# 2003–04 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 2003–04 English football season, Blackburn Rovers competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

Finishing sixth in the Premiership at the end of 2002–03 had booked Blackburn Rovers their second successive UEFA Cup campaign, but it was short-lived. A 5–1 opening-day victory against newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers kickstarted their new season, however, their overall Premiership form was far too dismal to give the side any hope of a third successive European qualification. Indeed, much of the season was spent battling against relegation; a decent finish to the season saw relegation fears eradicated by the end of April. Rovers finished 15th in the final table, putting intense pressure on manager Graeme Souness to turn things around.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 45 |
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 47 | 57 | −10 | 45 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 44 |
| 16 | Manchester City | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 41 |
| 17 | Everton | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 39 |

## Players
### 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 | AUS | Lucas Neill |
| 3 | DF | SVK | Vratislav Greško |
| 5 | DF | ITA | Lorenzo Amoruso |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| 8 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Andy Cole |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen |
| 11 | DF | GER | Markus Babbel (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid |
| 14 | DF | SWE | Nils-Eric Johansson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Andy Todd |
| 17 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Stead |
| 19 | FW | TRI | Dwight Yorke |
| 20 | MF | ENG | David Thompson |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Brett Emerton |
| 24 | MF | SCO | Barry Ferguson |
| 25 | MF | NOR | Martin Andresen (on loan from Stabæk) |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Neil Danns |
| 31 | GK | FIN | Peter Enckelman |
| 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 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor (to Birmingham City) |
| 13 | GK | IRL | Alan Kelly (retired) |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon (on loan to Ipswich Town; to Wigan Athletic) |
| 18 | FW | ITA | Corrado Grabbi (to Ancona) |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Dino Baggio (on loan from Lazio) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | NOR | Egil Østenstad (to Rangers) |
| 25 | DF | GER | Sebastian Pelzer (to Eintracht Trier) |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas (on loan to Blackpool) |
| 27 | DF | SCO | Gordon Greer (to Kilmarnock) |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Neil Danns (on loan to Blackpool and Hartlepool United) |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not appear for the first-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 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Ciaran Donnelly |
| 28 | GK | GER | David Yelldell |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Jay McEveley |
| — | DF | ENG | Alex Bruce |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Taylor |
| — | DF | SCO | Craig Barr |
| — | DF | IRL | John Fitzgerald |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | IRL | Gavin Peers |
| — | MF | ENG | Jerome Watt |
| — | MF | SCO | Ian Black |
| — | MF | SCO | Gary Harkins |
| — | MF | SCO | Alan Morgan |
| — | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire |
| — | FW | USA | Jemal Johnson |

## 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 | 40 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | FIN | Peter Enckelman | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | AUS | Lucas Neill | 35 | 2 | 30+2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SVK | Vratislav Greško | 28 | 1 | 22+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ITA | Lorenzo Amoruso | 14 | 3 | 11+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Craig Short | 20 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | GER | Markus Babbel | 28 | 3 | 23+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | SWE | Nils-Eric Johansson | 15 | 0 | 7+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Andy Todd | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Michael Gray | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft | 33 | 3 | 29+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | TUR | Tugay Kerimoğlu | 40 | 1 | 30+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid | 19 | 0 | 9+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | David Thompson | 14 | 1 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Brett Emerton | 40 | 3 | 31+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | SCO | Barry Ferguson | 16 | 2 | 14+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | NOR | Martin Andresen | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Neil Danns | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Andy Cole | 37 | 11 | 27+7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen | 21 | 3 | 9+10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | SCO | Paul Gallagher | 28 | 3 | 12+14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Jon Stead | 15 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | TRI | Dwight Yorke | 27 | 6 | 15+8 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor | 14 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ITA | Corrado Grabbi | 7 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Dino Baggio | 12 | 1 | 0+9 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 May 2004 Source:

## 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 | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | D | W | D | L | D | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | D |
| Position | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 |

### UEFA Cup
## Top scorers
### Premiership

* Andy Cole 11
* Jon Stead 6
* Dwight Yorke 4
* Lorenzo Amoruso 3
* Markus Babbel 3