Give Andy Carroll the No.9 shirt!
Posted on May 7th, 2010 | 57 Comments |
It’s an iconic jersey around these parts which has been worn by some of the clubs greatest legends over the years, but should Andy Carroll be next in line to wear the famous number 9 shirt?
Many people who read that opening line will probably think I am adopting some form of rose-tinited viewpoint of Andy Carroll’s ability based on his goalscoring exploits of last season. That isn’t true, and we all know that Carroll is far from being the finished article as yet, and we all know that he has issues off the pitch that are waiting to be resolved. Despite that, I still feel Carroll is the perfect player to make the shirt his own and should be given the chance to do so. There has been much made of the fact that Carroll should have to earn the chance to wear our iconic shirt, but I disagree.
The very notion of the number 9 in Newcastle evokes memories of some great forwards. Alan Shearer, Jackie Milburn and Albert Stubbins have arguably been our most successful forwards over the years, certainly going by goals scored for the club. They all have one thing in common, they were born in and around Newcastle. They knew what it means to wear the shirt and wear it with pride, to go out there and give it their all for the cause. Andy Carroll ticks both of them boxes, but there is one more to being the number 9 than that – the number 9 should be a role model, on and off the field.
As the shirt commands so much respect with Newcastle fans, it inevitably becomes a focus for attention and you instantly become someone to look upto. We can’t have a number 9 that goes around getting into trouble and setting a bad example for those kids who look up to them. That is why Shearer was so good at carrying the number, because he avoided trouble and was a role model for young players and kids around the area. Why? Well undoubtedly because he was a professional first and foremost, but also because he knew what being a number 9 entailed. Shearer is a local man and knows what is expected from the shirt.
Obviously Andy Carroll is also a local lad, and grew up whilst Shearer held the shirt. Carroll will have picked up on how to conduct yourself when your put in a position of wearing the iconic shirt from watching Alan Shearer, he will know what it means and what wearing the shirt entails. Giving Carroll a shot at number 9 could be the incentive he needs to help him stay on the straight and narrow. I’m also sure that Carroll would be a much more effective number 9 than Obafemi Martins, the last person to wear the shirt.
I think that by giving Carroll the number 9 we will see him improve even further. He has already come on leaps and bounds this season and has not only improved his scoring record, his all round play has improved remarkably aswell. Fabio Capello is keeping tabs on the big lad, and if he continues to improve at the rate he has done since Christmas then I think we could see him in an England shirt sometime next season.
What d’ya reckon?
Give him handcuffs more like! Only messing, his goal scoring record since christmas is awesome. He will be quality in the PL and will score at least 15 (which is more than MO ever scored for us in one season). He knows what the shirt means to us and i think he will thrive under the pressure that comes with wearing it. Lets hope he only comes away with a suspended sentence in June!!