But could a centre back be wearing 4, making 6 the more defensive CM? Didn't Ward play in 8, making the strikers 8 ad 9 and pushing 10 into midfield. Is there a definitive answer? And, should we care any more, given that for Veltman the obviously correct number is 34 because of what happened at Ajax (just as Root should always wear 66 in cricket)?
Back in the day when the players on the pitch were numbered 1 to 11, it was usually numbers 5 and 6 at CB, but not always. Playing alongside Brian Labone at CB for Everton was no,10, John Hurst, which always seemed a bit weird!