Source: FOOTYMAD
No 9 Shirt Hasn't Always Been Iconic
Who will be wearing the iconic Toon No 9 shirt next season? In our NU-Mad poll the vast majority of fans said no-one at the club deserved it. Alan Pardew is currently checking out targets on the Continent as he looks to spend the £35m picked up following January’s sale of Andy Carroll ... IF HE GETS IT! Who will follow in the footsteps of Supermac, Len White, Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Andy Cole and Wor Jackie? Alan Pardew: “I think the No 9 is a very special shirt here and I’m not going to give it to just anybody. “I really hope that somebody emerges – or we bring somebody in who can carry that shirt. “It is an important figurehead for this football club. “It brings with it a pressure that the player who wears it needs to be able to deal with. “I will have to think long and hard about that. “The No 9 shirt here is iconic in the game and whoever wears it needs to be able to carry the responsibility that goes with it.” Mind you - it hasn't ALWAYS been "iconic" ... look at the under-achievers who have worn it ... Wayne Fereday, Archie Gourlay, Andy Hunt, Rob McDonald, Tony Cunningham, 'Mavis' Reilly, Bobby Shinton and Ray Clarke (just to name eight).
