The number 9 shirt - is it more than just a shirt?

[BlueStar]

It's right it's held in high regard because it's traditionally given to our best centre forward and we've had some absolute crackers of those. But it shouldn't be held back just because we're not doing well enough to have a world class centre forward to take it on.

[Guest BooBoo]

It's part of the fabric of the club. If we are to dismiss it as nothing special then perhaps we shouldn't mind when we hear stories about wanting to change the stadium name. Or perhaps we should not bother about playing in black and white anymore and change our nickname from The Magpies to Toon Army.

 

A club needs it's traditions and shouldn't pooh pooh them.

[Cajun]

It is a special number but I don't think it should be kept back for, say, a big money signing or anything like that. More shite players have worn it than greats - hopefully Andy Carroll will propel himself to the latter category. Good luck to him.

 

[Guest malandro]

Nah, I don't care really- Just a number,

Philistine. Football is all about symbolism.

[OzzieMandias]

I think its maybe deemed a bit less special now due to squad numbers where a player gets a shirt and can't change it, whereas before, you could play anyone in any number and they 'earned' the shirt. In the past we have had some truly great No.9's such as Hughie Gallagher, Jackie Milburn, Malcolm McDonald, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer of course.

 

However, in between, I bet there are a fair number who wore the shirt, and didn't do as well, or leave as many good memories.

 

From the late 70's through to the early 90's, can anyone name many of our 'great' number 9's??

 

Paul Goddard wore it, but while he was a decent player, he didn't break many scoring records in it.

 

I think its good for a local lad to have it again - I just hope he can do well, and can take the pressure, it will surely bring for him because of its history.

 

If the shirt is so "special" that it puts the wearer under pressure, then we'd better stop thinking of it as special.

[Dokko]

I think its more important to Geordies than just Newcastle supporters imho, sorry if that rankles anyone and obviously cue the soopafan crap, but why I'm very happy for Andy Carroll getting the shirt.

 

[Amir_9]

It is a special number but I don't think it should be kept back for, say, a big money signing or anything like that. More s**** players have worn it than greats - hopefully Andy Carroll will propel himself to the latter category. Good luck to him.

 

[Guest malandro]

It's part of the fabric of the club. If we are to dismiss it as nothing special then perhaps we shouldn't mind when we hear stories about wanting to change the stadium name. Or perhaps we should not bother about playing in black and white anymore and change our nickname from The Magpies to Toon Army.

 

A club needs it's traditions and shouldn't pooh pooh them.

This.

Take the ‘romance’ out of football and it becomes meaningless. Just some blokes kicking a ball around.

 

[womblemaster]

would anyone like to join my new society: Nostril Hairs Anonymous (NHA)

 

£3 per year membership fee.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I think its maybe deemed a bit less special now due to squad numbers where a player gets a shirt and can't change it, whereas before, you could play anyone in any number and they 'earned' the shirt. In the past we have had some truly great No.9's such as Hughie Gallagher, Jackie Milburn, Malcolm McDonald, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer of course.

 

However, in between, I bet there are a fair number who wore the shirt, and didn't do as well, or leave as many good memories.

 

From the late 70's through to the early 90's, can anyone name many of our 'great' number 9's??

 

Paul Goddard wore it, but while he was a decent player, he didn't break many scoring records in it.

 

I think its good for a local lad to have it again - I just hope he can do well, and can take the pressure, it will surely bring for him because of its history.

did hughie gallacher ever wear a no.9 ?

 

He didn't no, but on all score cards, team-sheets etc. the players were lined up 1-11 and Hughie was always number 9 so his number was 9 even though he didn't have the actual number itself on the shirt.

 

It all started with a forward called Jack Peddie who between 1897-92 scored 78 goals in 137 appearances before being sold to Man Utd which created a storm on Tyneside, akin to the sale of Andy Cole. He was the first real number 9 of his day at Newcastle and a real crowd fave. There are tales from those times (real or otherwise?) that some fans just turned up to watch him and were more interested in his on-pitch antics than the success of the team.

 

Either way he was a massive star and a scorer of goals who lined up 9 on the team-sheet, from then on in fans (and club directors... Freddy the last one) demanded a goalscorer and it seems to be true just reading of the history that here more than at most clubs the fans demand a goalscorer which traditionally means a number 9.

 

For me I find the whole tradition and the myth and legend of the number 9 shirt as fascinating as anything else about the club and that thin line between success and failure, goals and a lack of them etc.probably typifies this club to be honest.

 

Its also fascinating that even today, a lot of fans put more faith and stock in an individual or a star than the actual team, now whether that's because we're used to having better individuals than a better side or because we just put such players on such a high pedestal regardless... who knows.

 

Hopefully Carroll will do the shirt justice because we need a goalscorer, team and fans.

[henke]

I think for half a century we've had fuck all else to celebrate, so we had to go looking for something. It's bollocks to be fair. Squad numbers only came in in '93 i think so before that we had to have a number nine, regardless of how good / average / shit the player was.

[midds]

The shirt itself isn't special but some of the blokes who've worn it certainly are/were.

 

Agree withe the idea that the main striker of the club should get it regardless of their 'standing' against the likes of Milburn and Shearer.

[Disco]

Could well just be coincidence that Keegan and Beardsley aside all of our best players have been centre forwards.

[Guest]

Think you'll have a flurry of 40 somethings shouting "Tony Green" any second.

[Cajun]

I was going to mention the unappreciated awesomeness of Olivier Bernard but then I realised he hasn't accepted my friend request on facebook so he can go fuck himself.

[Disco]

Think you'll have a flurry of 40 somethings shouting "Tony Green" any second.

 

Bit before my time but my Dad would agree with them.

[Guest]

Yep same with mine.

[Tsunami]

It is special; ask Shearer and Sir Les who was gutted but noble enough to give it up.

 

A short tale which may bore you but has memories for me. Back in the 80's I played for a team "managed" by a bloke called McDonald who was commercial manager at Nufc, our strips were the previous years 1st team strips. I wore Micky Quinn's number 9 kits (Greenhalls) and scored a hat trick in the first game up at Benwell which was our home pitch. I can tell you it felt fantastic.

 

 

[Guest craggy]

Like many others on here, to me the shirt is special due to the great players that have worn it (mainly Shearer as he was my idol growing up). Although I think the more it is talked about, the more pressure it will put on Carroll which is not what he needs this season

[David Icke - Son of God]

It's clearly not just a shirt because of the people who have worn it. Okay, a lot of shite has been handed it over the years but when you look at the class of some of the names who have pulled it on you'd have a pretty tough time arguing that it has no gravitas.

 

I do think it gets over played by the media mind. I don't know many of our fans who treat it in the same way Sky Sports do for example.

[biggs]

It's part of the fabric of the club. If we are to dismiss it as nothing special then perhaps we shouldn't mind when we hear stories about wanting to change the stadium name. Or perhaps we should not bother about playing in black and white anymore and change our nickname from The Magpies to Toon Army.

 

A club needs it's traditions and shouldn't pooh pooh them.

the younger generation probably dont care that much but watch the official history of N.U.F.C and that gives you the reason its special

[Thespence]

I thought the Scum fans were ripping into HTT when I read http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=509253 & then saw this link http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufchistory/number9stats.shtml but on clicking realised it was from moons ago.

[Dave]

Er, yeah. Been meaning to purge all that stuff for ages. Something to do this weekend.

[Thespence]

There buzzing off it. Wonder how one of them stumbled on that.

[Yorkie]

I absolutely love the legend that surrounds it.

 

It's certainly true that some poor players have worn the shirt, but i quite liked Midds' philosophy regarding the whole thing, as posted in the other thread. The player wearing the number 9 is relative to the context of the club at that time. I think that's a really nice way of looking at it. It means that the likes of Carroll having it now is just as apt as Shearer having it in 1996. What such a philosophy does is rightfully dismantle bollocks such as "it lost its specialness when Martins had it". Martins was okay and then turned to shit, much like the club during the time in which he had the shirt.

 

In a time where football is rapidly losing it's tradition, i love little things like this. For me, sentiment in football is something that glues the whole sport together. The fans, the clubs, and even the media. Football would be less interesting without little things like this.