# 2006–07 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 2006–07 English football season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

A run of only 5 wins from their first 18 games killed off Blackburn's hopes of improving on the previous season's 6th place to qualify for the Champions League, but the club's form was markedly improved in the second half of the season. Rovers overcame the sale of Craig Bellamy to Liverpool, with his replacement, former Porto striker Benni McCarthy, scoring 18 league goals to finish as the Premier League's second-highest scorer behind Didier Drogba.
After a history of European underachievement, Rovers had a relatively successful UEFA Cup campaign, beating Red Bull Salzburg in the first round and topping Group E in the next stage, before succumbing to Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 32. The club continued their recent habit of reaching cup semi-finals to be eliminated by the cup winners, being knocked out of the FA Cup semi-final by eventual winners Chelsea.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | Reading | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 55 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 54 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 52 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 38 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 50 | |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 46 | |
* ↑ The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000013-QINU`"' A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel |
| 3 | DF | GEO | Zurab Khizanishvili |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Andy Todd |
| 5 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Ryan Nelsen (captain) |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Brett Emerton |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage |
| 9 | FW | COD | Shabani Nonda (on loan from Roma) |
| 10 | FW | RSA | Benni McCarthy |
| 11 | FW | ENG | David Bentley |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Morten Gamst Pedersen |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid |
| 15 | MF | RSA | Aaron Mokoena |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz |
| 18 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher |
| 19 | MF | ENG | David Dunn |
| 20 | DF | NED | André Ooijer |
| 21 | DF | CGO | Christopher Samba |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Stephen Warnock |
| 23 | GK | WAL | Jason Brown |
| 25 | DF | SUI | Bruno Berner |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire |
| 30 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts |
| 31 | MF | GER | Sergio Peter |
| 32 | DF | IRL | Eddie Nolan |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray |

### 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 |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Lucas Neill (to West Ham United) |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Shefki Kuqi (to Crystal Palace) |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Francis Jeffers (on loan to Ipswich Town) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Dominic Matteo (to Stoke City) |
| 22 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas (to Leeds United) |
| 24 | DF | SCO | Jay McEveley (to Derby County) |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not appear for the senior team this 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 |
| 13 | GK | FIN | Peter Enckelman |
| 22 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Andy Taylor |
| 28 | GK | ENG | Frank Fielding |
| 29 | MF | IRL | Keith Treacy |
| 34 | DF | IRL | Tony Kane |
| — | GK | ENG | Zak Jones |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Winnard |
| — | DF | SWE | Martin Olsson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Josh O'Keefe |
| — | MF | SCO | Bryan Hodge (on loan to Mansfield Town) |
| — | MF | IRL | Alan Judge |
| — | MF | ITA | Raffaele De Vita |
| — | MF | AUS | Rostyn Griffiths |
| — | FW | ENG | Keith Barker (on loan to Rochdale) |
| — | FW | ENG | Jamie Clarke |
| — | FW | ENG | Joe Garner (on loan to Carlisle United) |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel | 53 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | WAL | Jason Brown | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | GEO | Zurab Khizanishvili | 30 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Andy Todd | 13 | 0 | 6+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Ryan Nelsen | 19 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | AUS | Brett Emerton | 47 | 0 | 32+2 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz | 16 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | NED | André Ooijer | 27 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | CGO | Christopher Samba | 19 | 2 | 13+1 | 2 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Stephen Warnock | 20 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | SUI | Bruno Berner | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | IRL | Eddie Nolan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray | 13 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu | 40 | 2 | 26+4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage | 27 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | David Bentley | 51 | 7 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Morten Gamst Pedersen | 49 | 8 | 36 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | RSA | Aaron Mokoena | 40 | 1 | 18+9 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | David Dunn | 16 | 0 | 7+4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | GER | Sergio Peter | 16 | 0 | 1+8 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | COD | Shabani Nonda | 36 | 8 | 17+9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4+3 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | RSA | Benni McCarthy | 50 | 24 | 36 | 18 | 3+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7+1 | 3 |
| 18 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher | 22 | 2 | 2+14 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire | 30 | 9 | 8+14 | 5 | 4+2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts | 25 | 5 | 9+9 | 4 | 1+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | AUS | Lucas Neill | 26 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Shefki Kuqi | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Francis Jeffers | 15 | 1 | 3+7 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jay McEveley | 7 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last updated: 15 May 2007 Source: Competitions

## Transfers
### In

* Jason Brown – Gillingham, free, 26 June
* Francis Jeffers – Charlton Athletic, free, 3 July
* Jason Roberts – Wigan Athletic, 3 July, undisclosed
* Benni McCarthy – Porto, 28 July, undisclosed (believed to be £2,500,000)
* André Ooijer – PSV Eindhoven, 23 August, £2,000,000
* Shabani Nonda – Roma, season loan, 31 August
* Stéphane Henchoz – Wigan Athletic, free, 8 September
* Christopher Samba – Hertha Berlin, £450,000, 25 January
* David Dunn – Birmingham City, £2,200,000, 17 January
* Stephen Warnock – Liverpool, undisclosed (believed to be £2,500,000), 22 January
* Bruno Berner – FC Basel, 30 January, nominal

### Out

* Craig Bellamy – Liverpool, undisclosed (thought to be £6,000,000), 22 June
* Shefki Kuqi – Crystal Palace, £2,500,000, 1 September
* Dominic Matteo – Stoke City, free, 19 January
* Lucas Neill – West Ham United, £1,500,000, 22 January
* Jay McEveley – Derby County, £600,000, 29 January
* Francis Jeffers – Ipswich Town, loan, 2 March

## 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 | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | D | L | D | W | W | W | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | D | D |
| Position | 18 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

### UEFA Cup
#### First round
#### Round of 32
## Top scorers
### Premier League

* Benni McCarthy 18
* Shabani Nonda 7
* Morten Gamst Pedersen 6
* Matt Derbyshire 5
* David Bentley 4
* Jason Roberts 4

### League Cup

* n/a

### FA Cup

* Matt Derbyshire 4
* Benni McCarthy 3

### UEFA Cup

* David Bentley 3
* Benni McCarthy 3