The No. 9 Resurgence

My final article from last season, although this one isn't quite so outdated:

The No. 9 Resurgence

While Andy Carroll shows the Premier League that the No. 9 is by no means dead, lower down the pyramid a target man revolution is afoot.

Whether you call him the target man, the ‘big guy upfront’, or ‘that bumbling idiot that just gave the ball away’, the traditional No.  9 is part of English football culture. Back in the days of the 2-3-5, when numbering a team simply meant giving each player a digit from back to front, left to right (e.g. left-back 2, right-back 3, left-half 4 etc.), 9 is what got plastered on the back of the centre-forward, and it stuck. It stuck to the point where being a well-built centre-forward emitted negative connotations, rather than positive, and it labelled such players with descriptions such as ‘clumsy’, ‘crude’, and ‘just a bit stupid’. But changes are on their way. Just as it appeared the quick footed, sleek, elegant winger had finally shoved the No. 9 tumbling into football’s dimly lit past, a new generation of target men have emerged from the shadows. Stepping on to a Premier League pitch near you are soon to be some of the most skilful, hard working and clever players you will ever meet. This time, after all, they may be here to stay.

            Of course, there have been some truly great No. 9s in the past that go further to question why the finger can be waggled so vigorously at suggestions that a target man cannot be a great footballer. Names such as Eusebio, Romario and Ronaldo displayed the trickery that such a player can be gifted with, while true goal scorers such as Shearer, Lineker and Gerd Muller, with 365 Bundesliga goals and a goals-per-game ratio of 0.85, prove that those emblazoned with a 9 across their shoulders have a rich history of success.

            However, between now and then, reactions towards the style of play the target man promotes, and certainly, reactions toward the player himself, have been mixed to say the very least. Opinions of the pre-Owen Coyle Bolton Wanderers and the current Stoke City set-ups confirm what needn’t be said, while many lower league players in the ilk of a bustling centre forward receive much criticism from both their fans and others. However, taking Stoke City as an example, it is undeniable that their style of play is effective, and moreover to suggest that players such as Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones are not good footballers. Both supporters, journalists and managers alike, meanwhile, have been subtly chirping the praises of Bolton’s Kevin Davies for many a year, while not so subtly screeching the praises of Liverpool’s Andy Carroll – a factor, perhaps, that contributed to his overinflated £35million transfer fee in January.

            Barely visible on the horizon of the blinding bright lights of the Premier League, obscured by fresh reports on the latest gold lined ‘star’ to join the countries top division, though, are the new order of No. 9s. Alright, so admittedly Danny Graham may be set a little further back from those bright lights than the horizon of which was metaphorically discussed a sentence back. He also plays for Watford, which is a problem due to the nature of their 14^th place Championship finish last season. And he’s a No. 10. Nevertheless, Malky Mackay, Watford manager, described the striker as so after the team’s recent win at Ipswich: 'Danny is more than a quality finisher or a poacher. He is a proper centre- forward, an all-round team player capable of working the opposition back four all on his own.‘ In other words, a No. 9 in a No.10’s T-shirt. And if the words used to describe the former Carlisle striker’s style of play as selected by Mackay can be applied to anything further reaching than the player himself, it is that this is how the target man plays now. He is no longer ‘that bumbling idiot that just gave the ball away’, he is an all encompassing forward, able to paralyse his opposing defenders with one searching run, teasing shot or powerfully accurate header. Graham’s 24 Championship goals this season are proof of that. And he will be joining some of the world’s elite in the Premier League next season, preferably wearing the No. 9 shirt.

            Heidar Helguson, unlike Graham, is in the twilight of his career (he also has the right number on his top), but his 13 goals have been crucial in securing QPR promotion this season. He has shown vital goal scoring experience in achieving promotion with the Hoops this season, and will be keen to have a second, much larger crack of the whip in the top tier next year. A flop in his previous encounters there – although 11 goals in 31 starts at Fulham suggest differently - Helguson’s couple of years in the Championship have done him a lot of good, and a return to the Premier League for the QPR front man may see him return similar figures to those he recorded at Craven Cottage half a decade ago.

            Like Helguson at 30 years of age, it could be argued that Grant Holt has left it too late to make a sizeable dent on a league that so many before him have failed to even force a scratch upon.  But the last stop on your guide to what may be the Second tier’s greatest offerings to its bigger brother next year is so much more than so many before him – 53 goals in 91 games for Norwich, including 23 in the Championship last season do promise goals from the Canaries captain. On top of his goal tally, Holt has also collected two consecutive club Player of the Season awards at Carrow Road, and his passion, never-say-die attitude and hardworking ethic have not only stood out to players from other sides (Holt is in the PFA Championship Team of the Season), but has also rubbed off on the players around him, and contributes to Norwich’s 12 goals in stoppage time in the 2010/11 campaign. Norwich manager Paul Lambert summed up Grant Holt’s performance against Coventry last December as such: ‘That's what I pay Grant Holt to do - score goals - and he has been brilliant for me since day one. He's an old-fashioned centre-forward which is a rare commodity in the modern game and we are very pleased to have one.’ Lambert may in fact have a point there – given the way ‘old-fashioned centre-forwards’ have conquered the Championship this season, don’t be surprised if many more teams in the Premier League next year are ‘very pleased’ with the way their new strikers are settling in – after all, the revolution is on – welcome back No. 9s – you have been sorely missed.