When Alan Shearer joined Newcastle United on July 30th 1996 the sun was shining on Tyneside. The literal message from the new No. 9, in a heavy Geordie burr, was “I’m one of you.” The undercurrent from the club was ‘Manchester United…we’re coming for you.’

On August 21st 1996, Shearer made his home debut for Newcastle.

The Magpies were a club full of ambition, desperate to invest in quality players, and dreaming of lifting silverware. Shearer’s arrival was a statement of intent. The Toon had arrived at the big time and wanted to be the life and soul of the party.

Nearly a decade later and Shearer was an established legend amongst the St James’ Park faithful, and even in his mid-30s was still finding the back of the net with respectable regularity. He was no longer the club-record signing though, the arrival of Michael Owen (wearing the number 10 jersey) and his fragile joints had seen to that following a deal worth £16.8million.

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More than 10 years later still, and today King Al has long since retired (he’s even found time to manage his beloved Newcastle United to relegation in the meantime) and Owen remains very much the club’s record buy. Now, the new No. 9 on Tyneside is a loanee who led the line for a relegated side last time out and only managed 7 Premier League goals.

Far from bathing in the sun, it has been a long, Game of Thrones-esque winter for Newcastle.

This northern giant’s Premier League dream died in the mid to late 90s, at which point Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger saw to it that the title race would be a strictly two horsed affair for the foreseeable future. By the time Roman Abramovich and his many millions rocked up at Stamford Bridge, Newcastle had the frying of significantly smaller fish to busy themselves with.

In fact, Newcastle should be one of the giants of English football. They have the fanbase, the stadium, the history. The infrastructure is there for this club to take on the world. Yet, in Mike Ashley, they have an owner far too content to rest upon the club’s laurels. St James’ will always be full.

Sponsors will always be attracted to his outfit. Sports Direct is booming. All Ashley has to do is keep a firm grip on the purse-strings and he’ll be fine, and his football club will remain a stable market presence.

With ambition though, with investment, Newcastle could be so much more. Nothing highlights the current lack of vision in the boardroom more than the club’s recent recruitment strategy for strikers.

Think of Eric Cantona at Manchester United, Thierry Henry for Arsenal, Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and Kenny Dalglish turning out for Liverpool. It is no coincidence that the talismanic figures of these great sides were all forwards. 

At Newcastle, the club’s iconic figure of the moment belongs in the fabled No. 9 shirt. Jackie Milburn, Malcolm ‘Supermac’ MacDonald, Les Ferdinand, Andy Cole and Shearer himself have all delighted the Geordie faithful with that digit emblazoned above black and whites stripes on their backs.

Equally, Newcastle’s decline in status can be measured in the succession of players who have donned that coveted number in the seasons since Shearer’s retirement. 

First, Obafemi Martins was brought in to step into Shearer’s considerable breach. The Nigerian international, 21-years-old at the time of his arrival, was signed for £10million. The Magpies had finished 7th in the previous campaign and had finished in the top six in three of the four seasons before that.

By the time Martins departed, three terms later, Newcastle had just been relegated to the second tier. 

Despite a strong first season in English football, Martins wasn’t able to maintain his form whilst injuries hampered his ability to remain a consistent presence in the side. His departure to Wolfsburg following the club’s relegation earned Newcastle around £9million, ensuring they almost broke even on the striker.

Before the start of the 2010/11 Premier League season, Newcastle – newly reinstated in the top flight – handed the No. 9 shirt to academy product Andy Carroll. The lanky forward had fired them to the Championship crown in the previous campaign and didn’t look out of his depth in the first tier either.

At the end of the season, in which Newcastle finished comfortably mid-table, Liverpool made a huge £35million bid for Carroll, who duly upped sticks and headed for Anfield. 

With a great wad of cash stuffed into the Magpies’ coffers, Ashley had the opportunity to invest heavily in a new No. 9. The Toon wanted a headline-grabber; an elite level marksman capable of firing them back into European contention. With the Carroll cash in hand, there could be no excuse not to bring in a top level hitman.

Enter Papiss Cisse. The January arrival cost Newcastle £9.3million to bring in from Freiburg. After a blistering start in the second half of the 2011/12 season, Cisse only notched double figures in terms of league goals once more across his four subsequent seasons in Toon town.

In Cisse’s final campaign, in which the Senegalese international striker hit only 3 goals in 21 league outings, Newcastle were relegated once again. That summer, Cisse joined Chinese Super League outfit Shandong Luneng for £5.2million.

The Championship club could only attract Crystal Palace outcast Dwight Gayle to become their new No. 9, at the expense of £9million. Gayle duly helped Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle to another title triumph in the second tier, but struggled in front of goal as the club battled to a 10th placed finish on their return to the Premier League.

This summer Gayle was subject to a loan trade for relegated West Brom’s Salomon Rondon.

The Venezuelan now dons the famous shirt at St James’. His remit is simple – score enough goals to see his side comfortably stave off relegation.

On August 11th 2018, Rondon made his home debut for Newcastle. 

Much has changed in the 22 years between Shearer’s arrival and Rondon’s, including Newcastle’s transition from a club reaching for the stars into one with little more than survival on its mind.

The fact that the club haven’t had a single inspiring, top level No. 9 in the intervening period between the England legend’s retirement and now is telling. So is the fact that it has been Mike Ashley in charge of the club for the vast majority of that time.

To date, taking into account the £15million spent on Shearer, Newcastle have made a net profit of over £5million from the comings and goings of No. 9s since then. 

The shirt deserves better. The Toon Army deserve better. Newcastle United deserve better than Ashley, whose dearth of ambition has brought about the death of Magpie dreams. 

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