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 Sav: Andy Saville's goals fired PNE to the Division Three title. Photo courtesy of Action Images

 

Here blogger Nicholas Scott Fish, from pnefc-online.co.uk, selects Preston's five best No9s… and one to forget!

5. Andy Saville (1995-96)
Andy Saville only played one season in Preston North End colours, but what a season it was! With North End having narrowly avoided going bankrupt in 1994, after local heating firm Baxi stepped in and took over the club, funds were made available to sign players - top of the list was the much-travelled striker Andy Saville. Costing £100,000 from Birmingham, Saville instantly repaid the club by scoring a goal every other game, helping North End embark on a 21-match unbeaten run at the start of the 95-96 season in Division Three, including the 6-0 drubbing of Mansfield Town (he scored a hat-trick). As the season wore on, the goals kept coming, and Saville finished the season with 29 league goals, making him the division's top scorer, and North End sealed the championship. Mention his name to any PNE fan today, and you'll be greeted with "Super, Super Sav, Super, Super Sav, Super, Super Sav, Super Andy Saville!"

4. Mike Elwiss (1974-78 & 1980)
When talking about great PNE No9s, you can be sure that Mike Elwiss will crop up in the conversation. Arguably Sir Bobby Charlton's greatest signing for PNE during his spell at charge at Deepdale, Elwiss was signed for a then club record fee of £70,000. Starting as he meant to go on, Mike bagged two goals on debut against Carlisle, before going on to notch up a tally of 60 goals in 192 league appearances for the Lilywhites. However, it wasn't just the goals that Elwiss was known for. During his four-year spell at Deepdale, he struck up a terrific partnership with one of PNE's finest No10s, Alex Bruce - the pair scoring 114 goals between them. Mike was also known for his great presence on the pitch, and he captained the 1977-98 side to promotion. To the bitter disappointment of the North End fans however, the club's parlous financial state led to Mike being sold in July 1978 to the ambitious Crystal Palace for a reported £210,000. He briefly returned to Deepdale on loan while trying to regain fitness from an injury he'd suffered, and scored twice on his second debut for the club. In all, Mike scored 76 times in 227 appearances for North End, many of which were man-of-the-match performances.

3. Charlie Wayman (1950-54)
Charlie Wayman was a centre-forward who just loved scoring goals, and at only 5ft 5in he proved that if you're good enough, you're tall enough. Playing alongside a certain Sir Tom Finney you would have thought it would be hard to stand out in the Preston team, but not this man. Showing great courage and determination, he would win the most unlikely of battles against centre-halves that were a good eight or so inches taller than himself. During his PNE career he managed to amass a tally of 117 goals in just 171 league games - a ratio of 2:3. Charlie is also one of the few players to have to scored in every round of the FA Cup (including the final), a feat he achieved during the 1953-54 season.

2. John Thomas (1985-87 & 1990-92)
Few players have heard their names chanted with more affection than this man, John Thomas. Costing the club a measly £15,000 from Lincoln, Thomas went on to score 44 goals in 105 games, striking up a formidable strike partnership with Gary Brazil. Much to the fans' dismay, Thomas was sold to local rivals Bolton Wanderers in 1987. He did however make a return to Deepdale three years later, but unfortunately, due to a broken leg that he suffered when facing Bolton, he failed to reach the heights attained during that legendary first spell at the club, for which he will be forever remembered.

1. Alex Dawson (1961-67)
Christened the 'Black Prince', Alex Dawson was without doubt the greatest No9 to grace the sacred Deepdale turf, with photos of him engraved into the minds of any of those PNE fans lucky enough to watch him play. After signing from Manchester United at the age of 20 for a bargain £5,000, Dawson went on to play 197 games for North End, bagging himself a whopping 114 goals, 50 of which came in his first 79 games for PNE. He struck fear into goalkeepers and centre-halves alike - and actually broke the net once! Will we ever see a No9 of his like again at Deepdale?

And the worst…
Tony Lormor (1997-98)
North End fan Pete Sanderson once perfectly summarised Tony Lormor's time in a PNE shirt during an interview with for Four Four Two magazine: "Tony Lormor, supposedly a target man, is the only guy I've ever come across who loses height when he jumps." Lormor signed for PNE as part-exchange for striker David Reeves in 1997 - Reeves had enjoyed a moderately successful spell at Deepdale. However, if the Preston board could have borrowed a crystal ball to look into the future, this deal would have never gone ahead. After scoring on his debut, Lormor went on to net just two more goals in his next 16 appearances for the club, putting in some woeful performances, before eventually being shipped out on loan to Notts County, just five months after arriving. He was sold in the summer of 1998. To rub things in, Reeves went on to score 46 goals in 168 league games for his new club Chesterfield, where he spent eight enjoyable seasons.

Follow Nicholas on Twitter @pneblog