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 won just four of their first 14 league games, a run which also included seven draws and three defeats. However, they 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
Results summary
Results by round
Results Blackburn Rovers' score comes first
Legend WinDrawLoss
FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 18 August 2001 Derby CountyA1–228,236Blake 22 August 2001 Manchester UnitedH2–229,836Beckham (o.g.), 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 (o.g.), Tugay, Jansen, Hignett 20 October 2001 ArsenalA3–338,108Van Bronckhorst (o.g.), 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
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR35 January 2002 BarnsleyA1–112,314HignettR3R16 January 2002 BarnsleyH3–110,203Grabbi, Dunn (pen.), JohanssonR426 January 2002 MillwallA1–015,004ColeR516 February 2002 MiddlesbroughA0–120,921
League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR212 September 2001 Oldham AthleticH2–09,559Jansen, DunningR310 October 2001 MiddlesbroughH2–1 9,536Hignett, ShortR428 November 2001 Manchester CityH2–017,907Johansson, JohnsonR511 December 2001 ArsenalH4–013,278Jansen (3), HughesSF First Leg 8 January 2002 Sheffield WednesdayA2–130,883Hignett, ColeSF Second Leg 22 January 2002 Sheffield WednesdayH4–2 (won 6–3 on agg)26,844Jansen, Duff, Cole, HignettF24 February 2002 Tottenham HotspurN2–172,500Jansen, Cole
First-team squad Squad at end of season
Left club during season
Reserve squad
Transfers
In +DateNationPositionNameClub FromFeeReference11 May 2001DFGordon GreerClyde£250k17 May 2001MFTugay KerimoğluRangers£1.3 million18 June 2001FWCorrado GrabbiTernana£7 million29 June 2001MFAlan MahonSporting CP£1.5 million7 September 2001DFLucas NeillMillwall£600k5 October 2001DFNils-Eric JohanssonNurenburgUndisclosed29 December 2001FWAndy ColeManchester United£7.6 million21 February 2002DFHakan ÜnsalGalatasarayUndisclosed
Out DateNationPositionNameClub ToFeeReference13 September 2001FWNathan BlakeWolverhampton Wanderers£1.5 million19 October 2001MFJason McAteerSunderlandUndisclosed23 November 2001FWMarcus BentIpswich TownUndisclosed12 December 2001DFMarlon BroomesSheffield WednesdayFree Transfer14 December 2001GKJohn FilanWigan Athletic£600k1 February 2002DFJeff KennaBirmingham CityFree transfer8 March 2002MFDamien JohnsonBirmingham CityUndisclosed
Loans In DateNationPositionNameClub FromLengthReference20 February 2002FWYordiReal ZaragozaUntil end of season
Loans Out DateNationPositionNameClub ToLengthReference4 September 2001DFSimon GraysonNotts CountyOne Month6 September 2001DFMarlon BroomesGrimsby TownOne Month10 October 2001GKAlan MillerSt JohnstoneThree Months13 February 2002DFSimon GraysonBradford CityOne Month
Statistics Appearances and goals
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Left club during season
Top scorers
Premier League Matt Jansen 10 Andy Cole 9 Damien Duff 7 David Dunn 7 Craig Hignett 4
Football League Cup Final line-up
GK 1 Brad FriedelRB 28 Martin TaylorCB 4 Henning Berg (c)CB 14 Nils-Eric JohanssonLB 5 Stig Inge BjørnebyeRM 18 Keith Gillespie CM 8 David DunnCM 12 Mark HughesLM 11 Damien DuffCF 10 Matt Jansen CF 9 Andy ColeSubstitutes:GK 27 Alan MillerDF 2 John CurtisMF 15 Craig Hignett MF 16 Alan MahonFW 17 Yordi Manager: Graeme Souness |valign="top"|
GK 1 Neil SullivanRB 18 Ben ThatcherCB 6 Chris PerryCB 26 Ledley KingLB 3 Mauricio Taricco RM 7 Darren AndertonCM 8 Tim Sherwood CM 14 Gustavo Poyet LM 23 Christian Ziege CF 10 Teddy Sheringham (c)CF 9 Les FerdinandSubstitutes:GK 13 Kasey KellerDF 30 Anthony GardnerMF 29 Simon Davies FW 11 Serhii RebrovFW 16 Steffen Iversen Manager: Glenn Hoddle
Notes
References