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.
Sharpest Dagger: Danny Shipp is the club's all-time leading scorer. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Here blogger Mark, of 9-men.co.uk, selects Dagenham's
five best No9s… and one to forget!
5. Tony Rogers (1996-97)
This selection is certain to polarise opinion. Tony was signed
upon our relegation to the Isthmian League as Ted Hardy put
together a scratch side which somehow reached the FA Trophy final.
He managed just seven goals but always provided an outlet and a
platform for his strike partner. A red card at Wembley only gave
ammunition to his detractors, but his role in getting us there
cannot be underestimated.
4. Tresor Kandol (2005)
TK may have managed just 14 games in a Daggers shirt, but he is
still fondly remembered for his goalscoring exploits. With his
bleached hair and trademark somersault after each of his eight
goals he certainly grabbed the limelight, and it was no surprise
when he was sold to Barnet for £50,000. Rumours that he may return
after his release from Albacete unfortunately proved unfounded.
3. Jon Nurse (2007-12)
It is fair to say Nursey didn't have the best of times in his
first season with the club, scoring a solitary goal in his 30
league matches. However, he became part of the furniture over the
course of his five-year spell, playing in a variety of positions
and always with a smile on his face. He will go down in history for
scoring the winner at Wembley to send us into League One for the
first time.
2. Paul Cavell (1992-94)
One of the most talented players to pull on a Dagenham shirt, Cav
was originally a Redbridge Forest player before the merger with
Dagenham in 1992. He won a share of the Conference top scorer award
while with Redbridge, and followed it up with 34 goals in the new
club's debut season. Injury problems prevented him adding many more
to the tally before he moved on to Gateshead.
1. Danny Shipp (1997-2004)
Previous loan spells had given us an inkling of Danny's ability,
but he rammed the point home with a screamer against Peterborough
in the FA Cup just days after rejoining the club. He never looked
back, becoming the club's top scorer of all time with 102 goals
despite being converted to a midfielder later in his career.
And the worst...
Stuart Douglas (2004-05)
When John Taylor's retirement due to injury left us without a No9,
Stuart Douglas arrived on a free transfer in November 2004 and was
thrown into the side for an FA Cup tie at Leyton Orient. After
missing a sitter and being hauled off in a pretty dismal
performance, a handful of sub appearances followed before he was
rather quietly moved on.
Follow Mark on Twitter at @9men