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.

Goal machine: scoring was Carl Griffiths' raison d'être. Photo courtesy of Action Images

 

Here blogger Matt Simpson, of leyton-orient-blog.blogspot.co.uk, selects Orient's five best No9s… and one to forget!

5. Joe Mayo (1976-82)
If Peter Kitchen - who wore the No10 shirt - was the moustachioed superhero plundering goals during Orient's famous 1977-78 season, then No9 Joe Mayo was his loyal sidekick - the Robin to Kitch's Batman. An ever-present force in the memorable FA Cup run that took Orient to the semi-finals, Mayo was the definitive targetman - he played as if he had a bull's-eye tattooed to his forehead. No slouch in front of goal himself, he netted 40 goals in his 171 appearances for the club.  

4. Scott McGleish (1994-95, 1996-98 & 2008-11)
There are many reasons to like Scott McGleish: his salmon-like leap that defied his short stature; his goal that sparked a pitch invasion by Brighton hooligans in an explosive 4-4 draw in 1997; the fact he saved us from relegation in 2008-09 and 2009-10; and his trademark cartwheeling goal celebration reminiscent of an ageing uncle at a wedding attempting to show the young 'uns he's still got it after one too many Drambuies. But over and above all that - and in stark contrast to the succession of goal-shy strikers Orient have been saddled with over the years - McGleish consistently hit the net. His 17 goals in his final season at Brisbane Road at the age of 52 were testament to that.

3. Dave Dunmore (1960-65)
Orient have had just one season in football's top flight and Dave Dunmore was one of the main reasons why they got there in the first place. Signed from West Ham, the tall northerner's 22 goals - one a now legendary 40-yarder against Liverpool at Anfield - in the 1961-62 season helped propel the Os to an unlikely promotion to Divison One. Once there, Orient were treated like a chirpy Cockney market trader trying to gain access to an exclusive gentleman's club, but Dunmore still managed 11 goals on the way to relegation, including one in a 3-0 demolition of eventual champions Everton.

2. Carl Griffiths (1996, 1997-99 & 1999-2001)
"Griff would do f*** all, but he'd score a goal," said manager Tommy Taylor of a player who netted 22 times in 39 appearances during the 97-98 season. And while it's true that the Welsh striker would spend at least 89 minutes of each game either standing disconsolately with his hands on his hips or kicking opposing defenders on the ankles, it was a refreshing change for Orient fans to see a forward who could actually find the back of the net without the aid of a sat-nav. In 2000-01 Griff scored 19 league goals to propel Orient to the play-off final, though unsurprisingly was unable to play in it due to a three-game suspension for violent conduct. "Griff was a luxury," added Taylor. A luxury worth having.

1. Tommy Johnston (1956-58 & 1959-61)
Sometimes the entire Orient squad do not amass more than 30 league goals in a season between them (this is not a joke: check our 1970-71, 1974-75 or 1994-95 goal tallies). In 1957-58 Tommy Johnston scored 35 all by himself - plus one more for luck in the FA Cup - in just 32 appearances. The former Scottish miner was a true Brisbane Road hero, ultimately amassing a total of 123 goals in his 190 appearances at the club. Left foot, right foot… it didn't matter to Tommy, but it was his heading ability that truly set him apart. "He could head a ball harder than he could kick it," said one fan who saw him in his prime. Today the south stand of the Matchroom Stadium is named in honour of Tommy, and his goalscoring record is unlikely to ever be beaten.

And the worst…
Steve Finney (1999)
Orient have had their fair share of dud strikers. Actually, we've had a totally unfair share of dud strikers. But of those, few displayed quite such crashing ineptitude as Steve Finney. Signed presumably as part of a pilot for the Channel 4 series Faking It, the Hexham-born frontman's debut for Orient in March 1999 - in which he helped the team lose 3-0 to arch rivals Southend - is one that still leaves fans waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Four appearances later Finney was shipped out forever. 

Follow Matt on Twitter @West_Stand_O