Shirt Numbers

[bluejock]

Get rid of shirt numbers all together then. What's the point of them now players have their names on the back, anyway?

None. Except pointless nostalgia. And we've accepted that I'm ok with pointless nostalgia.

Back to 1-11 please.

 

[Seamus Colemole]

Totally understand people having an issue with it. It is weird I guess. Just doesnt bother me

But then people won't understand why is stayed up all night watching a rather poor wrestling event!

Spoilers god damn it ijjy lol.

But yeah, numbers don't mean anything to me, its the player and position they play in which is important.

 

[Fensta]

I was never in favour of changing to squad numbers and putting players names on the back. If you don't know who the player is without his name on display then you ain't a footy fan. Also it's just less cool to see a player wearing 23 on his back instead of 11 etc. Everton have no number 9. 10. Makes no sense.

 

[Goat]

http://instagram.com/p/X2ksZpKZU8/#

John Stones 11.


/shakes head

 

[Alio]

http://instagram.com/p/X2ksZpKZU8/#

John Stones 11.


/shakes head

Never knew he was a left winger!!!

 

[bluejock]

http://instagram.com/p/X2ksZpKZU8/#

John Stones 11.


/shakes head

Max Oberschmidt is a boss name for a German baddy.

 

[Azzurri]

I forgot my kit with number 9 on the other week and had to wear 3. 3 FFS!!! And the team we played who were from the states had a goalie wearing 0 and a centre back wearing 1. Melts.

Derek Riordan wore '01' for Hibs because 10 was taken. Victor Wanyama wears 67 for Celtic for when they won the European Cup. El Shaarawy wears 92 because it's when he was born. Can't think of any more weird ones.

But yeah, numbers aren't THAT important but they're just tradition and it helps when watching teams you don't know. You can say 'that number 14's good' and google him rather than not knowing who he is.

 

[Rage]

Does my head in that players like Dempsey have 2, and another that's pissed me off for years is Sagna having 3, he's a right back but to me that's a left back's number. It's not as bad as a striker having 2 or 3 but still annoys me.

That being said I don't mind players having crazy numbers like 99.

 

[WA Toffee]

Get rid of shirt numbers all together then. What's the point of them now players have their names on the back, anyway?

So that when referees book players, they only have to write down one or 2 digits to know who it was they booked. If they were to book Oxlade-Chamberlain, or some of the more exotic East European names the game would be held up for 5 minutes while they write it out. Or in the case of a game several years back betweens Rangers and Dundee Utd, when there were 5 players called Ferguson on the park at the same time (2 of then called Ian), how would the ref know which player he booked/scored etc

 

[Jamo Martinez]

In South America a "number 5" is your holding midfielder so I get what AF means - the system makes little sense really and certainly apart from 1 and 9 seems fairly inconsistant worldwide.
The squad number system is here to stay because it makes money. Stupid number choices (Gyan, Kone, Dempsey were 2 or 3 upfront, defenders wearing 9 or 10) irritate me but if someone wants to wear 80 or 90 something because that is when they were born doesn't really bother me.

Which prooves how totally subjective it is. Like most things in football I suppose. Including supporting a team.

 

[caught]

Great thread. I recall a while back reading Frank Leboeuf (remember him?) talking about his role as a 'cultured' centre back. He said that it was down to playing as a creative midfielder in his youth, but he referred to the role simple as 'number 10' - this being traditional number in France for the position.

I think it's more club-specific in the UK. As someone said, the 9 shirt at Everton is freighted with a certain amount of sentimentality given the number of great players to wear it (we can't claim to be the only club to justifiably exalt this number, though). Man United's 7 has similar connotations.

Sometimes numbers are also simply en vogue for a while: the no. 4 shirt became popular for central midfielders not all that long ago (partly, I think, to to the ever-maligned no. 6 shirt that has always tended to be unappealing for non-CBs).

I'm indifferent towards the personalised shirt numbers these days. I can't pretend seeing Dempsey as no. 2 doesn't irk me a little, but I know that's just because I'm so accustomed to the regular usage of it (and, after no. 1, surely the RB shirt is the most static of the lot? We've had plenty of no. 3 CBs, while 7s, 8s and 11s have all been assigned to strikers. Then there was Donovan's no. 9) and humans tend to be funny with change.

 

[EFCNIK]

Asamoah Gyan 3
Clint Dempsey 2
Khalid Boulahrouz 9
Steve Sidwell 9

All should be shot in front of their families. How utterly outrageous.

 

[steken1]

Funny how most seem not arsed but I've seen team-mates fighting in the changies before matches over 'my shirt' and I used to make sure I was in the kit bag handy to get my number too. Men not boys BTW.

 

[Julian Carax]

In South America a "number 5" is your holding midfielder so I get what AF means - the system makes little sense really and certainly apart from 1 and 9 seems fairly inconsistant worldwide.
The squad number system is here to stay because it makes money. Stupid number choices (Gyan, Kone, Dempsey were 2 or 3 upfront, defenders wearing 9 or 10) irritate me but if someone wants to wear 80 or 90 something because that is when they were born doesn't really bother me.

Redondo wore this shirt with the most grace, the holding player maker/Regista. Far the classiest of all positions.