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.
Flying Norwegian: Jan Aage Fjortoft played in the 1994 World Cup. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Here blogger Ron Smith, of thewashbag.com, selects
Swindon's five best No9s… and one to forget!
5. Sam Parkin
(2002-05)
A hat-trick on debut against Barnsley set the scene for his
fruitful three seasons. After hitting 25 league goals in his
opening season - at the time the second highest tally for a Town
player since the war - 'Super' Sammy Parkin followed that up next
time around with 23 goals in all competitions in a partnership with
Tommy Mooney as Town narrowly missed out on a play-off final, and
24 goals in Town's disappointing 2004-05 campaign. A big move to
Ipswich followed, however Sam never regained his lethal form away
from Swindon.
4. Arthur Horsfield
(1969-72)
'King' Arthur ended the 1969-70 season as the club's top scorer
with 18 goals, many courtesy of his strength in the air.
Horsfield's crucial goals in cup competitions continued Town's
unprecedented success, with a superb hat-trick against Roma in the
second leg of the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners Cup final and
the second goal in the 3-0 Anglo-Italian Cup final victory over
Napoli. Another 24 league goals followed over two seasons,
including his one and only league hat-trick against Oxford United,
before he moved to Charlton Athletic.
3. Maurice Owen
(1946-63)
A true Swindon saviour throughout the lean post-war period, Owen
hit 165 goals from 601 appearances. He started as he meant to go
on, claiming 16 goals in his first 17 games, including a hat-trick
on his debut and four at Mansfield. His goal tally reached double
figures in nine of his first 10 seasons. His highest point came in
the 1962-63 season, when he captained Swindon to a maiden promotion
before retiring to a number of backroom roles at the club.
2. Steve White
(1986-94)
A legendary stalwart of Town's glory years under Macari, Ardiles
and Hoddle, Steve 'Chalky' White is Town's sixth-highest
goalscorer, with 111 goals from 312 appearances. White hit double
figures for six successive seasons, forging a lethal partnership
with Duncan Shearer - who played alongside him as a No8. White was
central to our greatest achievement in recent times, his clever
dive to the ground winning the penalty at Wembley in the play-off
final against Leicester which was converted by Paul Bodin to send
Town to the Premier League.
1. Jan Aage Fjortoft
(1993-95)
Jan simply couldn't score after joining Premier League Swindon for
£500,000 and was due to be loaned back to his native Norway, yet he
was thrust back into action in an FA Cup tie at Ipswich - which was
his 23rd game - and finally scored his first goal. The goals then
started to flow and Jan cemented his status as one of the best
strikers in England, and a cult hero with 12 Premiership goals and
his now legendary flying celebration. More goals, 25 in total,
followed in 1994-95, but Steve McMahon couldn't wait to sell Jan
for a shockingly low £1.3 to Middlesbrough, a move that effectively
sealed our successive relegations. The fact Jan was only the second
Swindon player to have played at a World Cup finals proves he was a
cut above.
And the worst…
Leon Clarke (2011)
Clarke will go down in Swindon history as the No9 who failed to
deliver on the pitch - with four goalless games - and couldn't cope
mentally off it, as he chucked his toys out of his pram in full
view of the watching public and TV cameras. Clarke's disgraceful
and disrespectful behaviour directed at Paolo Di Canio following
the League Cup defeat by Southampton, including sulking on the
pitch before leaving the ground in full kit, led to him being
quickly shown the door; it was a surprise Chesterfield and then
Charlton were willing to take a punt on the pathetic and petulant
striker.
Follow Ron on Twitter at @thewashbag