Has Andy Carroll done enough?
Yes we all know Alan Shearer, Supermac and Jackie Milburn wore it with pride ... but there have been some knackers too.
Wayne Fereday for one (although it was only once)! Then there was Mavis Reilly and battling Billy Whitehurst.
And don't be fooled into believing Hughie Gallacher wore it because numbers were not introduced until well after he had left Tyneside.
Chris Hughton: “If he asked for the number nine shirt for next season it’s something that I would have to seriously think about.
“I am aware of what that number means here. There is responsibility that goes with that number. One thing that I am sure is that he is big and brave enough to want it.
“If we look at his progress this season he’s answered a lot of questions that we’ve asked of him.
"The biggest one was for somebody of his size and prowess we wanted more goals from him. He’s certainly given us that. He’s given us more impact in games. There are areas that he still needs to develop.
"For a big man he is a good footballer, there are areas of his link up player that need to develop and I am sure they will. We probably couldn’t have asked any more of him.
“The backroom and scouting staff side of things does need building up again. It’s very difficult to do some things when you’re not a Premier League team.
"So much effort goes into trying to achieve promotion.
“Some areas, like scouting and technology, I’d like to push on further. There are a lot of areas we are evaluating at the moment.”