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.

Classy Cobbler: Scott McGleish helped Town win promotion in 2006. Photo courtesy of Action Images

 

Here blogger Danny Brothers, of aloadofcobblers2012.wordpress.com, selects Northampton's five best No9s… and one to forget!

5. Scott McGleish (2004-07 & 2008-09)
Among a group of hard hitters (Sean Dyche), experienced heads (Ian Taylor) and a football genius (Martin Smith) in the 2005-06 Cobblers squad that finished as League Two runners-up was a man who simply knew where the goal was. Scott McGleish had no quit in him, chased down every lost cause and could score goals of all sorts, including headers despite often being one of the smallest men on the pitch. A brief return in 2008 saw him reacquaint himself with Cobblers fans before he moved on to play for Leyton Orient, Bristol Rovers and Barnet.

4. Cliff Holton (1961-62)
Having made his name with Arsenal and Watford, Holton joined the Cobblers in 1961. He went on to score 50 goals in 62 appearances, including a club record for a single season (36) in the 1961-62 season, as Town finished eighth in Division Three. Holton made the move to Crystal Palace in 1962 before spending time back at Watford as well as Charlton and Leyton Orient.

3. Ian Benjamin (1984-87)
Graham Carr's runaway champions in 1987 were headed by player of the year Ian Benjamin, who fired the club to the league title. In total, Benji hit more than 50 goals for the club having joined from local rivals Peterborough United in 1984, and went on to play for a number of lower league outfits before retiring in 1996.

2. Neil Grayson (1994-97)
Perhaps a biased choice having grown up watching Neil 'Larry' Grayson but he was the epitome of everything you want from a striker, particularly in the lower leagues. Larry's work ethic alone made him a true fans' favourite in the 90s as the Cobblers, under Ian Atkins, went from perennial strugglers to play-off winners, culminating in a last-gasp Wembley win in 1997. He was sold far too soon for my liking, never getting a chance to show his worth at the next level.

1. Frank Large (1962-63, 1966-67 & 1969-72)
With three different spells at the club, all of which saw him score bags of goals, Frank Large has to top this list. Large was a major part of the dramatic rise and fall of the club in the 1960s as the Cobblers went all the way to the top division of English football and then came all the way back down within nine hectic years. Large's endless energy endeared himself to Town fans and he will never be forgotten by his most visited of Football League destinations.

And the worst…
Steve Guinan (2009-11)
Guinan's name was the first to pop to mind when asked for the worst No9. When I look at some of the names above I see hard working, energetic, die-for-the-cause players. When I looked at Guinan wearing the Cobblers' No9 shirt I felt the complete opposite. It wasn't just his return of five goals in two seasons but his lack of fire and passion for the Cobblers cause was enough to hand him this dubious honour.

Follow Danny on Twitter @DannyBrothers