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.
Portuguese powerhouse: Saddlers star Jorge Leitão. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Here the bloggers from bescotbanter.net, select
Walsall's five best No9s… and one to forget!
5. Alan Buckley (1973-78 &
1979-84)
During his first spell at the club Buckley netted more than 125
goals in nearly 250 games and had a brief spell as caretaker
manager, before joining Birmingham City in 1978. The move, however,
proved short-lived as he returned to the Saddlers the following
year for a club-record fee of £175,000, and, along with his newly
appointed managerial duties, went on to notch another 50 goals in
180 games. He still holds the all-time goal scoring record for the
club with 202 goals in all major competitions and is a certified
Saddlers legend.
4. Allan Clarke
(1963-66)
Joining Walsall straight from school, Allan 'Sniffer' Clarke
netted 41 goals in just 72 appearances for the Saddlers. Known for
his great goal-scoring ability, Clarke went on to have a glittering
career away from Fellows Park, including winning the League
Championship (1974), FA Cup (1972) and UEFA Cup (1971) with Leeds
United. Although his time with Walsall was relatively brief, he is
still remembered fondly amongst older Saddlers fans.
3. Jorge Leitão
(2000-05)
Jorge was all you could expect from a traditional No9: powerful,
strong and with a never-say-die attitude. Joining from Portuguese
side CD Feirense, Jorge was an instant hit with the Saddlers
faithful, becoming top scorer and player of the season during his
first campaign, which included the club's promotion via the
play-offs to the second tier of English football.
2. David Kelly
(1983-88)
Turning pro in 1983, striker David 'Ned' Kelly was an instant hit
at Fellows Park, thanks to his goalscoring ability and sheer pace.
Progressing quickly, Ned'netted 26 goals in the 1986-87 season and
30 in 1987-88, form that led to him being snapped up by West Ham
for a long-standing club record fee of £600,000 in August 1988.
1. Gilbert Alsop (1931-35 &
1938-47)
Gilbert Alsop was a hard, robust, never-say-die striker, one of
the best of his generation and without doubt the greatest striker
ever to don a Walsall shirt. Alsop had a professional record of 308
goals in just 448 games - 152 of them coming in 195 games for
Walsall, spread over two spells. Gilbert still holds the club's
record for goals scored in a season, he netted 40 goals in both
1933-34 and the following term, earning his rightful place in
Saddlers history.
And the worst …
Dale Banton (1988-89)
Joining Walsall from York City, Dale failed to net a single goal
in his time at the club and was sold to Aldershot Town the
following season after just 10 games as a Saddler.
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