Newcastle were an emerging force under Alan Pardew at the start of the 2010s, finishing fifth in the Premier League in 2011/12 to qualify for Europe.
Keen on bolstering his squad for the second half of the campaign that season, Pardew spent big in the transfer market bringing in a new striker. Papiss Cisse arrived from Freiburg for £9.3m to link up with his Senegal team-mate Demba Ba, forming a formidable partnership at Newcastle in the process.
Cisse scored 13 goals in just 14 Premier League games that half-season, including a stunning double against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He showed immediate confidence arriving at St. James' Park, too, immediately taking the No.9 shirt.
Newcastle cult hero Papiss Cisse showed confidence in taking No.9 shirt
He didn't quite realise the significance of the number, however.
"There’s a big story behind that," Cisse exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "When Alan Pardew asked me what number I wanted, I said, 'I always take number nine'. He asked, 'Do you know what the number nine means here? Do you know of Alan Shearer?'
"My agent was translating for me. I’d heard of Shearer, but I didn’t know much about football in England. Pardew showed me a video of Shearer’s amazing goals.
"Control, bam! Control, turn, bam! I was stunned. He asked again, 'Are you sure?' I said, 'Yes, give me that shirt. I want to take it'."
Cisse eventually lasted four years wearing the No.9 at St. James' Park, scoring 44 goals in all competitions in 131 games. That first half-season ended up being Cisse's joint-most fruitful period at Newcastle, with the Senegalese forward managing 13 goals in 2012/13, too.
Since Cisse departed for Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League in 2016, four players have worn the No.9 shirt. Callum Wilson is the current occupant, having replaced Joelinton as the iconic wearer in 2021.
The Brazilian switched to No.7 after wearing the classic striker's number between 2019 and 2021, with Salomon Rondon afforded that honour in 2018/19. Prior to that was Dwight Gayle.
In FourFourTwo's view, Cisse had every right to take the No.9 shirt when arriving at Newcastle. Numbers don't weigh heavy on players if they get off to a good start, and even then it shouldn't have too much of an impact.
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