2005–06 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

Blackburn Rovers
2005–06 season
ChairmanJohn Williams
ManagerMark Hughes
FA Premier League6th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Craig Bellamy (13)
All: Craig Bellamy (17)
Highest home attendance29,142 (vs. Liverpool, 16 April)
Lowest home attendance16,953 (vs. Fulham, 20 August)
Average home league attendance21,015

During the 2005–06 season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

After relegation struggles during the two previous season, Mark Hughes marked his first full season in club management by taking Blackburn to sixth place - four points off Champions League qualification - and reaching his second successive cup semi-final, in the League Cup, only to be knocked out by the eventual cup winners again, Hughes' old club Manchester United. Blackburn had been in mid-table for much of the season before gathering momentum to put real pressure on Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the crucial fourth place, eventually finishing in a UEFA Cup place. Rovers' good form was largely in part down to the good form of Welsh striker Craig Bellamy, a summer signing from Newcastle United, who scored 13 goals in the league. However, Bellamy would then exercise an option to enable him to move for £6 million to a Champions League club, signing for FA Cup winners Liverpool. As his replacement Hughes signed South African striker Benni McCarthy, who had helped fire Porto to the Champions League title two years earlier.

Final league table

Main article: 2005–06 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Arsenal 38 20 7 11 68 31 +37 67 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
5 Tottenham Hotspur 38 18 11 9 53 38 +15 65 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6 Blackburn Rovers 38 19 6 13 51 42 +9 63
7 Newcastle United 38 17 7 14 47 42 +5 58 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
8 Bolton Wanderers 38 15 11 12 49 41 +8 56
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first[1]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Results by matchday

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAH
ResultLWDLDLWWLWLWDLLWLWWWDWWLLWWLWWWDDLLWWW
Position16101011121813111210131212131312121212810889108577756666666
Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
13 August 2005 West Ham United A 1–3 33,305 Todd
20 August 2005 Fulham H 2–1 16,953 Pedersen, Tugay
24 August 2005 Tottenham Hotspur H 0–0 22,375
27 August 2005 Aston Villa A 0–1 31,010
11 September 2005 Bolton Wanderers A 0–0 24,405
18 September 2005 Newcastle United H 0–3 20,725
24 September 2005 Manchester United A 2–1 67,765 Pedersen (2)
1 October 2005 West Bromwich Albion H 2–0 20,721 Kuqi (2)
15 October 2005 Liverpool A 0–1 44,697
22 October 2005 Birmingham City H 2–0 18,341 Dickov (pen), Bellamy
29 October 2005 Chelsea A 2–4 41,553 Bellamy (2, 1 pen)
5 November 2005 Charlton Athletic H 4–1 17,691 Emerton, Dickov, Pedersen, Bellamy
19 November 2005 Manchester City A 0–0 44,032
26 November 2005 Arsenal A 0–3 38,192
3 December 2005 Everton H 0–2 22,064
10 December 2005 West Ham United H 3–2 20,370 Dickov (2, 1 pen), Kuqi
17 December 2005 Fulham A 1–2 20,138 Knight (own goal)
26 December 2005 Middlesbrough A 2–0 29,881 Kuqi (2)
31 December 2005 Wigan Athletic A 3–0 20,639 Pedersen, Reid, Bellamy
2 January 2006 Portsmouth H 2–1 19,521 Pedersen, Dickov
14 January 2006 Bolton Wanderers H 0–0 18,180
21 January 2006 Newcastle United A 1–0 51,323 Pedersen
1 February 2006 Manchester United H 4–3 25,484 Bentley (3), Neill (pen)
4 February 2006 West Bromwich Albion A 0–2 23,993
11 February 2006 Everton A 0–1 35,615
15 February 2006 Sunderland H 2–0 18,220 Bellamy (2)
25 February 2006 Arsenal H 1–0 22,504 Pedersen
5 March 2006 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–3 36,080 Sinama Pongolle, Bellamy
11 March 2006 Aston Villa H 2–0 21,932 Todd, Bellamy
18 March 2006 Middlesbrough H 3–2 18,681 Bellamy (2), Pedersen
25 March 2006 Sunderland A 1–0 29,593 Reid
3 April 2006 Wigan Athletic H 1–1 20,410 Kuqi
8 April 2006 Portsmouth A 2–2 20,048 Bellamy (2)
16 April 2006 Liverpool H 0–1 29,142
19 April 2006 Birmingham City A 1–2 25,287 Savage
29 April 2006 Charlton Athletic A 2–0 26,254 Reid, Powell (own goal)
2 May 2006 Chelsea H 1–0 20,243 Reid
7 May 2006 Manchester City H 2–0 25,731 Khizanishvili, Kuqi

FA Cup

Main article: 2005–06 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 7 January 2006 Queens Park Rangers H 3–0 12,705 Todd, Bellamy (2)
R4 28 January 2006 West Ham United A 2–4 23,700 Bentley, Neill

League Cup

Main article: 2005–06 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 21 September 2005 Huddersfield Town H 3–1 11,755 Bellamy (2), Khizanishvili
R3 25 October 2005 Leeds United H 3–0 15,631 Emerton, Dickov, Neill
R4 30 November 2005 Charlton Athletic A 3–2 14,093 Kuqi, Thompson, Bentley
R5 21 December 2005 Middlesbrough A 1–0 14,710 Dickov
SF 1st Leg 11 January 2006 Manchester United H 1–1 24,348 Pedersen
SF 2nd Leg 25 January 2006 Manchester United A 1–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) 61,637 Reid

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[2]

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 United States USA Brad Friedel
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill
3 DF Georgia (country) GEO Zurab Khizanishvili
4 DF England ENG Andy Todd
6 DF New Zealand NZL Ryan Nelsen (captain)
7 MF Australia AUS Brett Emerton
8 MF Wales WAL Robbie Savage
9 FW Finland FIN Shefki Kuqi[note 1]
10 FW Scotland SCO Paul Dickov
11 FW Wales WAL Craig Bellamy
12 MF Norway NOR Morten Gamst Pedersen
13 GK Finland FIN Peter Enckelman
14 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Steven Reid[note 2]
15 MF South Africa RSA Aaron Mokoena
16 MF Turkey TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu
17 FW France FRA Florent Sinama Pongolle (on loan from Liverpool)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF Slovakia SVK Vratislav Greško
20 FW Scotland SCO Paul Gallagher
21 DF Scotland SCO Dominic Matteo
23 DF Italy ITA Lorenzo Amoruso
24 DF England ENG Jay McEveley[note 3]
25 FW United States USA Jemal Johnson
26 DF England ENG Andy Taylor
27 FW England ENG Matt Derbyshire
28 MF Scotland SCO Gary Harkins
29 FW England ENG David Bentley
30 GK England ENG Richard Lee (on loan from Watford)
31 MF Germany GER Sergio Peter
32 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Eddie Nolan
33 DF England ENG Michael Gray
34 DF Northern Ireland NIR Tony Kane

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
5 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft (to Sheffield United)
17 FW England ENG Matt Jansen (to Bolton Wanderers)
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF England ENG David Thompson (to Wigan Athletic)
22 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jonathan Douglas (on loan to Leeds United)

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 Steven Drench
— DF Scotland SCO Craig Barr

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK United States USA Brad Friedel 46 0 38 0 2 0 6 0
Defenders
2 DF Australia AUS Lucas Neill 42 3 35 1 2 1 5 1
3 DF Georgia (country) GEO Zurab Khizanishvili 32 2 24+2 1 2 0 4 1
4 DF England ENG Andy Todd 28 3 20+2 2 2 1 4 0
6 DF New Zealand NZL Ryan Nelsen 36 0 31 0 0 0 5 0
18 DF Slovakia SVK Vratislav Greško 3 0 1+2 0 0 0 0 0
21 DF Scotland SCO Dominic Matteo 7 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
33 DF England ENG Michael Gray 37 0 30 0 1 0 6 0
Midfielders
7 MF Australia AUS Brett Emerton 37 2 17+13 1 0+1 0 3+3 1
8 MF Wales WAL Robbie Savage 42 1 34 1 2 0 6 0
12 MF Norway NOR Morten Gamst Pedersen 42 10 34 9 1+1 0 5+1 1
14 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Steven Reid 39 5 31+3 4 1 0 2+2 1
15 MF South Africa RSA Aaron Mokoena 26 0 4+18 0 1 0 0+3 0
16 MF Turkey TUR Tugay Kerimoğlu 34 1 23+4 1 1+1 0 5 0
29 MF England ENG David Bentley 35 5 23+6 3 1 1 5 1
31 MF Germany GER Sergio Peter 10 0 1+7 0 1 0 0+1 0
Forwards
9 FW Finland FIN Shefki Kuqi 41 8 15+18 7 1+1 0 4+2 1
10 FW Scotland SCO Paul Dickov 26 7 17+4 5 1 0 3+1 2
11 FW Wales WAL Craig Bellamy 32 17 22+5 13 1 2 3+1 2
17 FW France FRA Florent Sinama Pongolle 10 1 8+2 1 0 0 0 0
20 FW Scotland SCO Paul Gallagher 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
25 FW United States USA Jemal Johnson 4 0 0+3 0 0+1 0 0 0
Players transferred out during the season
5 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft 2 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 0
17 FW England ENG Matt Jansen 5 0 1+3 0 0 0 0+1 0
19 MF England ENG David Thompson 8 1 2+4 0 1 0 0+1 1

Last updated: 19 May 2006
Source: Competitions

Notes

  1. ^ Kuqi was born in Vushtrri, Kosovo (then SFR Yugoslavia).
  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. ^ McEveley was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his full international debut for Scotland in August 2007.

References

  1. ^ "Blackburn Rovers 2005-2006 Results". statto.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013.
  2. ^ "FootballSquads - Blackburn Rovers - 2005/06". www.footballsquads.co.uk.