuno Gomes 33' Pedersen 79'		Vardy 55'	Attendance: 13,935

September

Leeds United v Blackburn Rovers

1 September 2012 4	Leeds United	3 − 3	Blackburn Rovers	Elland Road
15:00	Diouf 41' McCormack 56' Becchio 65'		Marcus Olsson 19' Nuno Gomes 27' Rochina 84'	Attendance: 24,411

Bristol City v Blackburn Rovers

15 September 2012 5	Bristol City	3 − 5	Blackburn Rovers	Ashton Gate Stadium
15:00	Adomah 1' Stephen Pearson 69' Baldock 83'		Rhodes 28', 90+5' Nuno Gomes 55' Rochina 81' Dann 90'	Attendance: 14,657

Blackburn Rovers v Barnsley

18 September 2012 6	Blackburn Rovers	2 − 1	Barnsley	Ewood Park
19:45	Rhodes 45' Nuno Gomes 85'		Mellis 32'	Attendance: 12,772

Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough

21 September 2012 7	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 2	Middlesbrough	Ewood Park
19:45	Hanley 89'		Jutkiewicz 7', 61'	Attendance: 13,405

Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers

29 September 2012 8	Charlton Athletic	1 − 1	Blackburn Rovers	The Valley
15:00	Jackson 27'		Etuhu 16'	Attendance: 17,169

October

Nottingham Forest v Blackburn Rovers

3 October 2012 9	Nottingham Forest	0 − 0	Blackburn Rovers	City Ground
19:45				Attendance: 18,748

Blackburn Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers

6 October 2012 10	Blackburn Rovers	0 − 1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Ewood Park
15:00			Sako 78'	Attendance: 17,034

Derby County v Blackburn Rovers

20 October 2012 11	Derby County	1 − 1	Blackburn Rovers	Pride Park Stadium
15:00	Robinson 88'		Rhodes 34'	Attendance: 22,958

Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield Wednesday

24 October 2012 12	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 0	Sheffield Wednesday	Ewood Park
19:45	Hanley 5'			Attendance: 13,782

Blackburn Rovers v Watford

27 October 2012 13	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 0	Watford	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 90+2'			Attendance: 13,233

November

Crystal Palace v Blackburn Rovers

3 November 2012 14	Crystal Palace	2 − 0	Blackburn Rovers	Selhurst Park
15:00	Murray 45+1', 65' (pen.)			Attendance: 16,744

Huddersfield Town v Blackburn Rovers

6 November 2012 15	Huddersfield Town	2 − 2	Blackburn Rovers	John Smith's Stadium
19:45	Novak 15', 90+5'		Rhodes 43' Murphy 55' (pen.)	Attendance: 14,597

Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City

10 November 2012 16	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 1	Birmingham City	Ewood Park
15:00	Rochina 13' (pen.)		King 17'	Attendance: 14,919

Peterborough United v Blackburn Rovers

17 November 2012 17	Peterborough United	1 − 4	Blackburn Rovers	London Road Stadium
17:20	Tomlin 88'		Formica 3' Rhodes 20', 39', 79'	Attendance: 5,997

Blackburn Rovers v Millwall

24 November 2012 18	Blackburn Rovers	0 − 2	Millwall	Ewood Park
15:00			Wood 71' Henry 90'	Attendance: 13,898

Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers

28 November 2012 19	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 2	Bolton Wanderers	Ewood Park
19:45	Rhodes 82'		Davies 2' Lee 82'	Attendance: 18,010

December

Burnley v Blackburn Rovers

2 December 2012 20	Burnley	1 − 1	Blackburn Rovers	Turf Moor
12:30	Vokes 89'		Rhodes 68'	Attendance: 21,341

Blackburn Rovers v Cardiff City

7 December 2012 21	Blackburn Rovers	1 − 4	Cardiff City	Ewood Park
19:45	King 51'		Hudson 30' Bellamy 55' Mason 84' Kim 85'	Attendance: 12,460

Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers

15 December 2012 22	Blackpool	2 − 0	Blackburn Rovers	Bloomfield Road
15:00	Thomas 22' Broadfoot 81'			Attendance: 15,907

Blackburn Rovers v Brighton & Hove Albion

22 December 2012	Blackburn Rovers	P – P	Brighton & Hove Albion
match postponed due to waterlogged pitch

Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers

26 December 2012 23	Middlesbrough	1 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Riverside Stadium
15:00	Jutkiewicz 67'			Attendance: 22,882

Barnsley v Blackburn Rovers

29 December 2012 24	Barnsley	1 – 3	Blackburn Rovers	Oakwell Stadium
15:00	Dawson 76'		King 29' Rochina 44' Rhodes 90+8'	Attendance: 9,153

January

Blackburn Rovers v Nottingham Forest

1 January 2013 25	Blackburn Rovers	3 – 0	Nottingham Forest	Ewood Park
15:00	Rochina 48' Rhodes 75' Kazim-Richards 78'			Attendance: 15,490

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers

11 January 2013 26	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	Molineux Stadium
19:45	Johnson 74'		Rhodes 26' (pen.)	Attendance: 20,264

Blackburn Rovers v Charlton Athletic

19 January 2013 27	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 2	Charlton Athletic	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 48'		Stephens 26' Kermorgant 64'	Attendance: 13,674

Blackburn Rovers v Brighton & Hove Albion

22 January 2013 28	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 1	Brighton & Hove Albion	Ewood Park
19:45	Rhodes 45' (pen.)		Lopez 90+7' (pen.)	Attendance: 12,230

Brighton & Hove Albion v Blackburn Rovers

26 January 2013	Brighton & Hove Albion	P – P	Blackburn Rovers
match postponed – fa cup tie vs Derby County

February

Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City

2 February 2013 29	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 0	Bristol City	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 28', 65'			Attendance: 13,539

Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town

9 February 2013 30	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 0	Ipswich Town	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 61'			Attendance: 14,342

Brighton & Hove Albion v Blackburn Rovers

12 February 2013 31	Brighton & Hove Albion	1 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	Amex Stadium
19:45	Vicente 57' (pen.)		Dann 24'	Attendance: 24,759

Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers

16 February 2013	Leicester City	P – P	Blackburn Rovers
match postponed – fa cup tie vs Arsenal

Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

19 February 2013 32	Hull City	2 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	KC Stadium
19:45	Gedo 52' Elmohamady 67'			Attendance: 15,981

Blackburn Rovers v Leeds United

23 February 2013 33	Blackburn Rovers	0 – 0	Leeds United	Ewood Park
15:00				Attendance: 18,467

Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers

26 February 2013 34	Leicester City	3 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	King Power Stadium
19:45	Wood 29' Kane 42' King 90'			Attendance: 19,561

March

Blackburn Rovers v Peterborough United

2 March 2013 35	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 3	Peterborough United	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 73' Jones 90+2'		Gayle 11', 14', 27'	Attendance: 13,192

Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers

5 March 2013 36	Bolton Wanderers	1 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Reebok Stadium
20:00	Eagles 90' (+3)

Millwall v Blackburn Rovers

9 March 2013	Millwall	P – P	Blackburn Rovers
postponed – FA cup Sixth round tie

Blackburn Rovers v Burnley

17 March 2013 37	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 1	Burnley	Ewood Park
12:30	Dunn 90+5'		Shackell 32'	Attendance: 20,735

Blackburn Rovers v Blackpool

29 March 2013 38	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 1	Blackpool	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 79'		MacKenzie 65'	Attendance: 17,764

April

Cardiff City v Blackburn Rovers

1 April 2013 39	Cardiff City	3 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Cardiff City Stadium
15:00	Campbell 40' Mason 86' Whittingham 90+6' (pen.)			Attendance: 24,327

Sheffield Wednesday v Blackburn Rovers

6 April 2013 40	Sheffield Wednesday	3 – 2	Blackburn Rovers	Hillsborough Stadium
15:00	Johnson 20', 78' Lita 35'		Rhodes 12' (pen.) Dann 71'	Attendance: 24,660

Blackburn Rovers v Derby County

13 April 2013 41	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 0	Derby County	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 9' (pen.) Dann 45+3'			Attendance: 13,391

Blackburn Rovers v Huddersfield Town

16 April 2013 42	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 0	Huddersfield Town	Ewood Park
19:45	Rhodes 37'			Attendance: 15,317

Watford v Blackburn Rovers

20 April 2013 43	Watford	4 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	Vicarage Road
15:00	Deeney 52', 61' Abdi 67' Briggs 75'			Attendance: 13,775

Millwall v Blackburn Rovers

23 April 2013 44	Millwall	1 – 2	Blackburn Rovers	The Den
19:45	Osborne 14'		Jones 56' Rhodes 78' (pen.)	Attendance: 8,607 (240 away)

Blackburn Rovers v Crystal Palace

27 April 2013 45	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 1	Crystal Palace	Ewood Park
15:00	Rhodes 42'		Dobbie 28'	Attendance: 19,796

May

Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers

4 May 2013 46	Birmingham City	1 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	St Andrew's
12:45	Morrison 42'		Rhodes 66'	Attendance: 18,979

Match by Match

Round	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	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	D	D	L	D	W	W	L	D	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	W	W	D	L	D	W	W	D	L	D	L	L	L	D	D	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	D
Position	13	4	3	2	1	1	1	4	5	9	10	5	5	6	6	7	6	9	10	9	13	15	17	15	13	12	14	14	13	8	8	10	10	11	12	13	18	15	19	22	20	19	20	15	17	17

Updated to match(es) played on 2 December 2012. Source: Skysports
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Football League Cup

Milton Keynes Dons v Blackburn Rovers

28 August 2012 2nd Round	Milton Keynes Dons	2 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	Stadium mk
19:45	Chadwick 52', 68'	Report	Goodwillie 83'	Attendance: 5,873 Referee: Mick Russell

FA Cup

Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City

5 January 2013 3rd Round	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 0	Bristol City	Ewood Park
15:00	Murphy 7' Hanley 58'	Report		Attendance: 5,504 (450 away)

Derby County v Blackburn Rovers

26 January 2013 4th Round	Derby County	0 – 3	Blackburn Rovers	Pride Park
15:00		Report	Kazim-Richards 44' Dann 66' Rhodes 71'	Attendance: 14,013 (1,287 away)

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers

16 February 2013 5th Round	Arsenal	0 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	Emirates Stadium
15:00		Report	Kazim-Richards 72'	Attendance: 60,070 (1,400 away)

Millwall v Blackburn Rovers

10 March 2013 6th Round	Millwall	0 – 0	Blackburn Rovers	The Den
14:00		Report		Attendance: 14,885 (1,744 away)

Blackburn Rovers v Millwall

13 March 2013 6th Round (Replay)	Blackburn Rovers	0 – 1	Millwall	Ewood Park
19:30		Report	Shittu 42'	Attendance: 8,635 (574 away)

Club

Technical staff Position Staff Caretaker Manager Gary Bowyer Caretaker Assistant Manager Terry McPhillips Caretaker Reserves Manager Colin Hendry[8] Goalkeeping Coach John Keeley Youth Coach David Lowe Last updated: March 2013 Source: [9]

Medical staff Position Staff Doctor Duncan Robertson Strength and conditioning coach Chris Neville Youth team Doctor Chris Dalton Physiotherapist Dave Fevre Paul Kelly Mark Palmer Last updated: October 2011 Source: [9]

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 4 May 2013
52 games ~ 46 League games + 5 FA cup games + 1 League cup game

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Paul Robinson	21	0	21	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	ENG	Bradley Orr	22	0	18+1	0	1+1	0	1	0
4	DF	POR	Nuno Henrique	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	SWE	Martin Olsson	33	0	27+2	0	4	0	0	0
5	DF	FRA	Gaël Givet	16	0	15+1	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF	ENG	Jason Lowe	42	0	31+5	0	5	0	0+1	0
7	MF	POR	Fabio Nunes	7	0	2+4	0	0	0	1	0
8	MF	ENG	David Dunn	18	1	9+6	1	1+2	0	0	0
9	FW	IRL	Leon Best	8	0	4+2	0	2	0	0	0
10	MF	ARG	Mauro Formica (on loan at Palermo)	16	1	12+3	1	0	0	0+1	0
11	FW	SCO	Jordan Rhodes	47	28	41+1	27	5	1	0	0
12	MF	NOR	Morten Gamst Pedersen	33	1	17+11	1	4+1	0	0	0
13	MF	ENG	Danny Murphy	35	2	31+2	1	2	1	0	0
14	MF	SWE	Marcus Olsson	28	1	19+4	1	4	0	1	0
15	FW	NOR	Joshua King	19	2	11+5	2	2+1	0	0	0
16	DF	ENG	Scott Dann	52	5	46	4	5	1	1	0
17	MF	ENG	Lee Williamson	10	0	9	0	1	0	0	0
17	MF	POR	Paulo Jorge (on loan at Beroe)	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
18	MF	NGA	Dickson Etuhu	21	1	19+1	1	0	0	1	0
19	DF	ENG	Todd Kane (on loan from Chelsea)	14	0	13+1	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	POR	Edinho Júnior (on loan at Shillong Lajong)	2	0	1+0	0	0	0	1	0
21	FW	POR	Nuno Gomes	20	4	8+10	4	0+2	0	0	0
22	FW	ENG	Anton Forrester	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
23	DF	NED	Karim Rekik (on loan from Manchester City)	5	0	4+1	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	ESP	Rubén Rochina (on loan at Real Zaragoza)	22	5	11+8	5	1+1	0	1	0
24	DF	ENG	Josh Morris	10	0	7+3	0	0	0	0	0
25	FW	SCO	David Goodwillie	10	1	2+6	0	0+1	0	0+1	1
26	MF	ENG	Raheem Hanley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF	WAL	Adam Henley	17	0	13+2	0	2	0	0	0
29	GK	POL	Grzegorz Sandomierski (on loan from Racing Genk)	8	0	7+1	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK	AUS	Sebastian Usai	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF	SCO	Grant Hanley	44	3	35+4	2	4	1	1	0
32	MF	ENG	Cameron Stewart (on loan from Hull City)	7	0	3+4	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	BRA	Bruno Ribeiro (on loan at Clube Atlético Linense)	5	0	4+1	0	0	0	0	0
34	GK	ENG	Jake Kean	24	0	18	0	5	0	1	0
35	MF	ENG	David Bentley (on loan from Tottenham)	7	0	4+1	0	1+1	0	0	0
36	MF	ENG	David Jones (on loan from Wigan)	12	2	11+1	2	0	0	0	0
37	MF	ENG	Robbie Cotton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	MF	POR	Diogo Rosado (on loan at Benfica)	3	0	1+1	0	0	0	1	0
39	FW	TUR	Colin Kazim-Richards (on loan from Galatasaray)	31	5	22+6	3	3	2	0	0
40	MF	ESP	Hugo Fernadez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	FW	NZL	Tim Payne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	DF	ENG	Kellen Daly	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	DF	ENG	Ryan Edwards (on loan at Fleetwood Town)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	MF	IRL	John O'Sullivan	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Players that played for Blackburn Rovers this season that have left the club:
10	FW	ENG	DJ Campbell (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)	7	0	5+2	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	MNE	Simon Vukčević	11	0	4+5	0	0+1	0	1	0

Assists

As of 16 August 2014^[10]

Rank	No.	Pos.	Name	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	12	MF	Morten Gamst Pedersen	7	0	0	7
2	16	DF	Scott Dann	3	1	0	4
2	11	FW	Jordan Rhodes	4	0	0	4
4	7	MF	Fabio Nunes	2	0	1	3
4	13	MF	Danny Murphy	2	1	0	3
4	39	FW	Colin Kazim-Richards	3	0	0	3
4	6	MF	Jason Lowe	2	1	0	3
4	23	FW	Rubén Rochina	3	0	0	3
9	8	MF	David Dunn	2	0	0	2
9	10	MF	Mauro Formica	2	0	0	2
9	15	FW	Joshua King	2	0	0	2
9	3	DF	Martin Olsson	1	1	0	2
9	21	FW	Nuno Gomes	2	0	0	2
9	14	MF	Marcus Olsson	1	1	0	2
15	27	DF	Adam Henley	1	0	0	1
15	36	MF	David Jones	1	0	0	1
15	18	MF	Dickson Etuhu	1	0	0	1
15	19	DF	Todd Kane	1	0	0	1
15	31	DF	Grant Hanley	1	0	0	1
15	25	FW	David Goodwillie	1	0	0	1
Total				42	5	1	48

Penalties

For (8) Date Penalty Taker Scored Opponent Competition 27 Oct Kazim-Richards No (Hit crossbar) Watford Championship 6 Nov Danny Murphy Yes Huddersfield Town Championship 10 Nov Ruben Rochina Yes Birmingham City Championship 11 Jan Jordan Rhodes Yes Wolves Championship 22 Jan Jordan Rhodes Yes Brighton Championship 6 Apr Jordan Rhodes Yes Sheffield Wednesday Championship 13 Apr Jordan Rhodes Yes Derby County Championship 23 Apr Jordan Rhodes Yes Millwall Championship

Against (7) Date Penalty Taker Scored Opponent Competition 29 Sep Johnnie Jackson No (Saved) Charlton Athletic Championship 3 Nov Glenn Murray Yes Crystal Palace Championship 3 Nov Glenn Murray No (Saved) Crystal Palace Championship 22 Jan David López Yes Brighton Championship 12 Feb Vicenté Yes Brighton Championship 1 Apr Peter Whittingham Yes Cardiff City Championship 6 Apr Leroy Lita Yes Sheffield Wednesday Championship

Managerial changes

Manager	Appointed	Matches	Departure	Date of vacancy	Position
Steve Kean		1-7	Resigned	28 September 2012	3rd
Eric Black	29 September 2012	8-13	Replaced	3 November 2012	5th
Henning Berg	3 November 2012	14-23	Sacked	27 December 2012	17th
Gary Bowyer	28 December 2012	24-26	Replaced	12 January 2013	12th
Michael Appleton	12 January 2013	27-37	Sacked	19 March 2013	18th
Gary Bowyer	20 March 2013	38-46

Transfers

Summer

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee	Source
25 June 2012	MF	Danny Murphy	Fulham	Free	[11]
2 July 2012	FW	Leon Best	Newcastle United	£3,000,000	[12]
3 July 2012	FW	Nuno Gomes	Braga	Free	[13]
4 July 2012	MF	Fabio Nunes	Portimonense	Undisclosed	[14]
23 July 2012	MF	Paulo Jorge	Porto B	Undisclosed	[15]
23 July 2012	FW	Edinho Júnior	Olhanense	Nominal fee	[15]
3 August 2012	MF	Dickson Etuhu	Fulham	£1,500,000[16]	[17]
29 August 2012	FW	Jordan Rhodes	Huddersfield Town	£8,000,000	[18]
31 August 2012	MF	Diogo Rosado	Sporting Lisbon	Free	[19]
31 August 2012	DF	Nuno Henrique	Académica	Nominal fee	[19]

• Total spent ~ £12,500,000 + Undisclosed fees

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee	Source
28 June 2012	FW	Yakubu	Guangzhou R&F	£1,000,000	[20][21]
27 June 2012	FW	Junior Hoilett	Queens Park Rangers	Bosman (Undisclosed compensation; est ~£4,000,000)	[22]
31 June 2012	DF	Míchel Salgado	Released	Retired
31 June 2012	MF	Vince Grella	Melbourne Heart	Free
31 June 2012	FW	Zac Aley	Warrington Town	Free
31 June 2012	DF	Jamie Maclaren	Released	End of contract
31 June 2012	MF	Hérold Goulon	Released	End of contract
30 July 2012	DF	Matty Pearson	Rochdale	Free	[23]
31 July 2012	DF	Jackson Ramm	Colchester United	Free	[24]
10 August 2012	FW	Nick Blackman	Sheffield United	Undisclosed	[25]
22 August 2012	MF	Radosav Petrović	Gençlerbirliği	Undisclosed	[26]
29 August 2012	GK	Mark Bunn	Norwich City	Undisclosed	[27]
31 August 2012	MF	Steven Nzonzi	Stoke City	£3,000,000 (up to ~£4,000,000 with add-ons)[28]	[29]

• Total sold ~ £9,000,000 + Undisclosed fees

Loan in

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Loan length	Source
10 August 2012	FW	Colin Kazim-Richards	Galatasaray	Season-long loan	[30]
31 August 2012	GK	Grzegorz Sandomierski	Genk	Season-long loan	[31]
21 November 2012	FW	Joshua King	Manchester United	1 Month loan	[32]

Loan out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Loan length	Source
2 July 2012	DF	Ryan Edwards	Rochdale	6-month loan	[33]
8 August 2012	FW	Jordan Slew	Oldham Athletic	6-month loan	[34]
14 August 2012	DF	Myles Anderson	Aldershot Town	1-month loan	[35]
15 August 2012	DF	Anthony O'Connor	Burton Albion	1-month loan	[36]
31 August 2012	FW	David Goodwillie	Crystal Palace	4 and a half month loan	[37]
27 September 2012	FW	Micah Evans	Chesterfield	3-month loan	[38]
25 October 2012	DF	Josh Morris	Rotherham United	1-month loan	[39]
26 October 2012	FW	Osayamen Osawe	Accrington Stanley	1-month loan	[40]
9 November 2012	GK	Christopher Dilo	Hyde	1-month loan	[41]
14 November 2012	DF	Bradley Orr	Ipswich Town	3-month loan (until 26 January 2013)	[42]
22 November 2012	DF	Jack O'Connell	Rotherham United	1-month loan	[43]

January

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee	Source
2 January 2013	FW	Joshua King	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[44]
30 January 2013	FW	Anton Forrester	Everton	Free transfer	[45]
8 February 2013	MF	Lee Williamson	Free agent	Free transfer	[46]

• Total spent ~ Undisclosed fee

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee	Source
4 January 2013	DF	Myles Anderson	Exeter City	Free	[47][48]
30 January 2013	MF	Amine Linganzi	Released	Contract terminated by mutual consent	[49]
31 January 2013	MF	Simon Vukčević	Released	Contract terminated by mutual consent	[50]

• Total sold ~ £0

Loan in

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Loan length	Source
9 January 2013	DF	Todd Kane	Chelsea	1 month youth loan	[51]

Emergency Loans

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Loan length	Source
8 February 2013	FW	DJ Campbell	Queens Park Rangers	3-month loan	[46]
15 February 2013	MF	David Bentley	Tottenham Hotspur	3-month loan	[52]
15 February 2013	DF	Karim Rekik	Manchester City	3-month loan	[53]
1 March 2013	MF	Cameron Stewart	Hull City	3-month loan	[54]
2 March 2013	MF	David Jones	Wigan	3-month loan	[55]
15 March 2013	DF	Todd Kane	Chelsea	1-month loan	[56]

Loan out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Loan length	Source
6 January 2013	DF	Bruno Ribeiro	Clube Atlético Linense	6-month loan	[57]
12 January 2013	FW	Curtis Haley	Chorley	1-month loan	[58]
14 January 2013	DF	Anthony O'Connor	Burton Albion	6-month loan	[59]
24 January 2013	CM	Mauro Formica	Palermo	6-month loan	[60]
24 January 2013	DF	Jack O'Connell	York City	1-month loan	[61]
30 January 2013	GK	Christopher Dilo	Hyde	1-month loan	[62]
30 January 2013	FW	Osayamen Osawe	Hyde	1-month loan	[62]
31 January 2013	FW	Jordan Slew	Rotherham United	1-month loan	[63]
31 January 2013	MF	Diogo Rosado	Benfica	5-month loan	[64]
31 January 2013	FW	Micah Evans	Macclesfield Town	1-month loan	[65]
31 January 2013	FW	Rubén Rochina	Real Zaragoza	5-month loan	[64]
11 February 2013	MF	Paulo Jorge	Beroe Stara Zagora	4-month loan	[66]
13 February 2013	FW	Edinho Júnior	Shillong Lajong	4-month loan	[67]
21 February 2013	DF	Ryan Edwards	Fleetwood Town	1-month loan	[68]