1996–97 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Blackburn Rovers
1996–97 season
OwnerJack Walker
ChairmanRobert Coar
ManagerRay Harford (until 25 October)
Tony Parkes (from 25 October)
StadiumEwood Park
Premiership13th
FA CupFourth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Sutton (11)
All: Sutton (12)
Average home league attendance24,947

Season summary

An early exit from the League Cup at the hands of Division Two side Stockport County was the final straw for manager Ray Harford, who stepped down on 25 October with Rovers also bottom of the Premiership with no wins from their opening 11 games.[1] 18 months earlier, they had been league champions. Long-serving coach Tony Parkes was appointed caretaker, remaining in the post until the end of the season, when he handed over the reins to Roy Hodgson after Sampdoria's Sven-Göran Eriksson lied about accepting the manager's job and joined Lazio instead. Parkes steered Blackburn to safety as they finished 13th.

The world record £15 million sale of striker Alan Shearer to Newcastle United was seen as the biggest factor in Blackburn's lowest top flight finish since they returned to the elite in 1992. However, his strike-partner Chris Sutton helped keep the club alive after recovering from a drastic loss of form triggered by a spate of injuries the previous season. The acquisition of Swedish striker Martin Dahlin at the end of the season enhanced Blackburn's attack and gave fans hope for a higher finish next time round.

Final league table
Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Leeds United 38 11 13 14 28 38 −10 46
12 Derby County 38 11 13 14 45 58 −13 46
13 Blackburn Rovers 38 9 15 14 42 43 −1 42
14 West Ham United 38 10 12 16 39 48 −9 42
15 Everton 38 10 12 16 44 57 −13 42
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 9 15 14 42 43  −1 42 8 4 7 28 23  +5 1 11 7 14 20  −6

Source: Statto

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAAHHAHAHAAHHAHAAHAAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHH
ResultLLDLLLDDLDLWDDWDLWDWWDLWDWDDWLLDLDWLDL
Position1619181919202020202020201919181717181817141416131514131212121213141413131313
Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first[2]

Legend
Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League
Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
17 August 1996Tottenham HotspurH0–226,960
21 August 1996Aston VillaA1–032,457
25 August 1996Manchester UnitedA2–254,178Warhurst, Bohinen
4 September 1996Leeds UnitedH0–123,226
9 September 1996Derby CountyH1–219,214Sutton
14 September 1996Newcastle UnitedA1–236,424Sutton
21 September 1996EvertonH1–127,091Donis
28 September 1996Coventry CityA0–017,032
12 October 1996ArsenalH0–224,303
19 October 1996Sheffield WednesdayA1–122,191Bohinen
26 October 1996West HamA1–223,947Berg
3 November 1996LiverpoolH3–029,598Sutton (2), Wilcox
16 November 1996ChelseaH1–127,229Gallacher
25 November 1996Nottingham ForestA2–217,525Gallacher, Wilcox
30 November 1996SouthamptonH2–123,018Sherwood, Sutton
7 December 1996Leicester CityA1–119,306Sutton
14 December 1996WimbledonA0–113,246
26 December 1996Newcastle UnitedH1–030,398Gallacher
28 December 1996Derby CountyA0–017,847
1 January 1997EvertonA2–030,427Sherwood, Sutton
11 January 1997Coventry CityH4–024.055Sutton (2), Gallacher, Donis
18 January 1997SunderlandA0–020,850
29 January 1997Tottenham HotspurA1–222,943Hendry
1 February 1997West Ham UnitedH2–121,994Gallacher, Sutton
22 February 1997LiverpoolA0–040,747
1 March 1997SunderlandH1–024,208Gallacher
5 March 1997ChelseaA1–125,784Pedersen
11 March 1997Nottingham ForestH1–120,485Gallacher
15 March 1997WimbledonH3–123,333Gallacher (3)
19 March 1997MiddlesbroughA1–229,891Sutton
22 March 1997Aston VillaH0–224,274
7 April 1997Leeds UnitedH0–027,264
12 April 1997Manchester UnitedH2–330,476McKinlay, Warhurst
19 April 1997ArsenalA1–138,086Flitcroft
22 April 1997Sheffield WednesdayH4–120,845Berg, Sherwood, Le Saux, Flitcroft
3 May 1997SouthamptonA0–215,247
8 May 1997MiddlesbroughH0–027,411
11 May 1997Leicester CityA2–425,881Flitcroft, Fenton

FA Cup
Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R34 January 1997Port ValeH1–019,891Bohinen
R415 February 1997Coventry CityH1–221,123Sherwood

League Cup
Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg17 September 1996BrentfordA2–18,938Flitcroft, Sutton
R2 2nd Leg24 September 1996BrentfordH2–0 (won 4–1 on agg)9,599Gallacher, Sherwood
R322 October 1996Stockport CountyH0–114,622

Squad
Squad at end of season[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Tim Flowers
2 DF Wales WAL Chris Coleman
3 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Jeff Kenna
4 MF England ENG Tim Sherwood (captain)
5 DF Scotland SCO Colin Hendry
6 DF England ENG Graeme Le Saux
7 MF England ENG Stuart Ripley
8 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Gallacher
9 FW England ENG Chris Sutton
10 MF Norway NOR Lars Bohinen
11 MF England ENG Jason Wilcox
12 DF England ENG Nicky Marker
13 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Shay Given
14 MF England ENG Graham Fenton
15 MF England ENG Matty Holmes
16 FW Denmark DEN Per Pedersen
17 DF Scotland SCO Billy McKinlay
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Sweden SWE Niklas Gudmundsson
19 DF England ENG Adam Reed
20 DF Norway NOR Henning Berg
21 MF Greece GRE Giorgos Donis
23 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft
24 DF England ENG Paul Warhurst
25 DF England ENG Ian Pearce
26 DF England ENG Marlon Broomes
27 DF England ENG Tony Whealing
28 MF England ENG Wayne Gill
29 DF England ENG Steve Hitchen
30 FW England ENG James Beattie
32 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Damien Duff
33 DF Northern Ireland NIR Damien Johnson
34 DF England ENG Gary Croft
35 FW Wales WAL James Thomas

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK England ENG Gareth Stewart
- GK Wales WAL Anthony Williams
No. Pos. Nation Player
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Graham Coughlan
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL David Worrell

Transfers

In

[4]

Out

References
  1. "Latest Blackburn Results, Fixtures & Betting Odds | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
  2. "Blackburn Rovers 1996-1997 Home - statto.com". Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  3. "FootballSquads - Blackburn Rovers - 1996/97". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
  4. "Boom and bust the Blackburn way". BBC News. 13 May 1999.
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