Blackburn Rovers were established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992. In 1890, Rovers moved to Ewood Park. They have been English champions three times, and have won six FA Cups, one Football League Cup and one Full Members' Cup.[1] The club has spent most of its existence in the top flight of English football.[2]

Chart showing the progress of Blackburn Rovers F.C. through the English football league system from the inaugural season in 1888–89 to present

The table below details the club's achievements in all national competitions, from their first FA Cup campaign in 1879–80 up until the most recent completed season.[3][4]

Seasons

Season League[3][4] FA
Cup[4] 		League
Cup[4] 		Other
Cup[a][3][4] 		Avg.
att.[4][b] 		Top goalscorer(s)[5][c]
Tier Division Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player(s) Goals
1879–80 N/A[d] R3 – – – – –
1880–81 N/A R2 – – – – –
1881–82 N/A RU[e] – – – – –
1882–83 N/A R2 – – – – –
1883–84 N/A W – – – – –
1884–85 N/A W – – – – –
1885–86 N/A W – – – – –
1886–87 N/A R2 – – – – –
1887–88 N/A QF – – – – –
1888–89 1 Football League[f] 22 10 6 6 66 45 26 4th SF – – 5,505 John Southworth 16
1889–90 1 Football League 22 12 3 7 78 41 27 3rd W – – 7,205
1890–91 1 Football League 22 11 2 9 52 43 24 6th W – – 7,805
1891–92 1 Football League 26 10 6 10 58 65 26 9th R2 – – 5,105
1892–93 1 Div 1[g] 30 8 13 9 47 56 29 9th SF – – 5,970
1893–94 1 Div 1 30 16 2 12 69 53 34 4th SF – – 6,420
1894–95 1 Div 1 30 11 10 9 59 49 32 5th R2 – – 7,910
1895–96 1 Div 1 30 12 5 13 40 50 29 8th R1 – – 7,810
1896–97 1 Div 1 30 11 3 16 35 62 25 14th QF – – 7,005
1897–98 1 Div 1 30 7 10 13 39 54 24 15th R1 – – 7,845
1898–99 1 Div 1 34 14 8 12 60 52 36 6th R1 – – 8,920
1899–1900 1 Div 1 34 13 4 17 49 61 30 14th R2 – – 6,725
1900–01 1 Div 1 34 12 9 13 39 47 33 9th R1 – – 6,225
1901–02 1 Div 1 34 15 6 13 52 48 36 4th R1 – – 7,950
1902–03 1 Div 1 34 12 5 17 44 63 29 16th R2 – – 8,080
1903–04 1 Div 1 34 11 6 17 48 60 28 15th QF – – 9,395
1904–05 1 Div 1 34 11 5 18 40 51 26 13th R1 – – 11,145
1905–06 1 Div 1 38 16 8 14 54 52 40 9th R1 – – 12,920
1906–07 1 Div 1 38 14 7 17 56 59 35 12th R2 – – 12,265
1907–08 1 Div 1 38 12 12 14 51 63 36 15th R1 – – 13,270
1908–09 1 Div 1 38 14 13 11 61 50 41 4th R3 – – 14,745
1909–10 1 Div 1 38 18 9 11 73 55 45 3rd R3 – – 13,805
1910–11 1 Div 1 38 13 11 14 62 54 37 12th SF – – 14,350
1911–12 1 Div 1 38 20 9 9 60 43 49 1st SF – – 17,765
1912–13 1 Div 1 38 16 13 9 79 43 45 5th QF – – 18,560
1913–14 1 Div 1 38 20 11 7 78 42 51 1st R3 – – 22,295
1914–15 1 Div 1 38 18 7 13 83 61 43 3rd R1 – – 12,740
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.
1919–20 1 Div 1 42 13 11 18 64 77 37 20th R1 – – 18,110
1920–21 1 Div 1 42 13 15 14 57 59 41 11th R1 – – 27,930
1921–22 1 Div 1 42 13 12 17 54 57 38 15th R3 – – 23,580
1922–23 1 Div 1 42 14 12 16 47 62 40 14th R2 – – 18,755
1923–24 1 Div 1 42 17 11 14 54 50 45 8th R1 – – 18,520
1924–25 1 Div 1 42 11 13 18 53 66 35 16th SF – – 16,340
1925–26 1 Div 1 42 15 11 16 91 80 41 12th R4 – – 17,775
1926–27 1 Div 1 42 15 8 19 77 96 38 18th R3 – – 18,891
1927–28 1 Div 1 42 16 9 17 66 78 41 12th W – – 19,120
1928–29 1 Div 1 42 17 11 14 72 63 45 7th QF – – 16,841
1929–30 1 Div 1 42 19 7 16 99 93 45 6th R5 – – 18,714
1930–31 1 Div 1 42 17 8 17 83 84 42 10th R5 – – 15,701
1931–32 1 Div 1 42 16 6 20 89 95 38 16th R4 – – 13,176
1932–33 1 Div 1 42 14 10 18 76 102 38 15th R4 – – 12,944
1933–34 1 Div 1 42 18 7 17 74 81 43 8th R3 – – 14,005
1934–35 1 Div 1 42 14 11 17 66 78 39 15th R5 – – 13,166
1935–36 1 Div 1 42 12 9 21 55 96 33 22nd↓ R4 – – 15,498
1936–37 2 Div 2 42 16 10 16 70 62 42 12th R3 – – 14,821
1937–38 2 Div 2 42 14 10 18 71 80 38 16th R3 – – 14,779
1938–39 2 Div 2 42 25 5 12 94 60 55 1st↑ QF – – 18,262
1939–40[h] 1 Div 1 3 0 1 2 3 5 1 – – – – – – –
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War.
1945–46 N/A R3[i] – – – – –
1946–47 1 Div 1 42 14 8 20 45 53 36 17th R5 – – 26,367
1947–48 1 Div 1 42 11 10 21 45 53 36 21st↓ R4 – – 27,883
1948–49 2 Div 2 42 15 8 19 53 63 38 14th R3 – – 22,421
1949–50 2 Div 2 42 14 10 18 55 60 38 16th R3 – – 22,351
1950–51 2 Div 2 42 19 8 15 65 66 46 6th R3 – – 24,830
1951–52 2 Div 2 42 17 6 19 54 63 40 14th SF – – 23,228
1952–53 2 Div 2 42 18 8 16 68 65 44 9th R3 – – 23,157
1953–54 2 Div 2 42 23 9 10 86 50 55 3rd R4 – – 26,123
1954–55 2 Div 2 42 22 6 14 114 79 50 6th R3 – – 26,928
1955–56 2 Div 2 42 21 6 15 84 65 48 4th R5 – – 23,049
1956–57 2 Div 2 42 21 10 11 83 75 Pts 4th R3 – – 23,091
1957–58 2 Div 2 42 22 12 8 93 57 Pts 2nd↑ SF – – 22,705
1958–59 1 Div 1 42 17 10 15 76 70 44 10th R4 – – 30,544
1959–60 1 Div 1 42 16 5 21 60 70 37 17th RU – – 27,299
1960–61 1 Div 1 42 15 13 14 77 76 43 8th R5 R4[j] – 19,344
1961–62 1 Div 1 42 14 11 17 50 58 39 16th QF SF – 15,906
1962–63 1 Div 1 42 15 12 15 79 71 42 11th R3 QF – 16,001
1963–64 1 Div 1 42 18 10 14 89 65 46 7th R5 R2 – 21,543
1964–65 1 Div 1 42 16 10 16 83 79 42 10th R3 R3 – 16,110
1965–66 1 Div 1 42 8 4 30 57 88 20 22nd↓ QF R2 – 13,513
1966–67 2 Div 2 42 19 13 10 56 46 51 4th R3 R4 – 14,721
1967–68 2 Div 2 42 16 11 15 56 49 43 8th R3 R4 – 13,531
1968–69 2 Div 2 42 13 11 18 52 63 37 19th R5 R3 – 10,617
1969–70 2 Div 2 42 20 7 15 54 50 47 8th R3 R3 – 12,523
1970–71 2 Div 2 42 6 15 21 37 69 27 21st↓ R3 R2 – 8,034
1971–72 3 Div 3 46 19 9 18 54 57 47 10th R1 R2 – 8,256
1972–73 3 Div 3 46 20 15 11 57 47 55 3rd R2 R1 – 9,214
1973–74 3 Div 3 46 18 10 18 62 64 46 13th[k] R3 R2 – 7,432
1974–75 3 Div 3 46 22 16 8 68 45 60 1st↑ R3 R3 – 12,651
1975–76 2 Div 2 42 12 14 16 45 50 38 15th R3 R1 QF[l] 10,489
1976–77 2 Div 2 42 15 9 18 42 54 39 12th R5 R2 Grp 10,130
1977–78 2 Div 2 42 16 13 13 56 60 45 5th R4 R2 QF[m] 12,227
1978–79 2 Div 2 42 10 10 22 41 72 30 22nd↓ R4 R2 Grp 8,640
1979–80 3 Div 3 46 25 9 12 58 36 59 2nd↑ R5 R2 – 10,311
1980–81 2 Div 2 42 16 18 8 42 29 50 4th R3 R3 – 11,684
1981–82 2 Div 2 42 16 11 15 47 43 59 10th R3 R3 – 8,405
1982–83 2 Div 2 42 15 12 15 58 58 57 11th R3 R2 – 7,103
1983–84 2 Div 2 42 17 16 9 57 46 67 6th R5 R2 – 7,623
1984–85 2 Div 2 42 21 10 11 66 41 73 5th R5 R2 – 9,648
1985–86 2 Div 2 42 12 13 17 53 62 49 19th R4 R2 – 5,826
1986–87 2 Div 2 42 15 10 17 45 55 55 12th R3 R2 W[n] 6,773
1987–88 2 Div 2 44 21 14 9 68 52 77 5th[o] R3 R2 R1 9,503
1988–89 2 Div 2 46 22 11 13 74 59 77 5th[p] R5 R3 R3 8,891
1989–90 2 Div 2 46 19 17 10 74 59 74 5th[q] R3 R3 R1 9,624
1990–91 2 Div 2 46 14 10 22 51 66 52 19th R3 R3 R2 8,126
1991–92 2 Div 2 46 21 11 14 70 53 74 6th↑[r] R4 R1 R1 13,250
1992–93 1 Prem[s] 42 20 11 11 68 46 71 4th QF SF – 16,246 Alan Shearer 16
1993–94 1 Prem 42 25 9 8 63 36 84 2nd R4 R4 – 17,721 Alan Shearer 31
1994–95 1 Prem 42 27 8 7 80 39 89 1st R3 R4 RU[t] 25,272 Alan Shearer 34
R1[u]
1995–96 1 Prem 38 18 7 13 61 47 61 7th R3 R4 RU[v] 27,714 Alan Shearer 31
Grp[w]
1996–97 1 Prem 38 9 15 14 42 43 42 13th R4 R3 – 24,947 Chris Sutton 11
1997–98 1 Prem 38 16 10 12 57 52 58 6th R5 R3 – 25,253 Chris Sutton 18
1998–99 1 Prem 38 7 14 17 38 52 35 19th↓ R5 QF R1[x] 25,773 Kevin Gallacher 5
Ashley Ward 5
1999–2000 2 Div 1 46 15 17 14 55 51 62 11th R5 R3 – 19,253 Lee Carsley 10
2000–01 2 Div 1 46 26 13 7 76 39 91 2nd↑ QF R3 – 20,740 Matt Jansen 23
2001–02 1 Prem 38 12 10 16 55 51 46 10th R5 W[y] – 25,976 Matt Jansen 10
2002–03 1 Prem 38 16 12 10 52 43 60 6th R4 SF R2[z] 26,226 Damien Duff 9
2003–04 1 Prem 38 12 8 18 51 59 44 15th R3 R3 R1[aa] 24,376 Andrew Cole 11
2004–05 1 Prem 38 9 15 14 32 43 42 15th SF R2 – 22,315 Paul Dickov 9
2005–06 1 Prem 38 19 6 13 51 42 63 6th R4 SF – 21,015 Craig Bellamy 13
2006–07 1 Prem 38 15 11 14 41 55 50 10th SF R3 R3[ab] 21,275 Benni McCarthy 18
2007–08 1 Prem 38 15 13 10 50 48 58 7th R3 QF R1[ac] 23,944 Roque Santa Cruz 19
2008–09 1 Prem 38 10 11 17 40 60 41 15th R5 QF – 23,479 Benni McCarthy 10
2009–10 1 Prem 38 13 11 14 41 55 50 10th R3 SF – 25,428 David Dunn 9
2010–11 1 Prem 38 11 10 17 46 59 43 15th R4 R3 – 25,000 Junior Hoilett
Nikola Kalinić
Jason Roberts 		5
2011–12 1 Prem 38 8 7 23 48 78 31 19th↓ R3 QF – 22,551 Yakubu 18
2012–13 2 Chmp 46 14 16 16 55 62 58 17th QF R2 – 14,997 Jordan Rhodes 26
2013–14 2 Chmp 46 18 16 12 70 62 70 8th R3 R1 – 14,962 Jordan Rhodes 25
2014–15 2 Chmp 46 17 16 13 66 59 67 9th QF R1 – 14,912 Jordan Rhodes 21
2015–16 2 Chmp 46 13 16 17 46 46 55 15th R5 R1 – 14,131 Jordan Rhodes 10
2016–17 2 Chmp 46 12 15 19 53 65 51 22nd↓ R5 R3 Grp[ad] 12,688 Danny Graham 11
2017–18 3 L1 46 28 12 6 82 40 96 2nd↑ R3 R2 Grp[ae] 12,832 Bradley Dack 18
2018–19 2 Chmp 46 16 12 18 64 69 60 15th R3 R3 – 14,550 Bradley Dack 18
2019–20 2 Chmp 46 17 12 17 66 63 63 11th R3 R2 – 14,009 Adam Armstrong 17
2020–21 2 Chmp 46 15 12 19 65 54 57 15th R3 R2 – —[af] Adam Armstrong 28
2021–22 2 Chmp 46 19 12 15 59 50 69 8th R3 R1 – 13,958 Ben Brereton Díaz 22
2022–23 2 Chmp 46 20 9 17 52 54 69 7th QF R4 – 14,772 Ben Brereton Díaz 14
2023–24 2 Chmp R3 R1 –

Overall

Correct up to end of 2022–23 season.

Notes

  1. ^ Appearances in the Anglo-Scottish Cup 1975–79, Full Members' Cup 1986–91, FA Charity Shield, UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League and EFL Trophy.
  2. ^ Average attendance for league matches only.
  3. ^ Top goalscorer statistics include goals scored in league matches only.
  4. ^ League football did not start until 1888 when the Football League was formed.
  5. ^ Blackburn Rovers was the first provincial team to reach the FA Cup Final,[6] but the result was a 1–0 defeat by the Old Etonians.[7]
  6. ^ The Football League was formed in 1888 with Blackburn one of twelve founding member clubs.
  7. ^ The Second Division was introduced in 1892 and thus the top division was renamed the First Division.
  8. ^ 1939–40 season was abandoned after three league matches due to the outbreak of the Second World War. All results were annulled.
  9. ^ The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.
  10. ^ Football League Cup was introduced in the 1960–61 season.
  11. ^ Lowest League finish.
  12. ^ Blackburn competed in the inaugural Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1975, losing 1–2 on aggregate to Motherwell at the quarter-final stage.
  13. ^ Beaten at the quarter-final stage of the 1977–78 Anglo-Scottish Cup 1–3 on aggregate by Scottish side Hibernians.
  14. ^ In 1985 the Full Members' Cup was created to compensate for English clubs being banned from European competitions. Blackburn entered for the first time in 1986–87 and won the competition, beating Charlton Athletic 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.
  15. ^ Lost in the Second Division play-off semi-final 1–6 on aggregate to First Division side Chelsea.
  16. ^ Lost in the Second Division play-off final 3–4 on aggregate to Crystal Palace.
  17. ^ Lost in the Second Division play-off semi-final 2–4 on aggregate to Swindon Town.
  18. ^ Promoted via the play-offs after a 1–0 win over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium.
  19. ^ The Premier League was formed in 1992. Blackburn's promotion in the previous season meant they became founder members; one of only three sides to be founder members of the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992.
  20. ^ Blackburn lost the 1994 FA Charity Shield 2–0 to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
  21. ^ Competed in European competition for the first time but lost in the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup to FC Trelleborg 2–3 on aggregate.
  22. ^ Blackburn lost the 1995 FA Charity Shield 1–0 to Everton at Wembley Stadium.
  23. ^ Competed in the UEFA Champions League for the first time but only won once and failed to qualify through their group containing Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw and Rosenborg.
  24. ^ Lost in the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup to Olympique Lyonnais 2–3 on aggregate.
  25. ^ Beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the League Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
  26. ^ Beat CSKA Sofia in the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup but lost in the 2nd Round to Celtic 0–3 on aggregate.
  27. ^ Lost in the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup to Turkish side Gençlerbirliği 2–4 on aggregate.
  28. ^ Reached the 3rd Round of the UEFA Cup but were beaten 2–4 on aggregate by Bayer Leverkusen.
  29. ^ Reached the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup through qualification via the Inter-Toto Cup but were beaten 2–3 on aggregate by Larissa.
  30. ^ Blackburn's U23s participated in the EFL Trophy as one of the invited Academy sides but failed to qualify through the group stage.
  31. ^ Blackburn's first team participated in the EFL Trophy for the first time but failed to qualify through the group stage.
  32. ^ All home games in the 2020–21 season were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ^ "Top 10 most successful English football clubs revealed: Liverpool, Man United and more!". talkSPORT. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Martin Tyler's FA Cup stats: Omens for Arsenal v Aston Villa". Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Blackburn Rovers Results". soccerbase.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Blackburn Rovers". fchd.info.
  5. ^ "Blackburn Rovers Squad Details". soccerbase.com.
  6. ^ "The Encyclopedia of British Football Football Association Challenge Cup". Spartacus. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Oldest-known FA Cup final programme expected to fetch £25,000 at auction". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.

External links

Blackburn Rovers Football Club
Blackburn Rovers F.C. seasons
Lists of English men's football seasons by club
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