East Lancashire derby explained

East Lancashire derby
Other Names:	Cotton Mills derby, El Lanclasico
First Contested:	Burnley 2–4 Blackburn Rovers (27 September 1884)
Most Wins:	Burnley (44)
Most Player Appearances:	Jerry Dawson (Burnley), Ronnie Clayton (Blackburn Rovers) (19 each)
Mostrecent:	Blackburn Rovers 0–1 Burnley 2022–23 EFL Championship (25 April 2023)
Nextmeeting:	Burnley v Blackburn Rovers (EFL Championship, 31 August 2024)
Total:	106
Series:	Blackburn: 41 Draws: 21 Burnley: 44
Largestvictory:	Burnley 1–7 Blackburn 1888–89 Football League (3 November 1888) Burnley 6–0 Blackburn 1895–96 Football League (18 April 1896) Blackburn 6–0 Burnley 1914–15 Football League (28 November 1914)
Stadiums:	Ewood Park (Blackburn Rovers) Turf Moor (Burnley)
Map Location:	United Kingdom Lancashire
Map Label1:	Blackburn Rovers
Map Mark1:	Blue 0080ff pog.svg
Map Label2:	Burnley
Map Mark2:	Dark Red 800000 pog.svg
Coordinates1:	53.7286°N -2.4892°W
Coordinates2:	53.7892°N -2.2303°W

The East Lancashire derby, also known as the Cotton Mills derby^[1] and El Lanclasico,^[2] is an association football rivalry between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley. The nickname originates from the fact that both Blackburn and Burnley are former mill towns. From a town standpoint there is a geographical reason for the rivalry as the two Lancashire towns only lie 11 miles (18 km) apart. Accrington Stanley F.C. is based in the middle, but is not regarded as a rival by either.

Following the founding of Turton F.C. in Edgworth in 1871,^[3] several football clubs were formed in East Lancashire in the next years, such as Blackburn Rovers in 1875, Accrington in 1876 and Burnley in 1882. Rovers and Burnley played each other for the first time in September 1884 in a friendly match, with Blackburn winning 4–2. Between 1884 and 1888, the clubs met thirteen times, with Burnley winning seven matches and Rovers four. The first competitive league game between these two founder members of the Football League and former English football champions, took place at Turf Moor in November 1888, with Blackburn winning 7–1, their biggest win in the derby. Burnley's largest derby victory is a 6–0 win recorded in April 1896.

Burnley hold the better head-to-head record, as the side have won 44 games to Blackburn's 41 in major competitions. Including matches played in regional competitions such as the Lancashire Cup, Burnley have won 70 games to Blackburn's 65.

History

Burnley and Blackburn Rovers met for the first time on 27 September 1884. The match was played at Burnley's home ground, Turf Moor, in front of a 5,000 crowd, with Blackburn emerging as 4–2 winners. Burnley quickly gained revenge when they won 5–1 at the same ground in March 1885. Their first meeting in Blackburn took place at Leamington Road and ended 2–2. In total, the clubs met thirteen times between 1884 and 1888, Burnley winning seven games and Blackburn four.^[4]

Blackburn Rovers and Burnley were among the 12 founder members of the Football league and took their places in the inaugural season, which was dominated by fellow Lancashire side Preston North End. The first league match between Rovers and Burnley was at Turf Moor and resulted in a 7–1 win for Blackburn. Rovers won the next season the home fixture by the same margin; Burnley remain the only team Blackburn have beaten home and away by this score line to this day. Over the first four seasons, before the league was split into two divisions, Blackburn performed the double over Burnley in each of the initial three seasons. In this period, striker Jack Southworth scored 12 goals in 10 appearances against Burnley, including Rovers' first ever league hat-trick.

Burnley recorded their first league victory over Rovers in December 1891, albeit in heavy snowy conditions and controversial circumstances. Burnley were 3–0 up at half-time at Turf Moor. After the interval, Lofthouse was sent off along with Burnley's Alec Stewart after a brief altercation, and the rest of the Rovers outfield players went with him. Only Blackburn's goalkeeper, Herbie Arthur, stayed on the pitch. Arthur appealed for offside as Burnley bore down on his goal. The referee quickly abandoned the game and the points were awarded to Burnley.^[5]

Rovers continued to have the better of the fixture, registering five consecutive wins at home ground Ewood Park between 1892 and 1897, although Burnley recorded their largest victory against Blackburn in 1895–96, when they beat Rovers 6–0 with Tom Nicol scoring a hat-trick. The clubs were temporarily parted by Burnley's relegation in 1896–97, which was assisted by Rovers completing the double over them. In March 1913, the sides met each other for the first time in the FA Cup, with Burnley winning 1–0 at Ewood Park in front of almost 43,000 spectators, including 22,000 Burnley fans.^[6]

After the First World War ended, Blackburn and Burnley played each other for 11 uninterrupted years in the top flight. Burnley experienced initial dominance, winning their first First Division title in 1920–21 and doing the double over Rovers. The mid-1920s saw three hat-tricks in two seasons by Blackburn players in the fixture, from Johnny McIntyre, Arthur Rigby and Ted Harper. Burnley were relegated to the Second Division in 1929–30. The two clubs would not meet again until Blackburn joined them in the second tier in 1935–36.

The first fixture in the Second Division ended in a goalless draw. Rovers won the return fixture 3–1, Jack Bruton scoring against his former club and again the following season. Bruton remains the only man to have scored for both clubs against the other, also having netted twice for Burnley against Rovers in the 1920s. Blackburn won the Second Division title in 1938–39, after which football was suspended during the Second World War. Burnley won promotion when the league was restarted in 1946–47 and also reached the 1947 FA Cup final. Burnley took three of the four points against Blackburn and finished third in 1947–48, while Rovers were relegated.^[7]

Blackburn returned to the top flight in 1957–58, where they would stay until 1966. Burnley won their second First Division title in 1959–60, and between 1958 and 1966, they won eight of the sixteen league meetings against Blackburn, including four successive wins at Ewood Park. Both clubs were relegated in 1970–71; Burnley went down to the second tier, while Blackburn were relegated to the third tier. Burnley returned to the First Division two years later but upon relegation in 1975–76, they rejoined Rovers who had been promoted from the Third Division in 1974–75. Burnley again had the edge in the fixture, winning four of the six matches, with midfielder Peter Noble scoring in four of the games. Rovers went down again at the end of the 1978–79 season, but bounced straight back while Burnley moved into the opposite direction entering the Third Division for the first time at the end of 1979–80. Burnley won promotion in 1981–82 to set up a renewal of the fixture. The games in 1982–83 were both won by Rovers and would ultimately prove to be the last between them in the 20th century. Simon Garner scored all three Blackburn goals in the two games, two of which came from the penalty spot.

In the following 27 years both clubs had very different fortunes. Burnley were again relegated to the Third Division at the end of the 1982–83 season, which was quickly followed by relegation to the Fourth Division in the 1984–85 season. Both clubs would stay in their respective divisions until 1991–92, when Blackburn were promoted to the newly formed Premier League and Burnley were promoted to the third tier. Burnley were promoted to the second tier in 1993–94 but were relegated the following year, while Blackburn won the Premier League title, having been bankrolled by local businessman Jack Walker.^[8]

Blackburn became the first and only Premier League winners to be relegated (until Leicester in 2023), in 1998–99, and were joined in the second tier by Burnley, who won promotion from the third tier at the end of the 1999–2000 season. The first meeting of the new millennium between them was at Turf Moor in December 2000. Rovers won 2–0, while Burnley's Kevin Ball was sent off. Blackburn also won the return fixture at Ewood Park with a scoreline of 5–0 and were promoted back to the Premier League at the end of the season.

Burnley won the Championship play-off in 2009 and were promoted to the Premier League for the first time, which also meant that the fixture would be played in the top division for the first time since January 1966. For the trip to Ewood Park, Burnley and Blackburn fans were forced to travel on designated buses. Blackburn won the first match at home, while the police made a total of 55 arrests as violence erupted inside and outside a local pub, who described the violence as one of the worst cases they had ever seen.^[9] In the buildup to the return fixture at Turf Moor, Blackburn player David Dunn said in the local newspaper that he hopes "Rovers thump Burnley 10–0", by then going on to say "I hope they stay up". Blackburn completed the double over their rivals later that season, with David Dunn scoring the only goal from the penalty spot after a dive from Martin Olsson. After the game, 150 seats in the away end were ripped up and the sinks in the toilets were smashed, with 42 arrests made involving both fan groups.^[10] Burnley were relegated at the end of the season, while Blackburn were relegated to the second tier at the end of 2011–12.

After the following three matches in the Football League Championship between both sides ended in draws, Burnley defeated Blackburn for the first time in 35 years in March 2014. At Ewood Park, Blackburn went 1–0 up but Burnley scored twice in the closing stages. Burnley were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2013–14 season but went down the following year. Burnley did the double over Rovers on their return to the second tier and also won the first ever League Cup meeting between both teams in 2017. Burnley also did the double over Blackburn during the 2022–23 season; after winning 3–0 at Turf Moor, Burnley defeated Rovers 1–0 at Ewood Park, claiming the Championship title at their rival's ground.^[11]

List of derbies

	Season	Date	Competition	Stadium	Home Team	Away Team	Attendance
1	1888–89	3 November 1888			Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	3,000
2	1888–89	4 February 1889	Division 1	Leamington Road	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	2,000
3	1889–90	26 October 1889	Division 1	Leamington Road	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	4,000
4	1889–90	22 February 1890	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	7,000
5	1890–91	18 October 1890	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	10,000
6	1890–91	22 November 1890	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	4,000
7	1891–92	26 September 1891	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	4,000
8	1891–92	12 December 1891	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	5,000
9	1892–93	3 December 1892	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	10,000
10	1892–93	17 December 1892	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	7,500
11	1893–94	18 November 1893	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	5,000
12	1893–94	23 December 1893	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	13,000
13	1894–95	17 November 1894	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	7,000
14	1894–95	12 January 1895	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	10,000
15	1895–96	5 October 1895	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	3,500
16	1895–96	18 April 1896	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	5,000
17	1896–97	3 October 1896	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	9,000
18	1896–97	7 November 1896	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	5,000
19	1897–98	21 April 1898		Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	—
20	1897–98	23 April 1898	Football League test match	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	—
21	1898–99	26 November 1898	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	12,000
22	1898–99	26 December 1898	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,000
23	1899–1900	7 October 1899	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	12,855
24	1899–1900	1 January 1900	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	14,000
25	1912–13	8 March 1913		Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	42,778
26	1913–14	8 September 1913	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	36,000
27	1913–14	1 January 1914	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	48,000
28	1914–15	28 November 1914	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	21,700
29	1914–15	3 April 1915	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	25,000
30	1919–20	13 September 1919	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,000
31	1919–20	20 September 1919	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	20,000
32	1920–21	15 January 1921	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	41,534
33	1920–21	22 January 1921	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	43,000
34	1921–22	4 February 1922	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,000
35	1921–22	11 February 1922	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	40,919
36	1922–23	21 October 1922	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	29,000
37	1922–23	28 October 1922	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	23,000
38	1923–24	3 November 1923	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,000
39	1923–24	10 November 1923	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	30,000
40	1924–25	13 September 1924	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	16,000
41	1924–25	17 January 1925	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,000
42	1925–26	31 October 1925	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	26,181
43	1925–26	13 March 1926	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	26,991
44	1926–27	16 October 1926	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	21,482
45	1926–27	5 March 1927	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	18,081
46	1927–28	27 August 1927	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	32,441
47	1927–28	31 December 1927	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	28,354
48	1928–29	20 October 1928	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	35,694
49	1928–29	2 May 1929	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	5,461
50	1929–30	9 November 1929	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	22,647
51	1929–30	15 March 1930	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	16,673
52	1936–37	24 October 1936	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	32,567
53	1936–37	27 February 1937	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	18,240
54	1937–38	11 December 1937	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	15,136
55	1937–38	23 April 1938	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	14,139
56	1938–39	15 October 1938	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	29,254
57	1938–39	18 February 1939	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	30,223
58	1947–48	18 October 1947	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	41,635
59	1947–48	6 March 1948	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	44,240
60	1951–52	8 March 1952	FA Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	53,000
61	1958–59	18 October 1958	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	41,961
62		28 January 1959	FA Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	43,752
63		7 March 1959	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	27,071
64	1959–60	17 October 1959	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	33,316
65		5 March 1960	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	32,331
66		12 March 1960	FA Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	51,501
67		16 March 1960	FA Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	53,892
68	1960–61	8 October 1960	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	26,223
69	1960–61	25 February 1961	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	26,492
70	1961–62	24 February 1962	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	33,914
71	1961–62	17 April 1962	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	29,997
72	1962–63	6 October 1962	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	26,626
73	1962–63	2 April 1963	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	25,746
74	1963–64	1 October 1963	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	24,345
75	1963–64	19 October 1963	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	26,740
76	1964–65	10 October 1964	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,199
77	1964–65	24 February 1965	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	15,340
78	1965–66	9 October 1965	Division 1	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	23,198
79	1965–66	1 January 1966	Division 1	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	28,013
80	1976–77	7 August 1976		Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	11,012
81		27 December 1976	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	22,189
82		8 April 1977	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	17,372
83	1977–78	2 August 1977	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	8,119
84		26 December 1977	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	27,427
85		27 March 1978	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	24,379
86	1978–79	12 August 1978	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	9,791
87		26 December 1978	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	23,133
88		14 April 1979	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	14,761
89	1979–80	4 August 1979	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	7,749
90	1982–83	27 December 1982	Division 2	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	20,439
91	1982–83	4 April 1983	Division 2	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	13,434
92	2000–01	17 December 2000	Division 1 (2nd tier)	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,369
93	2000–01	1 April 2001	Division 1 (2nd tier)	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	23,442
94	2004–05	20 February 2005	FA Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,468
95	2004–05	1 March 2005	FA Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	28,691
96	2009–10	18 October 2009		Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	26,689
97	2009–10	28 March 2010	Premier League	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,546
98	2012–13	2 December 2012		Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,341
99	2012–13	17 March 2013	Championship	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	20,735
100	2013–14	14 September 2013	Championship	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	15,699
101	2013–14	9 March 2014	Championship	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	21,589
102	2015–16	24 October 2015	Championship	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	19,897
103	2015–16	5 March 2016	Championship	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	20,478
104	2017–18	23 August 2017	League Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	16,313
105	2022–23	13 November 2022	Championship	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers	21,747
106	2022–23	25 April 2023	Championship	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley	18,166

Note: excluding games played during the First and Second World Wars

Head-to-head

Competition	Games played	Blackburn wins	Drawn games	Burnley wins
Football League and Premier League	94	38	16	40
FA Cup	7	3	2	2
League Cup	1	0	0	1
Anglo-Scottish Cup	4	0	3	1
Totals	106	41	21	44

Source:^[12] ^[13]

Regional competitions

	Season	Date	Competition	Stadium	Home Team	Away Team
1	1889–90	26 April 1890	Lancashire Cup final	Thorneyholme Road (Accrington)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
2	1890–91	30 May 1891	East Lancashire Charity Cup final		Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
3	1892–93	20 April 1893	East Lancashire Charity Cup semi-final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
4	1893–94	24 September 1894	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
5	1894–95	9 March 1895	County Palatine League		Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
6	1894–95	8 April 1895	County Palatine League		Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
7	1895–96	14 March 1896	Lancashire Cup semi-final	Deepdale (Preston)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
8	1895–96	19 March 1896	Lancashire Cup semi-final replay	Hyde Road (Manchester)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
9	1898–99	24 April 1899	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
10	1900–01	14 January 1901	Lancashire Cup final	Hyde Road (Manchester)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
11	1901–02	2 December 1901	Lancashire Cup final	Hyde Road (Manchester)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
12	1902–03	20 October 1902	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
13	1904–05	24 April 1905	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
14	1905–06	26 April 1906	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
15	1906–07	15 April 1907	East Lancashire Charity Cup semi-final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
16	1907–08	30 April 1908	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
17	1908–09	27 April 1909	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
18	1910–11	7 November 1910	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
19		12 December 1910	Lancashire Cup final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
20		23 January 1911	Lancashire Cup final replay	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
21		3 April 1911	Lancashire Cup final second replay	Burnden Park (Bolton)	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
22		18 April 1911	Lancashire Cup final third replay	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
23	1911–12	20 November 1911	Lancashire Cup semi-final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
24	1911–12	27 November 1911	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
25	1912–13	22 September 1913	East Lancashire Charity Cup semi-final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
26	1912–13	19 January 1914	East Lancashire Charity Cup semi-final replay	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
27	1913–14	6 October 1913	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
28	1914–15	9 November 1914	Lancashire Cup semi-final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
29	1914–15	24 April 1915	East Lancashire Charity Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
30	1919–20	3 May 1920	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
31	1919–20	6 May 1920	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
32	1920–21	18 April 1921	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
33	1920–21	27 April 1921	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
34	1921–22	24 April 1922	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
35	1921–22	1 May 1922	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
36	1922–23	23 April 1923	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
37		1 May 1923	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
38		7 May 1923	East Lancashire Charity Cup replay	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
39	1923–24	5 September 1923	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
40		10 September 1923	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
41		23 April 1924	East Lancashire Charity Cup replay	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
42	1925–26	3 May 1926	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
43	1926–27	8 September 1926	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
44	1926–27	5 May 1927	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
45	1927–28	17 November 1927	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
46	1927–28	22 November 1927	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
47	1928–29	15 November 1928	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
48	1928–29	22 April 1929	East Lancashire Charity Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
49	1935–36	30 September 1935	Lancashire Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
50	1950–51	24 October 1950	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
51	1951–52	24 April 1952	Lancashire Cup semi-final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
52	1957–58	12 November 1957	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
53	1960–61	25 April 1961	Lancashire Cup final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
54	1961–62	30 April 1962	Lancashire Cup semi-final	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
55	1966–67	1 November 1966	Lancashire Cup	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
56	1966–67	7 March 1967	Lancashire Cup replay	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
57	1983–84	16 August 1983	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
58	1985–86	13 August 1985	Lancashire Cup final	Ewood Park	Blackburn Rovers	Burnley
59	1987–88	4 August 1987	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
60	1988–89	9 August 1988	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
61	1989–90	8 August 1989	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers
62	1991–92	6 August 1991	Lancashire Cup	Turf Moor	Burnley	Blackburn Rovers

Note: excluding games played during the First and Second World Wars
Note: teams have fielded their reserve teams in the Lancashire Cup since the mid-1990s

Head-to-head

Competition	Games played	Blackburn wins	Drawn games	Burnley wins
Lancashire Cup	27	10	7	10
East Lancashire Charity Cup	33	12	5	16
County Palatine League	2	2	0	0
Totals	62	24	12	26

Source:^[14]

Total head-to-head

Competition	Games played	Blackburn wins	Drawn games	Burnley wins
Major competitions	106	41	21	44
Regional competitions	62	24	12	26
Totals	168	65	33	70

Honours

Team	First Division / Premier League	Second Division / Championship	Third Division / League One	Fourth Division / League Two	FA Cup	League Cup	FA Community/Charity Shield	Anglo-Scottish Cup (defunct)	Full Members' Cup (defunct)	Total
Blackburn Rovers	3	1	1	0	6	1	1	0	1	14
Burnley	2	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	0	12

Source:^[15] ^[16]

Crossing the divide

Jack Bruton is the only man to score for both sides against the other. At Burnley, he scored 44 goals in 176 matches before Rovers broke their transfer record by paying £6,500 in 1929. Bruton would make 344 appearances for Blackburn, scoring 115 goals and also managed the club for a short period in the late 1940s.^[17]

In the 1950s and 1960s, a few Burnley players moved to Blackburn Rovers. These included goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw, defender Walter Joyce and winger John Connelly. Blacklaw, a Scottish international, played 374 matches for Burnley and 110 games for Rovers. Connelly won the First Division with Burnley in 1960 and moved to Manchester United in 1964. He scored 103 goals in 260 matches for Burnley, including five against Blackburn. Connelly made 20 appearances for the England national team and was a member of their World Cup squad in 1966. After the tournament, he moved to Blackburn, where he played 110 games.

Full-back Keith Newton, a youth product of Blackburn Rovers, played 357 times for the side before he joined Everton in 1969. After three years, he switched to Burnley in 1972 and won promotion to the top flight with the club in 1973. He played a combined record number of 593 occasions for Blackburn and Burnley in the league and cup. Another full-back to make the move from Turf Moor to Ewood Park via another club, Leeds United, was Kevin Hird. Converted to a midfielder at Burnley, Hird – a lifelong Burnley supporter – netted for Rovers against Burnley on Boxing Day in 1978.

In the early 2000s, two Blackburn players had loan spells at Burnley, these being Jay McEveley and Andy Todd.^[18] ^[19] David May, who played for Blackburn between 1988 and 1994, captained Burnley in his only season there in 2003–04.^[20] Another ex-Blackburn player, Alan Mahon, joined Burnley in 2006, although he had a spell at Wigan Athletic in between. Mahon's Blackburn debut had come as a substitute against Burnley at Turf Moor in December 2000.^[21] Andy Cole, who signed for Rovers for a then club-record £8 million in 2001,^[22] spent six months on loan from Sunderland at Burnley towards the end of his career in 2008.^[23]

In 2016, Owen Coyle became the new manager of Blackburn Rovers and became the first person to manage Blackburn and Burnley, where he was appointed from 2007 to 2010.^[24]

Pranks

In the 1990–91 season, Burnley were eliminated by Torquay United in the Fourth Division play-off semi-final. After the match, a plane flew over Turf Moor with a banner saying "Staying down forever luv Rovers Ha Ha Ha". This prank has largely been attributed to former Blackburn striker Simon Garner, although he denies this, but does claim to know who was responsible. The Burnley fans gained some revenge in 1994, after Blackburn Rovers were beaten by Swedish semi-professional team Trelleborgs FF in the UEFA Cup. The Burnley supporters changed a road sign to 'twin' Burnley with Trelleborg.^[25]

For the match at Burnley during the 2009–10 season, Blackburn Rovers fans wore Owen Coyle masks to wind the Burnley fans up as Coyle had left Burnley for Bolton Wanderers. In the lead up to the return fixture in March 2010, the police allegedly foiled a plot by Burnley fans to paint Blackburn midfielder David Dunn's house claret and blue.^[26] In May 2012, during Blackburn's home game against Wigan Athletic, Burnley supporters arranged a plane to fly over Ewood Park which read — In Venky's we trust-Burnley SU. Rovers lost the fixture 1–0 and were subsequently relegated from the Premier League. In 2014, at a Championship fixture at Ewood Park, Burnley beat their rivals for the first time in 35 years. Forty minutes into the first half, a plane flew overhead with a banner that read: "35yrs who cares? Venkys 4ever".

In 2015, a sponge inside a Blackburn Rovers birthday cake was found to bear the colours of Burnley; it was discovered that the maker was a Burnley fan.^[27] The prank received further coverage on an episode of Judge Rinder, with the Blackburn supporter losing the case for compensation.

Notes and References

News: Hunter. Andy. 18 October 2009. Blackburn grab bragging rights over Burnley with cotton mill derby win. The Guardian. 1 May 2010.
Web site: 20 November 2022 . England - East Lancashire Derby - Blackburn Rovers v Burnley . 20 November 2022 . My Footy Grounds.
Web site: Robertson . Neil . 19 February 2014 . Turton FC may not be oldest football club in north west, new research suggests . 6 November 2022 . The Bolton News.
Web site: Matthews. Martin. 7 October 2009. History of the Blackburn Rovers v Burnley derby: Part one. 8 November 2020. Lancashire Telegraph.
News: Ashdown. John. Lutz. Tom. 15 December 2010. What is the coldest ever football match?. The Guardian. 8 November 2020. 0261-3077.
Book: Simpson, Ray . The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club 1882–2007 . Burnley F.C. . 2007 . 978-0955746802 . 126.
Web site: Matthews. Martin. 8 October 2009. History of the Blackburn Rovers v Burnley derby: Part two. 8 November 2020. Lancashire Telegraph.
Web site: Fox . Norman . 15 August 1992 . Profile: Money, money, money man - Jack Walker . The Independent.
News: Chadderton. Sam. 15 January 2010. Nineteen Burnley fans charged after East Lancashire derby. Lancashire Telegraph. 15 January 2010.
News: Hunter. Andy. 29 March 2010. FA asks Burnley and Blackburn for accounts of derby crowd trouble. The Guardian. 1 May 2010.
News: Hurcom . Sophie . 25 April 2023 . Burnley beat Blackburn to win Championship title . BBC Sport . 25 April 2023.
Web site: Burnley football club: record v Blackburn Rovers. 16 September 2018. 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
Web site: Lewis. Tom. 20 December 2007. Anglo-Scottish Cup & Texaco Cup – Full Results. RSSSF. 13 October 2021.
All data is sourced from Simpson's The Clarets Chronicles (2007) and local newspapers.
Web site: Blackburn Rovers football club honours. 17 May 2021. 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
Web site: Burnley football club honours. 17 May 2021. 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
Web site: Matthews. Martin. 9 October 2009. History of the Blackburn Rovers v Burnley derby: Part three. 8 November 2020. Lancashire Telegraph.
News: 11 December 2003. Burnley borrow McEveley. BBC Sport. 20 November 2009.
Web site: Goss. Patrick. Burnley snap up Rovers star. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307193936/https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11676/2275183/burnley-snap-up-rovers-star. 7 March 2016. 8 November 2020. Sky Sports.
Web site: Mitten. Andy. 30 June 2007. David May: What Happened Next?. 20 November 2009. FourFourTwo.
Web site: Alan Mahon. https://web.archive.org/web/20071227111344/https://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11708_21356,00.html. 27 December 2007. 20 November 2009. Sky Sports.
News: 29 December 2001. Cole's fresh challenge. BBC Sport. 8 November 2020.
News: Parrish. Rob. 29 January 2008. Cole makes Burnley switch. Sky Sports. 20 November 2009.
Web site: 2 June 2016. Owen Coyle: Blackburn Rovers appoint former Bolton and Burnley manager. 8 November 2020. BBC Sport.
Web site: Mitten. Andy. 30 April 2005. More Than A Game: Blackburn vs Burnley. 8 November 2020. FourFourTwo.
Web site: Peck. Brooks. 7 May 2012. There was a live chicken on the pitch during Blackburn’s match against Wigan. 8 November 2020. Yahoo Sports.
Web site: Flanagan. Aaron. 17 March 2015. Blackburn Rovers fan gets birthday cake cruelly sabotaged by rival Burnley supporter. 20 September 2016. Daily Mirror.