This season Prostate Cancer UK is the official charity of The
Football League. To celebrate, we've asked bloggers from each of
the 72 clubs to count down their top five strikers to have worn the
No9 shirt, in recognition of the fact that prostate cancer
affects one in nine men.
Super Seagull: Gary Hart is Brighton's greatest No9. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Here Sam Swaffield, of theseagulllovereview.com,
selects Brighton's five best No9s… and one to forget!
5. Kurt Nogan (1992-95)
Mid-90s Brighton & Hove Albion was pretty grim. We had a
tyrannical board that nearly destroyed us, a dilapidated old
stadium in the Goldstone Ground, the horror of blue and white
stripy shorts and, to top it all off, a plummet down the ladder
that saw us go from the old Division Two play-off final to the
bottom of Division Four in six years! The silver lining to this
cloud was a striker named Kurt Nogan, who netted 49 times in 97
outings between 1992 and 1995. A diamond in the rough, Nogan
is best remembered for a terrace chant based on a 2 Unlimited
track.
4. Mark Gall (1991-92)
A tale of what-could-have-been with this player, a striker of
frightening ability who played just three seasons of professional
football before retiring because of injury. Gall, still helping out
with his dad's bakery in Brixton, was signed by Conference club
Maidstone in 1988, and helped the Kent side into the Football
League for the first time. After a strong first season in the
league, Gall was snapped up by Albion for £45,000 in 1991, joining
the club two months into the season. Gall, who at 5ft 10in was
noted for his speed and powerful shot, started life in the old
Division Two well, scoring 14 goals before the end of the season
and becoming a fans' favourite. Sadly, upon specialist advice in
the pre-season, the 27 year-old was forced to retire because of a
knee injury.
3. Mike Small (1990-91)
A one-season wonder he may have been, but what a season it was.
Mickey Small scored nearly one in two in the 1990-91 campaign that
saw Albion sneak into the play-offs, battering Millwall in the
semis before losing horribly to Notts County at Wembley. Small was
big and strong, a typical targetman who forged a deadly partnership
with the smaller, more skilful Johnny Byrne, earning him cult
status among Seagulls fans. Though a freebie from PAOK in Greece,
cash-strapped Albion sold Small to First Division West Ham for
£400,000 in the close season. Alas for the Hammers, the big
No9 had his best days at the Goldstone.
2. Michael Robinson (1980-83)
Albion acquired this strong and skilful striker on the cheap from
Manchester City in 1980 and Robinson was quick to find his feet
with the then top-flight Seagulls. Scoring 37 times over three
seasons, Robbo was perhaps most famous for his help in getting
Albion to the 1983 FA Cup final against Manchester
United. Robinson later joined Osasuna, eventually settling and
become a very successful TV pundit in Spain. He has done voiceover
work too, including playing one of the Ugly Sisters in the Spanish
dubbed version of Shrek - true story.
1. Gary Hart (1998-2011)
"Oh Gary Hart, Gary-Gary-Gary Hart," as the popular song goes, is
one of the most important players in Albion's recent history. An
icon in Brighton and Hove, Hart wore the No9 shirt during a period
in which the club rose from playing fourth-tier football in
Gillingham to Championship football at the Amex. As a striker,
Hart was quick, strong and ruthless, but his best role was sitting
just off the front or prowling the wings. With 45 goals and a
whopping 373 appearances in the stripes, Hart signed off his Albion
career by scoring the first-ever goal at the new stadium, a
stooping header in the Sussex Senior Cup final. Not a dry eye in
the house.
And the worst…
Mark Farrington (1991-94)
As the years pass, the folklore surrounding this Liverpudlian
grows and grows. Farrington is the default answer for worst
Albion player ever, and he happens to be a No9 as well. Arriving
for around £100,000 from the exotic Feyenoord, the striker had been
plying his trade in the Netherlands and Germany before making the
move to Sussex. It never really happened for Farrington, though, as
he managed a meagre return of four goals in 28 appearances before
being offloaded to lowly Hereford. Albion fans talk of a player
with minimal talent whose rare goals were the products of fluky
touches and mishits, such as a legendary goal that went in off his
backside before he wheeled away in Tardelli-like glory.
Follow Sam on Twitter @TSLR