2005–06 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season explained

During the 2005–06 season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

After relegation struggles during the two previous season, Mark Hughes marked his first full season in club management by taking Blackburn to sixth place - four points off Champions League qualification - and reaching his second successive cup semi-final, in the League Cup, only to be knocked out by the eventual cup winners again, Hughes' old club Manchester United. Blackburn had been in mid-table for much of the season before gathering momentum to put real pressure on Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the crucial fourth place, eventually finishing in a UEFA Cup place. Rovers' good form was largely in part down to the good form of Welsh striker Craig Bellamy, a summer signing from Newcastle United, who scored 13 goals in the league. However, Bellamy would then exercise an option to enable him to move for £6 million to a Champions League club, signing for FA Cup winners Liverpool. As his replacement Hughes signed South African striker Benni McCarthy, who had helped fire Porto to the Champions League title two years earlier.

Final league table

See main article: 2005–06 FA Premier League.

Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Results by matchday

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
13 August 2005	West Ham United	A	1–3	33,305	Todd
20 August 2005	Fulham	H	2–1	16,953	Pedersen, Tugay
24 August 2005	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–0	22,375
27 August 2005	Aston Villa	A	0–1	31,010
11 September 2005	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–0	24,405
18 September 2005	Newcastle United	H	0–3	20,725
24 September 2005	Manchester United	A	2–1	67,765	Pedersen (2)
1 October 2005	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–0	20,721	Kuqi (2)
15 October 2005	Liverpool	A	0–1	44,697
22 October 2005	Birmingham City	H	2–0	18,341	Dickov (pen), Bellamy
29 October 2005	Chelsea	A	2–4	41,553	Bellamy (2, 1 pen)
5 November 2005	Charlton Athletic	H	4–1	17,691	Emerton, Dickov, Pedersen, Bellamy
19 November 2005	Manchester City	A	0–0	44,032
26 November 2005	Arsenal	A	0–3	38,192
3 December 2005	Everton	H	0–2	22,064
10 December 2005	West Ham United	H	3–2	20,370	Dickov (2, 1 pen), Kuqi
17 December 2005	Fulham	A	1–2	20,138	Knight (own goal)
26 December 2005	Middlesbrough	A	2–0	29,881	Kuqi (2)
31 December 2005	Wigan Athletic	A	3–0	20,639	Pedersen, Reid, Bellamy
2 January 2006	Portsmouth	H	2–1	19,521	Pedersen, Dickov
14 January 2006	Bolton Wanderers	H	0–0	18,180
21 January 2006	Newcastle United	A	1–0	51,323	Pedersen
1 February 2006	Manchester United	H	4–3	25,484	Bentley (3), Neill (pen)
4 February 2006	West Bromwich Albion	A	0–2	23,993
11 February 2006	Everton	A	0–1	35,615
15 February 2006	Sunderland	H	2–0	18,220	Bellamy (2)
25 February 2006	Arsenal	H	1–0	22,504	Pedersen
5 March 2006	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–3	36,080	Sinama Pongolle, Bellamy
11 March 2006	Aston Villa	H	2–0	21,932	Todd, Bellamy
18 March 2006	Middlesbrough	H	3–2	18,681	Bellamy (2), Pedersen
25 March 2006	Sunderland	A	1–0	29,593	Reid
3 April 2006	Wigan Athletic	H	1–1	20,410	Kuqi
8 April 2006	Portsmouth	A	2–2	20,048	Bellamy (2)
16 April 2006	Liverpool	H	0–1	29,142
19 April 2006	Birmingham City	A	1–2	25,287	Savage
29 April 2006	Charlton Athletic	A	2–0	26,254	Reid, Powell (own goal)
2 May 2006	Chelsea	H	1–0	20,243	Reid
7 May 2006	Manchester City	H	2–0	25,731	Khizanishvili, Kuqi

FA Cup

See main article: 2005–06 FA Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers

R3	7 January 2006	Queens Park Rangers	H	3–0	12,705	Todd, Bellamy (2)
R4	28 January 2006	West Ham United	A	2–4	23,700	Bentley, Neill

League Cup

See main article: 2005–06 Football League Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers

R2	21 September 2005	Huddersfield Town	H	3–1	11,755	Bellamy (2), Khizanishvili
R3	25 October 2005	Leeds United	H	3–0	15,631	Emerton, Dickov, Neill
R4	30 November 2005	Charlton Athletic	A	3–2	14,093	Kuqi, Thompson, Bentley
R5	21 December 2005	Middlesbrough	A	1–0	14,710	Dickov
SF 1st Leg	11 January 2006	Manchester United	H	1–1	24,348	Pedersen
SF 2nd Leg	25 January 2006	Manchester United	A	1–2 (lost 2–3 on agg)	61,637	Reid

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

Left club during season

Statistics

Appearances and goals

|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Blackburn Rovers 2005-2006 Results. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130323013031/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/2005-2006/results. 2013-03-23. statto.com.
2. Web site: FootballSquads - Blackburn Rovers - 2005/06. www.footballsquads.co.uk.