# 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).

## 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. 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

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Statto

### Results by round

| 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 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | L | L | D | L | L | L | D | D | L | D | L | W | D | D | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | D | L |
| Position | 16 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |

## Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | 26,960 | |
| 21 August 1996 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 32,457 | |
| 25 August 1996 | Manchester United | A | 2–2 | 54,178 | Warhurst, Bohinen |
| 4 September 1996 | Leeds United | H | 0–1 | 23,226 | |
| 9 September 1996 | Derby County | H | 1–2 | 19,214 | Sutton |
| 14 September 1996 | Newcastle United | A | 1–2 | 36,424 | Sutton |
| 21 September 1996 | Everton | H | 1–1 | 27,091 | Donis |
| 28 September 1996 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 17,032 | |
| 12 October 1996 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | 24,303 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 22,191 | Bohinen |
| 26 October 1996 | West Ham | A | 1–2 | 23,947 | Berg |
| 3 November 1996 | Liverpool | H | 3–0 | 29,598 | Sutton (2), Wilcox |
| 16 November 1996 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | 27,229 | Gallacher |
| 25 November 1996 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–2 | 17,525 | Gallacher, Wilcox |
| 30 November 1996 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | 23,018 | Sherwood, Sutton |
| 7 December 1996 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 19,306 | Sutton |
| 14 December 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 13,246 | |
| 26 December 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 30,398 | Gallacher |
| 28 December 1996 | Derby County | A | 0–0 | 17,847 | |
| 1 January 1997 | Everton | A | 2–0 | 30,427 | Sherwood, Sutton |
| 11 January 1997 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | 24,055 | Sutton (2), Gallacher, Donis |
| 18 January 1997 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | 20,850 | |
| 29 January 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | 22,943 | Hendry |
| 1 February 1997 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | 21,994 | Gallacher, Sutton |
| 22 February 1997 | Liverpool | A | 0–0 | 40,747 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 24,208 | Gallacher |
| 5 March 1997 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 25,784 | Pedersen |
| 11 March 1997 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 20,485 | Gallacher |
| 15 March 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 23,333 | Gallacher (3) |
| 19 March 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | 29,891 | Sutton |
| 22 March 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 0–2 | 24,274 | |
| 7 April 1997 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 27,264 | |
| 12 April 1997 | Manchester United | H | 2–3 | 30,476 | McKinlay, Warhurst |
| 19 April 1997 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | 38,086 | Flitcroft |
| 22 April 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–1 | 20,845 | Berg, Sherwood, Le Saux, Flitcroft |
| 3 May 1997 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | 15,247 | |
| 8 May 1997 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | 27,411 | |
| 11 May 1997 | Leicester City | H | 2–4 | 25,881 | Flitcroft, Fenton |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Port Vale | H | 1–0 | 19,891 | Bohinen |
| R4 | 15 February 1997 | Coventry City | H | 1–2 | 21,123 | Sherwood |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 17 September 1996 | Brentford | A | 2–1 | 8,938 | Flitcroft, Sutton |
| R2 2nd Leg | 24 September 1996 | Brentford | H | 2–0 (won 4–1 on agg) | 9,599 | Gallacher, Sherwood |
| R3 | 22 October 1996 | Stockport County | H | 0–1 | 14,622 | |

## Squad

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

### 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 |
| - | GK | ENG | Gareth Stewart |
| - | GK | WAL | Anthony Williams |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan |
| - | DF | IRL | David Worrell |

## Transfers
### In

* July 1996: George Donis - Panathinaikos, free
* February 1997: Per Pedersen - Odense, £2,500,000

### Out

* Alan Shearer - Newcastle United, £15,000,000