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.
Well Earned: Cardiff legend Robbie Earnshaw is in the No1 spot. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Here blogger Paul Gronow, of thehardtackle.com, selects
Cardiff's five best No9s… and one to forget!
5. Hughie Ferguson
(1925-29)
One of only seven men to have scored 350 league goals in his
career, Hughie is most remembered for his winning goal in the 1927
FA Cup final win over Arsenal, taking the cup outside of England
for the only time. Shockingly never capped by Scotland, he is
lauded as one of the club's all-time greats.
4. Brian Clark
(1968-72)
One of the most beloved No9s that ever graced the blue shirt of
Cardiff, he was signed by one of the most famous Cardiff managers,
Jimmy Scoular, for £8,000 from Huddersfield Town. Scoring
twice on his debut, he played upfront alongside John Toshack and is
most famous for scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid
at Ninian Park in 1971.
3. Peter King
(1960-74)
Peter played practically the whole of his career at Cardiff City,
making more than 400 appearances for the club, putting him in the
top five for appearances for the Bluebirds. Scoring 89 goals
in the process meant he wasn't the most prolific of strikers, but
his dedication and hard work ensured the fans adored him. He was
also the first Cardiff striker to score in a European
competition.
2. Len Davies
(1920-31)
Len Davies played for Cardiff City between 1920 and 1931, and
remains the record career goalscorer for the club. He played for
the Bluebirds during their most successful time as a team regularly
playing in Division One and was part of the FA Cup winning team of
1927. A true club legend in every sense of the word.
1. Robert Earnshaw
(1998-2004 & 2011-)
'Earnie', as he is fondly known throughout the footballing world,
joined the Bluebirds in 1998 as a YTS trainee and quickly
established himself as a prolific goalscorer. He is the
second highest scorer for the club, having scored 109 goals, and
has recently returned to the club to help them into the Premier
League.
And the
worst…
Leo Fortune-West
(2000-03)
Although big Leo is fondly remembered by almost all Bluebirds fans
it is also acknowledged that he was not the finest ever No9 for
Cardiff City. He did indeed achieve two promotions with the
Bluebirds, scoring 23 goals in three seasons, but was regularly
seen running the ball out of play, seemingly unaware of where it
was. A legend for all the wrong reasons.
Follow Paul on Twitter @BluebirdBlogger