List of Blackburn Rovers F.C. seasons

Blackburn Rovers were established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1995. 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 [lower-alpha 1] [3] [4]	Avg. att. [4] [lower-alpha 2]	Top goalscorer(s) [5] [lower-alpha 3]
	Tier	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos					Player(s)	Goals
1879–80	N/A [lower-alpha 4]										R3	–	–	–	–	–
1880–81	N/A										R2	–	–	–	–	–
1881–82	N/A										RU [lower-alpha 5]	–	–	–	–	–
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 [lower-alpha 6]	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 [lower-alpha 7]	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 [lower-alpha 8]	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 [lower-alpha 9]	–	–	–	–	–
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 [lower-alpha 10]	–	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 [lower-alpha 11]	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 [lower-alpha 12]	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 [lower-alpha 13]	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 [lower-alpha 14]	6,773
1987–88	2	Div 2	44	21	14	9	68	52	77	5th [lower-alpha 15]	R3	R2	R1	9,503
1988–89	2	Div 2	46	22	11	13	74	59	77	5th [lower-alpha 16]	R5	R3	R3	8,891
1989–90	2	Div 2	46	19	17	10	74	59	74	5th [lower-alpha 17]	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 ↑ [lower-alpha 18]	R4	R1	R1	13,250
1992–93	1	Prem [lower-alpha 19]	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 [lower-alpha 20]	25,272	Alan Shearer	34
													R1 [lower-alpha 21]
1995–96	1	Prem	38	18	7	13	61	47	61	7th	R3	R4	RU [lower-alpha 22]	27,714	Alan Shearer	31
													Grp [lower-alpha 23]
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 [lower-alpha 24]	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 [lower-alpha 25]	–	25,976	Matt Jansen	10
2002–03	1	Prem	38	16	12	10	52	43	60	6th	R4	SF	R2 [lower-alpha 26]	26,226	Damien Duff	9
2003–04	1	Prem	38	12	8	18	51	59	44	15th	R3	R3	R1 [lower-alpha 27]	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 [lower-alpha 28]	21,275	Benni McCarthy	18
2007–08	1	Prem	38	15	13	10	50	48	58	7th	R3	QF	R1 [lower-alpha 29]	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 [lower-alpha 30]	12,688	Danny Graham	11
2017–18	3	L1	46	28	12	6	82	40	96	2nd ↑	R3	R2	Grp [lower-alpha 31]	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	–	— [lower-alpha 32]	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	46	14	11	21	60	74	53	19th	R5	R4	–
2024–25	2	Chmp									R3	R1	–

Overall

• Seasons spent in First Division / Premier League (1st tier): 72
• Seasons spent in Second Division / Championship (2nd tier): 46
• Seasons spent in Third Division / League One (3rd tier): 6
• Seasons spent in Fourth Division / League Two (4th tier): 0

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 Trelleborgs FF 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. "Blackburn Rovers Results". soccerbase.com.
4. "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 History Database. Richard Rundle.
• "Blackburn Rovers FC". European Football Statistics.
• "Blackburn Rovers". Soccerbase.
• "Blackburn Rovers History by Season". Statto. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011.