page_title: Blackburn Rovers L.F.C.
section_title: Women's Premier League National Division
hierarchical_section_title: Blackburn Rovers L.F.C. / History / Women's Premier League National Division
caption_attribution_description: English: Clitheroe football club
context_page_description: Blackburn Rovers Ladies Football Club are an English women's football club affiliated with Blackburn Rovers. In 2006 they won the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division and were promoted to the FA Women's Premier League National Division, where they played until relegation in the 2010–11 season. In 2018–19 they won promotion to second highest level league of English football.
context_section_description: For the club's first season at the top-level, Rovers arranged to play their home games at Clitheroe FC's Shawbridge ground. The squad was strengthened with the signing of Leeds United full-back Mel Cook and England striker Amanda Barr, from Charlton Athletic.
  In October 2006 the club lost 6–3 to Chelsea in the Premier League Cup amidst farcical scenes. The controversial performance of the 20-year-old referee saw him leave Shawbridge under police escort, while Andy McNally was sent-off and subsequently banned for a month by the FA for foul and abusive language. Despite several senior players demanding his return, McNally was suspended by his employers Blackburn Rovers and replaced with Adam Lakeland in January 2007.
  Although Amanda Barr also departed in January, to Leeds United, Blackburn rallied to finish in the top half of the table and reach the semi-final of the FA Women's Cup, where they lost 0–1 to Charlton Athletic. 34-goal striker Katie Anderton and goalkeeper Kay Hawke were both selected for the England squad at the end of the 2006–07 season. However, neither made the final 2007 World Cup squad. Anderton spent the summer playing in the United States, for FC Indiana.
  Kay Hawke and Mel Cook signed for Lincoln City in August 2007, while former captain Anisha Bateman joined Preston North End. Lincoln goalkeeper Nicola Hobbs arrived as a replacement for Hawke. Rovers recruited several other new faces including international players Katie Williams, Michelle Walsh and Karen Burke. Natalie Preston was signed from Leeds United and captained the side in pre-season. A poor second half of the season saw Rovers finish eighth in 2007–08, while they were ejected from the FA Women's Cup by Lincoln at the quarter-final stage.
  2008–09 proved no better as Rovers finished ninth and suffered a humiliating County Cup final defeat to Combination League Rochdale. Another aberrant refereeing performance in October 2008 saw four Blackburn players sent-off in a Premier League Cup defeat to Portsmouth, a scenario which manager Adam Lakeland described as "making a mockery of the women's game." In summer 2009 Rovers quit Shawbridge, citing the condition of the pitch as a contributory factor in their poor form.
  2009–10 saw Blackburn playing at the Stainton Park ground of Radcliffe Borough FC and finishing seventh in the Premier League National Division.
caption: Clitheroe F.C. ground at Shawbridge
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