# 1998–99 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

The 1998–99 season was Blackburn Rovers' seventh season in the Premier League, and their seventh consecutive season in the top division of English football.

## Season summary

Four years earlier, Blackburn Rovers were Premiership champions. Just one year earlier, they had qualified for the UEFA Cup. They were among some people's outsiders for a title challenge.
But it all went wrong for Rovers, who were soon in the depth of a relegation battle. Manager Roy Hodgson paid with his job in November. Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd was named as his replacement, but he was unable to steer Rovers to safety and their relegation was confirmed in the penultimate game of the season. They were condemned to a place in Division One, but managed to hold on to many key players and approached the new season as most people's favourites for an immediate return to the elite.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Wimbledon | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 40 | 63 | −23 | 42 | |
| 17 | Southampton | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 37 | 64 | −27 | 41 | |
| 18 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 36 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 38 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 35 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 35 | 69 | −34 | 30 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1998-99 FA Premier League table

### 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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | W | D | W | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | D | L | D | L | D | D |
| Position | 6 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 |

## Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 15 August 1998 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 24,007 | |
| 24 August 1998 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | 30,652 | |
| 29 August 1998 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | 22,544 | Gallacher |
| 9 September 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | 28,338 | Gallacher |
| 12 September 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–3 | 20,846 | |
| 21 September 1998 | Chelsea | H | 3–4 | 23,113 | Sutton (2, 1 pen), Pérez |
| 26 September 1998 | Everton | A | 0–0 | 36,404 | |
| 3 October 1998 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | 25,213 | Flitcroft (2), Davidson |
| 17 October 1998 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | 34,413 | Sherwood |
| 25 October 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–2 | 27,012 | Johnson |
| 31 October 1998 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 12,526 | Sutton (pen) |
| 7 November 1998 | Coventry City | H | 1–2 | 23,779 | Sherwood |
| 14 November 1998 | Manchester United | A | 2–3 | 55,198 | Marcolin, Blake |
| 21 November 1998 | Southampton | H | 0–2 | 22,812 | |
| 29 November 1998 | Liverpool | A | 0–2 | 41,753 | |
| 5 December 1998 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 22,568 | Davies |
| 12 December 1998 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 27,569 | |
| 19 December 1998 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–2 | 22,013 | Blake (2) |
| 26 December 1998 | Aston Villa | H | 2–1 | 27,536 | Gallacher, Sherwood |
| 28 December 1998 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 21,083 | Gallacher |
| 9 January 1999 | Leeds United | H | 1–0 | 27,620 | Gillespie |
| 16 January 1999 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 27,386 | |
| 30 January 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–1 | 29,643 | Jansen |
| 6 February 1999 | Aston Villa | A | 3–1 | 37,404 | Southgate (own goal), Ward, Dunn |
| 17 February 1999 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 34,382 | Ward |
| 20 February 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–4 | 24,643 | McAteer |
| 27 February 1999 | West Ham United | A | 0–2 | 25,529 | |
| 10 March 1999 | Everton | H | 1–2 | 27,219 | Ward |
| 13 March 1999 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 19,701 | Wilcox |
| 20 March 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 21,754 | Ward, Jansen (2) |
| 3 April 1999 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | 27,482 | |
| 6 April 1999 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 37,762 | |
| 17 April 1999 | Southampton | A | 3–3 | 15,209 | Ward, Peacock, Wilcox |
| 24 April 1999 | Liverpool | H | 1–3 | 29,944 | Duff |
| 1 May 1999 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 20,041 | |
| 8 May 1999 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–2 | 24,565 | Gallacher |
| 12 May 1999 | Manchester United | H | 0–0 | 30,436 | |
| 16 May 1999 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 36,623 | Wilcox |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | 16,631 | Davies, Wilcox |
| R4 | 23 January 1999 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 30,125 | Gillespie |
| R5 | 14 February 1999 | Newcastle United | A | 0–0 | 36,295 | |
| R5R | 24 February 1999 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 27,483 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 28 October 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–0 | 5,403 | Sutton |
| R4 | 11 November 1998 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 (won 4–2 on pens) | 34,702 | Sherwood |
| QF | 2 December 1998 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | 19,442 | |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Referee |
| R1 1st leg | 15 September 1998 | Lyon | H | 0–1 | 13,646 (1,300 away) | | Knud Erik Fisker (Denmark) |
| R1 2nd leg | 29 September 1998 | Lyon | A | 2–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) | 24,558 (1,001 away) | Pérez, Flitcroft | René Temmink (Netherlands) |

## 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 | ENG | Tim Flowers |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Peacock |
| 6 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| 8 | FW | SCO | Kevin Gallacher |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Kevin Davies |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox (captain) |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff |
| 13 | GK | AUS | John Filan |
| 14 | FW | WAL | Nathan Blake |
| 15 | MF | IRL | Lee Carsley |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ITA | Dario Marcolin (on loan from Lazio) |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Gary Croft |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Corbett |
| 22 | GK | NIR | Alan Fettis |
| 23 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly |
| 24 | MF | SUI | Oumar Kondé |
| 26 | FW | WAL | James Thomas |
| 27 | MF | ENG | David Dunn |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Wayne Gill |
| 30 | GK | WAL | Anthony Williams |
| 31 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen |
| 34 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer |

### 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 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood (captain, to Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 14 | FW | SWE | Martin Dahlin (retired) |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Sébastien Pérez (on loan to Bastia) |
| 18 | MF | SWE | Anders Andersson (to Aalborg) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | DF | NOR | Tore Pedersen (to Eintracht Frankfurt) |
| 25 | DF | IRL | David Worrell (to Dundee United) |
| — | MF | ENG | Luke Staton (to Bolton Wanderers) |
| — | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan (to Livingston) |

### 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Gareth Stewart |
| — | DF | ENG | Keith Brown |
| — | DF | IRL | Peter Murphy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Ryan Baldacchino |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Richards |
| — | MF | NIR | Steven Hawe |

## 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 | ENG | Tim Flowers | 15 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | AUS | John Filan | 32 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | NIR | Alan Fettis | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna | 30 | 0 | 22+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson | 41 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Peacock | 37 | 1 | 27+3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz | 41 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes | 17 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Gary Croft | 17 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly | 21 | 0 | 14+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | SUI | Oumar Kondé | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft | 10 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox | 35 | 4 | 28+2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff | 36 | 1 | 18+10 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | IRL | Lee Carsley | 8 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay | 19 | 0 | 14+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ITA | Dario Marcolin | 15 | 1 | 5+5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson | 25 | 1 | 14+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ENG | David Dunn | 20 | 1 | 10+5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie | 20 | 2 | 13+3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer | 13 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | SCO | Kevin Gallacher | 18 | 5 | 13+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton | 20 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Kevin Davies | 27 | 2 | 9+12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | WAL | Nathan Blake | 14 | 3 | 9+2 | 3 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward | 20 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Matt Jansen | 11 | 3 | 10+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood | 23 | 4 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | SWE | Martin Dahlin | 6 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | FRA | Sébastien Pérez | 8 | 2 | 4+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Last updated: 15 May 1999 Source: Competitions

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #13, John Filan, 32
* RB: #2, Jeff Kenna, 29
* CB: #5, Darren Peacock, 34
* CB: #6, Stéphane Henchoz, 41
* LB: #3, Callum Davidson, 39
* RM: #19, Damien Johnson, 17 (#23, Christian Dailly, has 18 starts)
* CM: #4, Tim Sherwood, 23
* CM: #11, Jason Wilcox, 33
* LM: #12, Damien Duff, 25
* CF: #9, Chris Sutton, 20
* CF: #32, Ashley Ward, 19

### Top scorers

* Ashley Ward 5
* Kevin Gallacher 5
* Chris Sutton 4
* Jason Wilcox 4
* Tim Sherwood 4
* Nathan Blake 3

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 1998 | DF | Darren Peacock | Newcastle United | Free |
| 6 July 1998 | FW | Jimmy Corbett | Gillingham | £535,00 |
| 9 July 1998 | FW | Kevin Davies | Southampton | £7,250,000 |
| 21 July 1998 | DF | Sébastien Pérez | SC Bastia | £3,000,000 |
| 21 August 1998 | DF | Christian Dailly | Derby County | £5,300,000 |
| 26 October 1998 | MF | Oumar Kondé | FC Basel | £500,000 |
| 30 October 1998 | FW | Nathan Blake | Bolton Wanderers | £4,250,000 |
| 16 December 1998 | MF | Keith Gillespie | Newcastle United | £2,350,000 |
| 29 December 1998 | FW | Ashley Ward | Barnsley | £4,500,000 |
| 18 January 1999 | FW | Matt Jansen | Crystal Palace | £4,100,000 |
| 27 January 1999 | MF | Jason McAteer | Liverpool | £4,000,000 |
| 12 February 1999 | DF | David McNamee | St Mirren | £300,000 |
| 12 February 1999 | MF | Burton O'Brien | St Mirren | £300,000 |
| 22 March 1999 | MF | Lee Carsley | Derby County | £3,400,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 August 1998 | MF | Michael Lomax | Macclesfield Town | Free |
| 1 August 1998 | FW | Per Pedersen | Strasbourg | £900,000 |
| 4 August 1998 | DF | Colin Hendry | Rangers | £4,000,000 |
| 26 October 1998 | DF | Tore Pedersen | Eintracht Frankfurt | £225,000 |
| 5 January 1999 | MF | Luke Staton | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 4 February 1999 | MF | Tim Sherwood | Tottenham Hotspur | £4,000,000 |
| 30 March 1999 | DF | David Worrell | Dundee United | £50,000 |
| 31 May 1999 | DF | Graham Coughlan | Livingston | Free |
| 1 June 1999 | DF | Sébastien Pérez | Marseille | £2,500,000 |
    Transfers in: £39,250,000
    Transfers out: £11,675,000
    Total spending: £27,750,000