Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong was one of Danny Bergara's many clever signings when he snapped up the Geordie striker for a nominal fee from Newcastle United in June 1994.
Although he had failed to break into the first team set-up at St James's Park he enjoyed a fine start to his Edgeley Park career with a goal on his debut in the opening day 4-1 victory at home to Cardiff City.
Alun ended the season as County's top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions as he started to show real potential with some superb displays leading the line.
An FA Cup 3rd Round draw against holders Everton the following season gave Alun the chance to really put his name in lights.
He scored in the first game at Goodison Park when he hit County's first equaliser on a memorable afternoon that saw the Hatters hold the Cup holders to a 2-2 draw in front of nearly 30,000.
And, with County trailing 2-1 in the replay, with just a couple of minutes remaining, Armstrong broke free in the area to fire the ball past Neville Southall in front of the Cheadle End to spark ecstatic scenes all around the ground.
Unfortunately, the Toffees responded immediately as John Ebbrell grabbed a dramatic winner. Alun was distraught and the pictures showing him lying on the pitch in tears endeared him further to the Edgeley faithful.
It was tears of joy for the striker next season, though, when County enjoyed a quite remarkable 1996-97 campaign which culminated in the Hatters regaining First Division status after an absence of 60 years, not forgetting the small matter of reaching the Coca-Cola Cup semi final.
Alun contributed 13 more goals including a brace in the 5-2 victory at Sheffield United in the League Cup and our opening goal in the Quarter Final 2-2 draw with Southampton at Edgeley Park.
The goals kept flowing during our first season back in Division One; Alun had already found the net 15 times when Middlesbrough wrote a cheque for £1.6million to take him to the Riverside Stadium in February 1998.
The massive fee doubled the Hatters previous record when Birmingham paid £800,000 to take Kevin Francis - Armstrong's first strike partner at Edgeley Park - to St Andrews in 1995.
And it was the same figure that former boss Dave Jones paid to take goalkeeper Paul Jones to Southampton in July 1997.
In total, Alun made exactly 200 appearances for the Hatters, scoring 62 goals, and he left Edgeley Park as a real fans' favourite - he will always be remembered fondly by the County faithful.
He quickly endeared himself to the Middlesbrough faithful as well. He made his debut in a local derby at home to Sunderland and, having replaced Craig Hignett, made sure of the points by scoring Boro's third goal in the 3-1 win in front of more than 30,000.
He scored six more important goals for the Riverside club that season to help Boro win promotion. Double strikes came against Swindon and Oxford - there was also a winning goal against Manchester City in mid April which pleased the County fans watching back home on Sky Sports.
During his time at Middlesbrough he was loaned out to Huddersfield Town, which gave him the chance to play against County when the Hatters visited the Alfred McAlpine Stadium in April 2000.
The Terriers needed all three points to stand a chance of reaching the First Division Play-Offs but County stunned the home crowd of more than 14,000 as a Kevin Cooper strike and a Craig Armstrong own goal, both inside the opening 12 minutes, earned the Hatters a 2-0 win.
Ipswich Town paid Middlesbrough £500,000 to take him to East Anglia in December 2000 and, after making his debut in a 1-0 victory at Liverpool, he scored on his home debut with a 51st minute strike past former team-mate Paul Jones as Southampton were beaten 3-1 at Portman Road.
Despite joining Ipswich halfway through the season, Alun still managed to net eight times for the club including a brace on his return to Middlesbrough which secured a 2-1 victory for his new team.
His most memorable goals for Ipswich, though, came during the 2001-02 season when the Tractor Boys were drawn against Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup 3rd Round.
Alun scored the only goal of the game at Portman Road as the Italian giants were beaten 1-0 and with Ipswich trailing 4-0 at the San Siro in the second leg, Alun converted a penalty in the 79th minute to the delight of the 10,000 travelling fans.
In total, Alun made 94 appearances for the Tractor Boys, scoring 19 goals before his release at the end of last season.
Top Ten Transfer Fees Received Name To Fee Alun Armstrong February 1998 Middlesbrough £1.6million Kevin Cooper March 2001 Wimbledon £1million Ian Moore November 2000 Burnley £1million Shefki Kuqi January 2002 Sheffield Wednesday £832,000 Paul Jones July 1997 Southampton £800,000 Kevin Francis January 1995 Birmingham City £800,000 Tony Dinning September 2001 Wolves £630,000 Lee Todd July 1997 Southampton £600,000 Chris Marsden October 1997 Birmingham City £500,000 Andy Preece June 1994 Crystal Palace £350,000
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