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Blackburn Rovers

2009–10 season
Chairman	John Williams
Manager	Sam Allardyce
Premier League	10th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: David Dunn (9) All: David Dunn (10)
Highest home attendance	29,912 (vs. Manchester United, 11 April 2010)
Lowest home attendance	8,419 (vs. Peterborough United, 27 October 2009)
Average home league attendance	25,426 (league), 15,050 (Cup), 23,686 (all comps)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2008–092010–11 →

The 2009–10 season was Blackburn Rovers' 122nd season as a professional football club. The 2009–10 season was Blackburn Rovers' 16th season in the Premier League, and their 9th consecutive season in the top division of English football.

Pre-season

Ins and outs

The end of the previous season saw the departure of first-team squad players. André Ooijer, Aaron Mokoena and Tugay Kerimoğlu all left the club on free transfers. With that in mind, Sam Allardyce wasted no time in bringing new additions into the club, with the signing of the South African international winger Elrio Van Heerden from Club Brugge on 2 June on a free transfer.

A few weeks later, Roque Santa Cruz signed for Manchester City, ending 12 months of speculation. Two days later, Matt Derbyshire completed a move to Olympiacos, where he had been on loan since January 2009. With the incoming cash, Blackburn quickly move to secure Gaël Givet to a permanent contract following his successful loan spell from Marseille in the second half of the prior season.

He was swiftly followed into Ewood Park by another free transfer, right-back Lars Jacobsen, who had been released from Everton following two years plagued by injury, and Steven Nzonzi, a central midfielder who joined from French club Amiens for an undisclosed fee.

With the departure of two strikers and the lack of depth shown up front the prior season by being forced to play Christopher Samba as a striker for the most part, the attention was then shifted to strengthening the frontline. After being linked to numerous big-name strikers such as Bojan, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Christian Vieri throughout the summer, Blackburn finally secured the signings of Franco Di Santo on loan and the permanent signing of Croatian striker Nikola Kalinić in early August. Due to the arrival of two new strikers, Paul Gallagher was allowed to leave the club, joining Championship side Leicester City in order to play regular first-team football.

In mid-August, Míchel Salgado became available on a free transfer after being released by Real Madrid. Given Allardyce's previous experience of prolonging older players careers, Salgado opted to join Blackburn. This would seemingly signal the end of any summer transfer activity as the board had requested that the wage bill be reduced and that a large amount of the transfer fees received from the sales of Santa Cruz and Derbyshire go towards paying off existing debt and supporting the upcoming season's wage bill.

However, after the season had begun, Aston Villa began to pursue Blackburn's previous player of the season, Stephen Warnock. Unable to resist the money on offer, Blackburn accepted the bid and allowed the player to leave. A reason behind allowing the move was that a ready replacement was already lined up, in the form of Pascal Chimbonda, who joined on the same day as Warnock departed.

Barring loan deals to lower league teams, this would mark the end of Blackburn's summer transfer activities.

Friendlies

14 July 2009	Cambridge	0–4	Blackburn Rovers	Cambridge
		Report	Andrews 27' Diouf 37' Roberts 57' (79)	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 1,813

16 July 2009	Roma	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	Bolzano
	Taddei 24' Riise 36'	Report	Gallagher 44' Doran 52'	Stadium: Druso Stadium Attendance: 9,074

18 July 2009	Hajduk Split	1–0	Blackburn ROvers	Split
	Ibričić 12'	Report		Stadium: Gradski stadion u Poljudu

25 July 2009	Leeds United	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Leeds
	Beckford 50'	Report	Gallagher 89' (pen.)	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 11,885

1 August 2009	Sheffield Wednesday	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	Sheffield
	Sodje 23' Tudgay 50'	Report	Nelsen 6' Roberts 21'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 5,579

8 August 2009	Dundee United	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn
	Shala 27' Khizanishvili 71' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 3,717

• The matches against Nacional and Hajduk Split were both 45 minutes in length as part of a mini tournament.
• The match against Roma ended with a penalty shoot-out which Blackburn lost 3–2.

Premier League

August

15 August 2009	Blackburn	0–2	Manchester City	Blackburn
15:00	Warnock  84' Gallagher  90'	Report	Adebayor 3' Ireland 90+1' Richards  79'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,584 Referee: Mike Dean

22 August 2009	Sunderland	2–1	Blackburn	Sunderland
15:00	Jones 32', 53' Cattermole  45+1' Bardsley  81'	Report	Givet 21' McCarthy  90+1'	Stadium: Stadium of light Attendance: 37,106 Referee: Alan Wiley

29 August 2009	Blackburn	0–0	West Ham United	Blackburn
15:00	Dunn  75'	Report	Collins  9' Noble  54' Parker  79'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,421 Referee: Phil Dowd

At the end of August, Blackburn were sitting 18th in the table, taking only 1 point from a possible 9.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

September

12 September 2009	Blackburn	3–1	Wolves	Blackburn
15:00	Diouf 19' Roberts 56' Dunn 64' Andrews  81'	Report	Maierhofer 88' Stearman  66' Berra  86'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 24,845 (7,448 away) Referee: Steve Bennett

20 September 2009	Everton	3–0	Blackburn	Liverpool
15:00	Saha 22', 54' Yobo 58' Heitinga  18'	Report	Dunn  37' Diouf  65'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,546 Referee: Lee Mason

26 September 2009	Blackburn	2–1	Aston Villa	Blackburn
15:00	Samba 24' Dunn 89' (pen.),  60' Grella  34'  68'	Report	Agbonlahor 3' Delph  55' Petrov  66'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,172 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

From the September fixtures Blackburn had taken 6 points from a possible 9 and moved up to 13th in the table.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

October

5 October 2009	Arsenal	6–2	Blackburn	London
13:30	Vermaelen 17' Van Persie 33'  45+3' Arshavin 37' Fàbregas 57' Walcott 75' Bendtner 89'	Report	Nzonzi 4' Dunn 30' Di Santo  11'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,431 Referee: Peter Walton

18 October 2009	Blackburn Rovers	3–2	Burnley	Blackburn
13:00	Dunn 9' Di Santo 21',  22' Chimbonda 43' Nzonzi  51' Samba  87'	Report	Blake 5' Eagles 90+2' Carlisle  83' Mears  86' Jensen  90+3'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 26,689 Referee: Chris Foy

24 October 2009	Chelsea	5–0	Blackburn	London
17:30	Givet 20' (o.g.) Lampard 48', 59' (pen.) Essien 52' Drogba 64'	Report	Pedersen  45+1'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 40,836 Referee: Alan Wiley

31 October 2009	Manchester United	2–0	Blackburn	Manchester
17:30	Berbatov 55' Rooney 87'	Report	Emerton  35' Chimbonda  37'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 74,658 Referee: Phil Dowd

From the October fixtures Blackburn had taken 3 points from a possible 12 and moved down to 17th in the table.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

November

7 November 2009	Blackburn	3–1	Portsmouth	Blackburn
15:00	Roberts 53', 86' Nelsen 73',  40' Chimbonda  35' Givet  36'	Report	O'Hara 15',  35' Boateng  56' Brown  65'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,110 Referee: Peter Walton

22 November 2009	Bolton Wanderers	0–2	Blackburn	Bolton
13:30	Taylor  41' Muamba  44' Klasnić  79'	Report	Dunn 31',  44' Ricketts 72' (o.g.)	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 21,777 Referee: Mike Dean

25 November 2009	Fulham	3–0	Blackburn	London
20:00	Nevland 43' Dempsey 67', 88'	Report		Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 21,414 Referee: Stuart Attwell

28 November 2009	Blackburn	0–0	Stoke City	Blackburn
15:00	Di Santo  60'	Report	Whitehead  37' Wilkinson  89'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,143 Referee: Howard Webb

At the end of November Blackburn were sitting 13th in the table taking 7 points from a possible 12.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

December

5 December 2009	Blackburn	0–0	Liverpool	Blackburn
15:00	Diouf  55'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,660 Referee: Martin Atkinson

12 December 2009	Hull City	0–0	Blackburn	Hull
15:00	Marney  9'	Report	Kalinić  63' Samba  71'	Stadium: KC Stadium Attendance: 24,124 Referee: Chris Foy

15 December 2009	Birmingham City	2–1	Blackburn	Birmingham
20:00	Jerome 12', 48',  48' Ferguson  90+3'	Report	Nelsen 69',  57' Nzonzi  45+1'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 23,187 Referee: Michael Jones

19 December 2009	Blackburn	0–2	Tottenham Hotspur	Blackburn
15:00		Report	Crouch 45+2', 82' Ćorluka  34'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,490 Referee: Peter Walton

26 December 2009	Wigan Athletic	1–1	Blackburn	Wigan
15:00	Rodallega 53' Thomas  90+3'	Report	McCarthy 29' Salgado  14' Givet  37' Chimbonda  43' Nzonzi  84'	Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 20,243 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

28 December 2009	Blackburn	2–2	Sunderland	Blackburn
15:00	Pedersen 53' Diouf 77' McCarthy  62'	Report	Bent 52', 65' Nosworthy  30' Meyler  36' Bardsley  88' Da Silva  90+4'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,656 Referee: Mike Dean

At the end of December Blackburn remained 13th in the table taking 4 points from a possible 18.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

January

11 January 2010	Manchester City	4–1	Blackburn	Manchester
20:00	Tevez 7', 49', 90+1' Richards 39' Zabaleta  61'	Report	Pedersen 71'  78'	Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium Attendance: 40,292 Referee: Chris Foy

17 January 2010	Blackburn	2–0	Fulham	Blackburn
15:00	Samba 25',  28' Nelsen 54'	Report	Baird  82' Nevland  85' Gera  90'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 21,287 Referee: Kevin Friend

27 January 2010	Blackburn	2–1	Wigan	Blackburn
20:00	Pedersen 20' Kalinić 76' Reid  59' Nzonzi  83' Robinson  90+1'	Report	Caldwell 58' Diamé  71'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 22,190 Referee: Lee Mason

30 January 2010	West Ham United	0–0	Blackburn	London
15:00		Report	Emerton  38'	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 33,093 Referee: Peter Walton

At the end of January Blackburn were sitting 10th in the table taking 7 points from a possible 12.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

February

6 February 2010	Stoke City	3–0	Blackburn	Stoke on Trent
15:00	Higginbotham 8' Sidibe 45+2' Etherington 67' Shawcross  37' Fuller  73'	Report	Samba  37'  59' Nzonzi  52' Andrews  90+3'	Stadium: Britannia Stadium Attendance: 27,386 Referee: Steve Bennett

10 February 2010	Blackburn	1–0	Hull City	Blackburn
19:45	Myhill 16' (o.g.) Nelsen  75'	Report	McShane  51' Altidore  61' Gardner  77' Boateng  40'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,518 Referee: Lee Probert

21 February 2010	Blackburn	3–0	Bolton Wanderers	Blackburn
14:00	Kalinić 41' Roberts 73' Givet 84'	Report	Steinsson  75'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,888 Referee: Chris Foy

28 February 2010	Liverpool	2–1	Blackburn	Liverpool
13:00	Gerrard 20' Torres 44' Lucas  90+2'	Report	Andrews 40' Salgado  17' Olsson  48' Nzonzi  50' Kalinić  50' Diouf  70'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 42,795 Referee: Alan Wiley

At the end of February Blackburn were sitting 10th in the table taking 6 points from a possible 12.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

March

13 March 2010	Tottenham Hotspur	3–1	Blackburn	London
12:45	Defoe 45+1' Pavlyuchenko 55', 85'	Report	Samba 80'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,474 Referee: Howard Webb

21 March 2010	Blackburn	1–1	Chelsea	Blackburn
16.00	Diouf 70'	Report	Drogba 6' Zhirkov  88'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,554 Referee: Steve Bennett

24 March 2010	Blackburn	2–1	Birmingham City	Blackburn
20.00	Dunn 5', 67' Dunn  68' Andrews  89'	Report	McFadden 55' Carr  86'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 23,856 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

28 March 2010	Burnley	0–1	Blackburn Rovers	Turf Moor
12:00		Report	Dunn 20'	Attendance: 21,546 Referee: Mike Dean

At the end of March Blackburn were sitting 10th in the table taking 7 points from a possible 12.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

April

3 April 2010	Portsmouth	0–0	Blackburn	Portsmouth
15:00	Vanden Borre  43',  60' Brown  74'	Report	Dunn  50'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 16,207 Referee: Steve Bennett

11 April 2010	Blackburn	0–0	Manchester United	Blackburn
13:30	Salgado  23'	Report	Neville  70' Gibson  87'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,912 Referee: Peter Walton

17 April 2010	Blackburn	2–3	Everton	Blackburn
15:00	Nzonzi 69' Roberts 81' Pedersen  20' Andrews  65' Roberts  82'	Report	Arteta 4' (pen.) Yakubu 79' Cahill 90' Arteta  20' Distin  76'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 27,022 Referee: Andre Marriner

24 April 2010	Wolverhampton	1–1	Blackburn	Wolverhampton
15:00	Ebanks-Blake 81'	Report	Nelsen 28' Pedersen  54'	Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 28,967 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

At the end of April Blackburn were sitting 11th in the table taking 3 points from a possible 12.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

May

3 May 2010	Blackburn	2–1	Arsenal	Blackburn
17:00	Grella  25' Dunn 43' Pedersen  59' Samba 68'	Report	Van Persie 13' Silvestre  65' Campbell  90'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 26,138 Referee: Martin Atkinson

9 May 2010	Aston Villa	0–1	Blackburn	Birmingham
16:00	Dunne  7' A. Young  78'	Report	Dunn  58' Dunne 84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 41,799 Referee: Steve Bennett

At the end of the season Blackburn finished 10th in the table taking a maximum 6 points out of 6 in May.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results by round

Final league table

FA Cup

Third round

2 January 2010	Aston Villa	3-1	Blackburn	Birmingham
15.00	Delfouneso 12' Cuéllar 37' Carew 90+1' (pen.) Reo-Coker  31'	Report	Kalinić 55' Salgado  37' Diouf  42'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 25,453 Referee: Howard Webb

Both managers seemed to have placed the mid-week League Cup semi-final higher on the priority list as, between them, they made a total of 16 changes from the teams that started their previous matches.

Villa's line-up was the stronger of the two and the home side went ahead after 12 minutes. Cutting in from the left, Ashley Young centred the ball to Nathan Delfouneso, who opened the scoring with a straightforward header from 10 yards out. Young could have extended the lead himself before Villa conceded a penalty when Nigel Reo-Coker was adjudged to have brought down Steven Reid, but Brad Guzan saved from David Dunn. The miss was made worse when Young's free-kick was glanced in by Carlos Cuéllar to give Villa a 2–0 lead six minutes later. Things got even bleaker for Rovers when El-Hadji Diouf was given a straight red card before the break when he recklessly brought down Habib Beye.

Blackburn's attempts to get back into the match were given an unexpected lift when Guzan dropped an inswinging corner to allow Nikola Kalinić to score. Villa suddenly looked perturbed and Kalinić could have levelled matters after being sent clear by substitute Morten Gamst Pedersen, but Villa restored their authority when Reo-Coker had a shot turned round the post and, in the 90th minute, Gaël Givet brought down John Carew in the box with the Norwegian sending Rovers keeper Jason Brown the wrong way from the spot to send Blackburn crashing out at the first hurdle.

League Cup

Second round

25 August 2009	Gillingham	1–3	Blackburn	Gillingham
19:45	Jackson 70' (pen.) Gowling  31' Fuller  53'	Report	Dunn 5' Hoilett 47' Pedersen 74' Kalinić  38' Reid  45' Olsson  61' Brown  69'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium, Attendance: 7,293 Referee: Kevin Friend

As one of the 13 Premier League teams not involved in European competition, Blackburn entered at the second round along with the winners from the first round plus Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, who also received a first round bye. The draw for the second round took place on 12 August, after the first round had been completed. Blackburn were drawn away to Gillingham; the match was played on 25 August.

Blackburn started the game brightly and, within 5 minutes, were 1–0 up when David Dunn slotted home Nikola Kalinić's through ball. Gillingham pressed for an equaliser and went closest when Mark McCammon headed just wide. Two minutes after the break, Rovers doubled their lead when Keith Andrews crossed the ball for David Hoilett to score his first goal for the club with a diving header. In the 70th minute Zurab Khizanishvili brought down Simeon Jackson in the box; Jackson himself got back up and scored from the spot to bring Gillingham back into the game. It proved not to be for Gillingham as Blackburn's progress into the next round was sealed 4 minutes later when Morten Gamst Pedersen scored direct from a corner on the right hand side.

Third round

22 September 2009	Nottingham Forest	0–1	Blackburn	Nottingham
19:45	Earnshaw	Report	McCarthy 37' Salgado  16'	Stadium: City Ground, Attendance: 11,553 Referee: Michael Oliver

The draw for the third round took place on 29 August, after the second round had been played. The seven Premier League teams involved in European competition entered at this stage, joined by the winners from the second round. Blackburn were drawn away to Nottingham Forest; the tie was played on 22 September.

Both teams created a few chances in an opening period where Forest looked more than a match for their Premiership rivals, although it was Blackburn who took the lead in the 37th minute when Benni McCarthy's cross-cum-shot-cum-free kick bypassed everyone in the box and nestled in the far corner. Forest were nearly level soon after when Robert Earnshaw's freekick struck the corner of the goal frame with Jason Brown beaten. Forest continued to press after the break and were awarded a penalty on 70 minutes when Steven Reid handled in the box. Dexter Blackstock stepped up to take the penalty but it was saved by Jason Brown. In the 90th minute Earnshaw had an even better chance to draw his team level but managed to blast over from a yard out.

Fourth round

27 October 2009	Blackburn	5–2	Peterborough	Blackburn
20:00	Pedersen 4' Reid 45' (pen.) Salgado 57' McCarthy 72' Kalinić 74' (pen.) Givet  26'	Report	Whelpdale 17' Boyd 50' Lewis  43'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 8,419 Referee: Anthony Taylor

The draw for the fourth round took place after the third-round games had been played, on 26 September; the matches were played in the week beginning 26 October. Blackburn were drawn at home to Championship side Peterborough.

Sam Allardyce opted to make seven changes from the team beaten at Chelsea and was swiftly rewarded when Morten Gamst Pedersen rifled home a free kick in the fourth minute. Peterborough fought back and after a dangerous free kick of their own equalised when Chris Whelpdale headed Chris Rowe's cross back across Jason Brown and into the back of the net. Just before half-time Peterborough were reduced to ten men when goalkeeper Joe Lewis was sent off when he brought down Pedersen after a defensive header had fallen short. Steven Reid stepped up to take the penalty and, despite slipping whilst taking the kick, still scored.

5 minutes after the restart Peterborough once again got themselves on level terms when George Boyd hit a fierce left-foot effort past Brown. The game was effectively ended as a contest in the 57th minute when Míchel Salgado collected Brett Emerton's pass and blasted in his first goal in English football. In the 72nd minute Benni McCarthy calmly slid the ball past substitute keeper James McKeown after being put through by Nikola Kalinić and, when Blackburn were awarded a penalty for handball two minutes later, Kalinić stepped up to the spot and converted for his first goal for the club. Blackburn were successfully through to the fifth round for the third successive season.

Fifth round

2 December 2009	Blackburn Rovers	3-3 (a.e.t.) (4 – 3 p)	Chelsea	Blackburn
20:00	Kalinić 9' Emerton 64' McCarthy 93' (pen.) Grella  106'	Report	Drogba 48' Kalou 52' Ferreira 120+1' Bruma  101'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 18,136 Referee: Alan Wiley
	Penalties
	McCarthy Emerton Grella Kalinić Hoilett		Ballack Drogba Malouda Zhirkov Kakuta

The fifth round draw took place on 31 October, with Blackburn being handed a home tie against Chelsea. The match was played on 2 December.

The tie started at a fast and frenetic pace, with both teams showing a willingness to attack from the opening whistle. Nikola Kalinić shot wide under pressure from Ferreira shortly before his ninth-minute opener, a well-constructed goal that saw Morten Gamst Pedersen play in Pascal Chimbonda, who in turn drilled the ball low across the face of goal for Kalinić to slot home. Chelsea were unusually wasteful in possession and struggled to create clear-cut openings. Even so, Salomon Kalou, Mikel John Obi, Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Yuri Zhirkov all either forced regulation saves from Paul Robinson or missed the target before the break. Kalou's miss was the most glaring, heading wide from six yards at the far post.

Carlo Ancelotti made a bold triple substitution at half-time, introducing Jeffrey Bruma, Gaël Kakuta and Didier Drogba. It looked like a good decision as, after being on the pitch for just three minutes, Drogba climbed above Ryan Nelsen to head home Florent Malouda's cross. Four minutes later, Chelsea took the lead when Zhirkov collected a loose ball and released Kalou, who closed in on goal before slotting the ball beyond Robinson. Rovers levelled in the 64th minute when Kalinić attempted to head Brett Emerton's deflected cross at the near post. The striker didn't appear to get anything on the ball but, regardless, did enough to distract Hilario and the ball went in at the far post.

Chelsea were reduced to ten men when Kalou limped off; due to the triple change at half-time, they were unable to bring on a replacement. Rovers thought they had snatched a dramatic victory in injury-time but McCarthy's effort was ruled out for offside. Kalinić then forced a good save from Hilário but Chelsea survived to take the match into extra-time.

Rovers' pressure eventually told when the home team regained the lead from the penalty spot early in extra-time. Zhirkov clearly fouled substitute David Hoilett and McCarthy sent Hilário the wrong way from the penalty spot. Ferreira equalised with just about the last action of extra time with a neat finish from a tight angle after Robinson had flapped at a cross.

Kakuta missed the crucial spot kick as Rovers won the shoot-out 4–3 to seal a place in the last four. The 18-year-old struck the ball straight at Paul Robinson, who had earlier sensationally tipped Michael Ballack's spot kick on to the post.

Semi-final

14 January 2010	Blackburn	0-1	Aston Villa	Blackburn
20.00	McCarthy  89'	Report	Milner 23' Agbonlahor  38'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 18,595 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Originally scheduled for 5 January 2010, the first leg was postponed as police advised that the travelling conditions for both sets of supporters were unsafe. The game was rearranged for 14 January.

20 January 2010	Aston Villa	6-4	Blackburn	Birmingham
19.45	Warnock 30' Milner 39' (pen.) Nzonzi 52' (o.g.) Agbonlahor 57' Heskey 62' Young 90+3' Milner  27' Heskey  60'		Kalinić 10', 26' Olsson 63' Emerton 84' Givet  35' Samba  38' Nzonzi  52'	Stadium: Villa Park Referee: Martin Atkinson

First–team squad

Updated 28 January 2010

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  ENG Paul Robinson 2 DF  DEN Lars Jacobsen 4 DF  CGO Christopher Samba 5 DF  FRA Gaël Givet 6 DF  NZL Ryan Nelsen (captain) 7 MF  AUS Brett Emerton 8 MF  ENG David Dunn 9 FW  GRN Jason Roberts 11 MF  AUS Vince Grella 12 MF  NOR Morten Gamst Pedersen 13 DF  GEO Zurab Khizanishvili 14 MF  ALG Amine Linganzi 15 MF  FRA Steven Nzonzi 16 MF  IRL Steven Reid 17 MF  IRL Keith Andrews 18 MF  SEN El Hadji Diouf 19 MF  IRL Aaron Doran 20 MF  TUR Yıldıray Baştürk

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF  SWE Martin Olsson 22 FW  CRO Nikola Kalinić 23 FW  CAN David Hoilett 24 MF  IRL Keith Treacy 25 MF  IRL Alan Judge 26 FW  ARG Franco Di Santo (on loan from Chelsea) 27 DF  ESP Míchel Salgado 28 DF  ENG Phil Jones 29 MF  IRL Gavin Gunning 30 FW  NED Maceo Rigters 32 GK  WAL Jason Brown 34 GK  ENG Frank Fielding 36 FW  ENG Marcus Marshall 38 GK  ENG Mark Bunn 39 DF  FRA Pascal Chimbonda - MF  ENG Alex Marrow - MF  ENG Andy Haworth

Jordan Rhodes

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

Current squad

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Paul Robinson	35	0	0	0	3	0	38	0
2	DF	Lars Jacobsen	11 (2)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	12 (3)	0
4	DF	Christopher Samba	30	4	0	0	3	0	33	4
5	DF	Gaël Givet	33 (1)	2	1	0	3	0	37 (1)	2
6	DF	Ryan Nelsen	25 (3)	4	0	0	4 (1)	0	29 (4)	4
7	MF	Brett Emerton	17 (7)	0	0	0	5	2	22 (7)	2
8	MF	David Dunn	20 (3)	9	1	0	3 (1)	1	24 (4)	10
9	FW	Jason Roberts	15 (14)	5	0	0	1 (1)	0	16 (15)	5
11	MF	Vince Grella	10 (5)	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	10 (7)	0
12	MF	Morten Gamst Pedersen	27 (6)	3	0 (1)	0	5	2	32 (7)	5
13	DF	Zurab Khizanishvili	0	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	1 (1)	0
15	MF	Steven Nzonzi	33	2	0	0	5	0	38	2
16	MF	Steven Reid	1 (3)	0	1	0	3 (2)	1	5 (5)	1
17	MF	Keith Andrews	22 (10)	1	0	0	1 (2)	0	23 (12)	1
18	MF	El Hadji Diouf	24 (2)	3	1	0	0	0	25 (2)	3
19	MF	Aaron Doran	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF	Yıldıray Baştürk	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
21	DF	Martin Olsson	19 (2)	1	1	0	4 (1)	1	24 (3)	2
22	FW	Nikola Kalinić	14 (12)	2	1	1	6	4	21 (12)	7
23	FW	David Hoilett	8 (15)	0	0	0	3 (1)	1	11 (16)	1
25	MF	Alan Judge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	FW	Franco Di Santo	15 (7)	1	1	0	0 (1)	0	16 (8)	1
27	DF	Míchel Salgado	16 (5)	0	1	0	4	1	21 (5)	1
28	DF	Phil Jones	7 (2)	0	1	0	2	0	10 (2)	0
29	DF	Gavin Gunning	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	GK	Jason Brown	3 (1)	0	1	0	3	0	7 (1)	0
34	GK	Frank Fielding	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	GK	Mark Bunn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
39	DF	Pascal Chimbonda	22 (2)	1	1	0	3 (1)	0	26 (3)	1

Former players

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
(3)	DF	Stephen Warnock	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
(10)	FW	Benni McCarthy	7 (7)	1	0	0	3 (2)	3	10 (9)	4
(14)	FW	Paul Gallagher	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0
(20)	MF	Elrio Van Heerden	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0 (2)	0
(24)	MF	Keith Treacy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Substitution appearances in brackets

• Last Update: 31 January 2010
• Data does not include appearances/goals obtained whilst at another club
• Substitution appearances in (brackets)
• League – Premier League
• FA Cup – FA Cup
• League Cup – League Cup

Starting formations

As of 31 January 2010

Top scorer As of 28 January 2010 P. Player Position Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total 1 David Dunn Midfielder 9 0 1 10 2 Nikola Kalinić Forward 2 1 4 7 3 Morten Gamst Pedersen Midfielder 3 0 2 5 4 Benni McCarthy Forward 1 0 3 4 5 Jason Roberts Forward 5 0 0 5

Most appearances As of 6 May 2010 P. Player Position Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total 1 Keith Andrews Midfielder 32 0 3 35 2 Morten Gamst Pedersen Midfielder 33 1 5 39 3 Gaël Givet Defender 34 1 3 38 4 Paul Robinson Goalkeeper 35 0 3 38 5 Steven Nzonzi Midfielder 33 0 5 38 Substitution appearances counted as full

Discipline

Current squad

As of 13 May 2010

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
1	GK	Paul Robinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF	Christopher Samba	5	1	0	0	0	1	5	2
5	DF	Gaël Givet	3	0	0	0	2	0	5	0
6	DF	Ryan Nelsen	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
7	MF	Brett Emerton	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
8	MF	David Dunn	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
11	MF	Vince Grella	2	1	0	0	1	0	3	1
12	MF	Morten Gamst Pedersen	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
15	MF	Steven Nzonzi	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
16	MF	Steven Reid	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
17	MF	Keith Andrews	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
18	MF	El Hadji Diouf	3	0	0	1	0	0	3	1
21	DF	Martin Olsson	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
22	FW	Nikola Kalinić	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
26	FW	Franco Di Santo	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
27	DF	Míchel Salgado	3	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
32	GK	Jason Brown	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
39	DF	Pascal Chimbonda	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		TOTALS	54	2	1	1	8	1	63	4

Former players

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
(3)	DF	Stephen Warnock	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
(10)	FW	Benni McCarthy	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
(14)	FW	Paul Gallagher	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Previous Club	Cost
2 June 2009	Elrio van Heerden	Club Brugge	Free
26 June 2009	Gaël Givet	Marseille	Undisclosed
29 June 2009	Lars Jacobsen	Everton	Free
3 July 2009	Steven Nzonzi	Amiens	Undisclosed
13 August 2009	Nikola Kalinić	Hajduk Split	£6,000,000
19 August 2009	Míchel Salgado	Real Madrid	Free
27 August 2009	Pascal Chimbonda	Tottenham Hotspur	Undisclosed
27 January 2010	Yıldıray Baştürk	VfB Stuttgart	Free
28 January 2010	Amine Linganzi	Saint-Étienne	Free

Out

Date	Player	New Club	Cost
22 June 2009	Roque Santa Cruz	Manchester City	Undisclosed
24 June 2009	Matt Derbyshire	Olympiacos	Undisclosed
1 July 2009	Aaron Mokoena	Portsmouth	Free
1 July 2009	Tugay Kerimoğlu	Retired	-
1 July 2009	André Ooijer	PSV	Free
21 August 2009	Paul Gallagher	Leicester	Undisclosed
27 August 2009	Stephen Warnock	Aston Villa	Undisclosed
11 January 2010	Elrio van Heerden	Sivasspor	Free
1 February 2010	Benni McCarthy	West Ham	Undisclosed
1 February 2010	Keith Treacy	Preston North End	Undisclosed

Loaned in

Date	Player	Club	Return Date
3 August 2009	Franco Di Santo	Chelsea	May 2010

Loaned out

Date	Player	Club	Return Date
24 July 2009	Keith Treacy	Sheffield United	December 2009
2 August 2009	Mark Bunn	Sheffield United	May 2010
4 August 2009	Alan Judge	Plymouth Argyle	January 2010
6 August 2009	Gavin Gunning	Tranmere Rovers	September 2009
6 August 2009	Alex Marrow	Oldham Athletic	May 2010
6 August 2009	Nick Blackman	Oldham Athletic	January 2010
17 September 2009	Zurab Khizanishvili	Newcastle United	December 2009
29 September 2009	Frank Fielding	Leeds United	November 2009
5 October 2009	Aaron Doran	MK Dons	November 2009
16 October 2009	Johnny Flynn	Chester City	November 2009
13 November 2009	Andy Haworth	Gateshead	December 2009
19 November 2009	Steven Reid	Queens Park Rangers	December 2009
26 November 2009	Johnny Flynn	Accrington Stanley	May 2010
22 January 2010	Andy Haworth	Rochdale	June 2010
22 January 2010	Gavin Gunning	Rotherham United	May 2010
23 January 2010	Marcus Marshall	Rotherham United	May 2010
25 January 2010	Zurab Khizanishvili	Reading	May 2010
1 February 2010	Frank Fielding	Rochdale	May 2010
22 February 2010	Aaron Doran	Leyton Orient	March 2010

Notes

1. Samba was born in Créteil, France, but also qualified to represent Congo internationally and made his international debut for Congo in 2004.
2. Roberts was born in Park Royal, England, but also qualified to represent Grenada internationally through his father and French Guiana through his mother and made his international debut for Grenada in 1998.
3. Linganzi was born in Algiers, Algeria, but also qualified to represent Congo internationally and would make his international debut for Congo in 2013.
4. Reid was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2001.
5. Baştürk was born in Herne, West Germany (now Germany), but also qualified to represent Turkey internationally and made his international debut for Turkey in 1998.
6. Brown was born in Southwark, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his grandmother and made his international debut for Wales in May 2006.
7. Chimbonda was born in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, but was raised in France and made his international debut for France in May 2006.

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External links

• Official Club site
• The Daily Rover – Fan Driven Website Archived 2 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• Player Statistics – Official Club Site

• 2009–10 Premier League by team
• Blackburn Rovers F.C. seasons