This season Prostate Cancer UK is the official charity of the
Football League. To celebrate, each week
footballer-turned-journalist Adrian Clarke - who played for
Arsenal, Rotherham, Southend, Carlisle and Stevenage - is rounding
up the best performances from No9s in the Football League, in
recognition of the fact that prostate cancer affects one in nine men. In
week two (Saturday 25 August), he highlights an Austrian
international, a buzzing Bee and a showboater from the English
Riviera...
Torquay marksman Rene Howe. Photo courtesy of Action Images
Championship star man
Ashley Barnes -
Brighton
Why?
After witnessing three successive blanks, the Seagulls fans had
forgotten what it felt like to see the opposition's net bulge, but
Barnes took just four minutes to calm their nerves on Saturday.
Doing what every No9 worth their salt does, the 22 year-old
followed up just in case the Barnsley keeper spilled a free-kick
and, as luck would have it, was on hand to smash home the rebound
inside the six-yard box. It was a strike that opened the floodgates
and by the time Barnes bagged his second, again from close range,
the Tykes were well beaten, succumbing to a tasty 5-1 victory for
Gus Poyet's men.
Did you know?
Despite hailing from Somerset, Barnes is a former Austria Under-20
international, qualifying thanks to the fact that his grandmother
was born in the country.
No9s scored nine per cent of the Championship's goals last
weekend
League One star man
Clayton Donaldson -
Brentford
Why?
Scoring three goals in a week is no mean feat, and the Bees
frontman produced a trio of terrific efforts to propel himself to
the top of the division's scoring charts. It usually goes one of
two ways when a player lines up against his former side, and
Donaldson's display against Crewe was delightful, not dreadful, as
he scored a beautiful brace at Crewe's expense in a 5-1 hammering.
This double came on the back of an impressive curling effort at
home to Yeovil in midweek.
Did you know?
Donaldson's long term girlfriend Pippa Fulton starred on BBC's
Fame Academy and has recently won a singing role in WAG! The
Musical.
No9s scored 13 per cent of League One's goals last
weekend
League Two star man
Rene Howe -
Torquay
Why?
Last season's top scorer has hit the ground running for the Gulls,
building on his season opener against Cheltenham in midweek with a
quality brace in his side's 4-2 victory at home to Rochdale. Howe's
first owed much to his control and composure, collecting a rebound
with one touch and smashing it home with the next, but his second
was a peach, running from the halfway line, lobbing a defender,
before nonchalantly dinking it over the keeper. Excellent
showboating.
Did you know?
In August 2010, Howe made an appearance on the reality show Dating
in the Dark on Living TV.
No9s scored 11 per cent of League Two's goals last
weekend