# 2000–01 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the Football League First Division (known as the Nationwide Division One for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

Rovers returned to the top flight of English football, thanks to a second-place finish in Division One which came two seasons after relegation. Rovers looked intent on returning to the top flight in style fulfilling the wishes of late owner Jack Walker who died shortly after the season began. Striker Matt Jansen, signed during the relegation campaign, was the club's top scorer with 23 Division One goals. Rovers also re-signed Henning Berg just after the start of the season, three years after they sold him to Manchester United. Berg was one of the club's last remaining links with the 1995 title winning side.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fulham (C, P) | 46 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 90 | 32 | +58 | 101 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers (P) | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 76 | 39 | +37 | 91 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 76 | 45 | +31 | 87 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 78 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 78 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 74 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 72 | |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 71 | 50 | +21 | 69 | |
| 9 | Watford | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 76 | 67 | +9 | 69 | |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 68 | |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 68 | |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 55 | |
| 13 | Gillingham | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 55 | |
| 14 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 55 | |
| 15 | Norwich City | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 54 | |
| 16 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 54 | |
| 17 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 71 | −19 | 53 | |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 52 | |
| 19 | Stockport County | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 51 | |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 47 | 59 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 49 | |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 48 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Queens Park Rangers (R) | 46 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 45 | 75 | −30 | 40 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Tranmere Rovers (R) | 46 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 46 | 77 | −31 | 38 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 2000 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 18,733 | Blake, Jansen |
| 19 August 2000 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | 7,500 | |
| 26 August 2000 | Norwich City | H | 3–2 | 19,542 | Dunn (pen), Blake, Jansen |
| 28 August 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 15,646 | Taylor |
| 9 September 2000 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–0 | 18,471 | Jansen, Dunn (pen), Blake |
| 12 September 2000 | Watford | H | 3–4 | 17,258 | Dunn, Blake (2) |
| 15 September 2000 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 10,816 | |
| 23 September 2000 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 23,660 | Thomas |
| 30 September 2000 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 16,794 | |
| 15 October 2000 | Fulham | A | 1–2 | 15,247 | Jansen |
| 18 October 2000 | Wimbledon | A | 2–0 | 6,019 | Willmott (own goal), Flitcroft |
| 21 October 2000 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–0 | 16,397 | Flitcroft, Jansen |
| 25 October 2000 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 3–2 | 17,010 | Hughes (2), Østenstad |
| 28 October 2000 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–0 | 12,287 | Østenstad |
| 4 November 2000 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | 17,404 | Hughes, Hignett |
| 8 November 2000 | Barnsley | A | 2–1 | 13,622 | Jansen, Dunn |
| 11 November 2000 | Portsmouth | A | 2–2 | 14,141 | Bjørnebye, Jansen |
| 18 November 2000 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 20,380 | Dunn (pen) |
| 25 November 2000 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | 18,061 | Hughes |
| 2 December 2000 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–1 | 10,063 | Dunn |
| 9 December 2000 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 16,886 | |
| 17 December 2000 | Burnley | A | 2–0 | 21,369 | McAteer, Bent |
| 22 December 2000 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–2 | 15,010 | Dunn (2, 1 pen), Taylor |
| 26 December 2000 | Birmingham City | H | 2–1 | 24,899 | Jansen (2) |
| 30 December 2000 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–0 | 18,554 | Jansen |
| 1 January 2001 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 16,695 | Bent |
| 10 January 2001 | Preston North End | H | 3–2 | 23,983 | Jansen (2), Hughes |
| 13 January 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 19,308 | Bent, Taylor |
| 3 February 2001 | Barnsley | H | 0–0 | 18,573 | |
| 10 February 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–2 | 22,455 | Jansen |
| 20 February 2001 | Watford | A | 1–0 | 15,970 | Bent |
| 23 February 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 4–1 | 20,017 | Bent, Dunn, Jansen, Hignett |
| 3 March 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 23,926 | Bent |
| 14 March 2001 | Birmingham City | A | 2–0 | 29,150 | Bent, Duff |
| 17 March 2001 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 19,000 | Jansen |
| 1 April 2001 | Burnley | H | 5–0 | 23,442 | Short, Davis (own goal), Jansen (2), Hignett |
| 4 April 2001 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 26,276 | Berg |
| 7 April 2001 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 3–1 | 12,449 | Dunn, Jansen, Berkovic |
| 11 April 2001 | Fulham | H | 1–2 | 21,578 | Jansen |
| 14 April 2001 | Stockport County | A | 0–0 | 9,705 | |
| 16 April 2001 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–0 | 29,426 | Flitcroft, Jansen |
| 21 April 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | 20,018 | |
| 24 April 2001 | Grimsby Town | A | 4–1 | 6,507 | Dunn, Berkovic, Jansen (2) |
| 29 April 2001 | Portsmouth | H | 3–1 | 24,257 | Hiley (own goal), Dunn, Bent |
| 2 May 2001 | Preston North End | A | 1–0 | 16,975 | Jansen |
| 6 May 2001 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | 10,319 | Blake |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2001 | Chester City | H | 2–0 | 15,223 | Taylor, Bent |
| R4 | 27 January 2001 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 18,858 | |
| R4R | 7 February 2001 | Derby County | A | 5–2 | 15,203 | Flitcroft, Bent (2), Dunn (pen), Jansen |
| R5 | 17 February 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 22,048 | Dunn |
| R5R | 7 March 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | 20,318 | Flitcroft, Hignett (2, 1 pen) |
| QF | 10 March 2001 | Arsenal | A | 0–3 | 36,304 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 22 August 2000 | Rochdale | A | 1–1 | 4,873 | Blake |
| R1 2nd Leg | 6 September 2000 | Rochdale | H | 6–1 (won 7–2 on agg) | 12,977 | Duff (2), Dunn (3 pens), Diawara |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 2000 | Portsmouth | H | 4–0 | 10,360 | Carsley, Thomas (2), Østenstad |
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | Portsmouth | A | 1–1 (won 5–1 on agg) | 2,731 | Dunn |
| R3 | 31 October 2000 | West Ham United | A | 0–2 | 21,863 | |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| 1 | GK | AUS | John Filan |
| 2 | DF | ENG | John Curtis |
| 4 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Stig Inge Bjørnebye |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| 8 | MF | ENG | David Dunn |
| 9 | FW | WAL | Mark Hughes |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Craig Hignett |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff |
| 12 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna |
| 13 | GK | IRL | Alan Kelly |
| 14 | FW | WAL | Nathan Blake |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Marcus Bent |
| 18 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson |
| 20 | FW | NOR | Egil Østenstad |
| 21 | DF | NOR | Henning Berg |
| 22 | MF | ISR | Eyal Berkovic (on loan from Celtic) |
| 23 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon (on loan from Sporting Lisbon) |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Darren Dunning |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Simon Grayson |
| 26 | FW | WAL | James Thomas |
| 27 | GK | ENG | Alan Miller |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Marc Keller |
| 30 | FW | IRL | Gary Hamilton |
| 31 | MF | SCO | Burton O'Brien |
| 32 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel |
| 33 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Marc Richards |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Ellison |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Corbett |

### 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 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward (to Bradford City) |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly (to West Ham United) |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Kaba Diawara (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain) |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay (to Bradford City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | IRL | Ben Burgess (to Northern Spirit) |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Lee Carsley (to Coventry City) |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Steve Harkness (to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Darren Peacock (retired) |

### 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 |
| — | DF | IRL | Fred Murray |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | SCO | David McNamee |

## Top scorers
### First Division

* Matt Jansen 23
* David Dunn 12
* Marcus Bent 8
* Nathan Blake 6
* Mark Hughes 5