Nowhere in Britain is a great centre forward more admired than at St James' Park, home of Newcastle United.

When Michael Owen [Images] strides out for his debut this weekend against Fulham he will be following in the footsteps of Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan and Malcolm Macdonald -- great strikers who have achieved legendary status at the north-east club.

England's [Images] Owen has been signed to partner the talismanic Shearer in Newcastle's attack and will take over as Tyneside's leading light when his captain retires next summer.

The 16 million pounds ($29.40 million) Newcastle paid Real Madrid [Images] for Owen represents the 14th time the Premier League side has broken its own transfer record to sign a centre forward.

The affinity between strikers and the Newcastle terraces began in the 1920s with Scotland's Hughie Gallacher, who scored 143 goals in 174 games over a five-year period and captained his side to the title in 1927 before joining Chelsea.

Albert Stubbins, whose exploits inspired future Newcastle manager Bobby Robson, was the next to wow the fans.

"He was my boyhood hero," Robson said. "The centre forward I hero-worshipped as a young lad. Marvellous."

Stubbins -- nicknamed The Silent Assassin -- spent 10 years at Newcastle from 1936, plundering the vast majority of his 237 goals in a black and white shirt during wartime.

He joined Liverpool for 12,000 pounds and subsequently was one of the people featured on the cover of The Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

'WOR JACKIE'

The name of Jackie Milburn will be forever linked to Newcastle's former glory days. 'Wor Jackie', as he is still known, scored 200 goals in 397 games from 1943 to 1957 thanks to his explosive pace and powerful shot.

His exploits helped the club win the FA Cup three times during the 1950s. Indeed, the 1955 Wembley win over Manchester City was the last time Newcastle won a major English honour.

Since Milburn reigned over Tyneside, several players have tried to emulate his feats but only Shearer has come close to earning a similar place in Geordie folklore.

Len White helped Milburn win the 1955 FA Cup and scored 153 goals in 269 appearances while Wales's Wyn 'The Leap' Davies was in the side that won the Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969.

Macdonald arrived at Newcastle in 1971 and quickly earned the nickname 'Supermac', inspired by the lyrics of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar -- 'Supermac, Superstar, How many goals have you scored so far?'

Macdonald found the net times 121 times in 228 games with his pace and barrelling runs before moving to Arsenal [Images].

In 1982 the so-called Toon Army welcomed England striker Keegan who took the club to promotion from the old second division in his two seasons there during which he made 78 appearances, scoring 48 times before retirement.

He returned to manage Newcastle and under him Andy Cole was a revelation, scoring 68 goals in 85 games before Keegan controversially sold him to Manchester United [Images] in 1995.

His replacement, Les Ferdinand, prospered with 50 goals in 83 matches but was unable to guide the club to success.

Since Ferdinand's departure, there have been several high-profile flops in the strikers' department at Newcastle.

GEORDIE PASSION

Frenchman Stephane Guivarc'h lasted only five months after joining Newcastle for 3.5 million pounds after his country's 1998 World Cup triumph.

Carl Cort and Duncan Ferguson also flattered to deceive during Newcastle careers blighted by injury after multi-million pound transfers.

Shearer arrived for a then world-record 15 million pounds in 1996, although his decision to return to his birthplace rather than join Manchester United is yet to yield him a trophy.

The 35-year-old has netted 194 times and remains firmly on course to beat Milburn's club record.

"There is a great tradition up here about the number nine at Newcastle and I will do my best, that is all I can say, to try to provide goals and medals and everything else like I have always done," Owen said.

"You can only do your best. Alan is a different type of player to me, obviously, so Newcastle fans are not going to see a like-for-like player coming into the team -- but, hopefully, they will see a like-for-like stream of goals coming."

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