# 2007–08 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

Blackburn Rovers F.C. finished in the top half of the Premier League for the third successive season, this time ending up in 7th place, ultimately not enough for European qualification. Manager Mark Hughes departed for Manchester City at the end of the season, while successful winger David Bentley was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee. Striker Roque Santa Cruz, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, had the season of his life, scoring 19 league goals, making up for Benni McCarthy's loss of form. Despite interest for richer clubs, Santa Cruz stayed on for another season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Everton | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 58 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
* ↑ As FA Cup winners
* ↑ Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.

## First-team 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 | USA | Brad Friedel |
| 2 | DF | NED | André Ooijer |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Stephen Warnock |
| 4 | DF | CGO | Christopher Samba |
| 5 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Ryan Nelsen (captain) |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Brett Emerton |
| 8 | MF | SUI | Johann Vogel |
| 9 | FW | PAR | Roque Santa Cruz |
| 10 | FW | RSA | Benni McCarthy |
| 11 | FW | ENG | David Bentley |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Morten Gamst Pedersen |
| 13 | DF | GEO | Zurab Khizanishvili |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid |
| 15 | MF | RSA | Aaron Mokoena |
| 17 | FW | NED | Maceo Rigters |
| 19 | MF | ENG | David Dunn |
| 20 | DF | SUI | Bruno Berner |
| 22 | MF | IRL | Keith Treacy |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire |
| 29 | DF | SWE | Martin Olsson |
| 30 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts |

### Left club during 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 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage (to Derby County) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Andy Taylor (to Tranmere Rovers) |

## 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 |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz |
| 18 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher |
| 21 | MF | GER | Sergio Peter |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Eddie Nolan |
| 28 | DF | NIR | Tony Kane |
| 31 | GK | FIN | Peter Enckelman |
| 32 | GK | WAL | Jason Brown |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Frank Fielding |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | GK | FRO | Gunnar Nielsen |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Dean Winnard |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Josh O'Keefe |
| 37 | MF | AUS | Rostyn Griffiths |
| 38 | FW | ENG | Jamie Clarke |
| 44 | FW | ITA | Raffaele De Vita |
| 45 | MF | SCO | Bryan Hodge |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel | 48 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | NED | André Ooijer | 34 | 0 | 23+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Stephen Warnock | 45 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | CGO | Christopher Samba | 41 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Ryan Nelsen | 30 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | AUS | Brett Emerton | 40 | 1 | 31+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | GEO | Zurab Khizanishvili | 17 | 0 | 10+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | SUI | Bruno Berner | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | SWE | Martin Olsson | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu | 27 | 2 | 12+8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | SUI | Johann Vogel | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | David Bentley | 47 | 9 | 37 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Morten Gamst Pedersen | 46 | 6 | 32+5 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid | 25 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | RSA | Aaron Mokoena | 26 | 0 | 8+10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | David Dunn | 38 | 1 | 25+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | IRL | Keith Treacy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | PAR | Roque Santa Cruz | 43 | 23 | 36+1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | RSA | Benni McCarthy | 38 | 11 | 21+10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | NED | Maceo Rigters | 7 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire | 33 | 6 | 4+19 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 0+2 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 |
| 30 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts | 31 | 5 | 11+15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage | 18 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2008 Source: Competitions

## Results
### Premier League
#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 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 | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | D | D | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | D | L | D | W | W | L |
| Position | 5 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |