Gateshead F.C.

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Gateshead
Gateshead FC Logo
Full nameGateshead Football Club
Nickname(s)The Tynesiders, The Heed
Founded1977; 44 years ago (1977)
GroundInternational Stadium, Gateshead
Capacity11,800
ChairmanNeil Pinkerton
ManagerMike Williamson
LeagueNational League North
2020–21National League North (season curtailed)
WebsiteClub website

Gateshead Football Club is a professional football club based in Gateshead, England. The team compete in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football, and play at Gateshead International Stadium.

Established in 1977 after Gateshead United folded, the club are known as the "Tynesiders" or the "Heed". There had been a Gateshead A.F.C. in the English Football League from 1930 to 1960, which had itself folded before Gateshead United had been established. The current incarnation of the club began life in the Northern Premier League, winning Premier Division titles in the 1982–83 and 1985–86 seasons. However they were relegated out of the Conference in 1984 and 1987. They secured promotion back into the Conference at the end of the 1989–90 season, though would remain there only until another relegation in 1998. The club were further relegated out of the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2003. They won the First Division play-offs in 2004 and the Premier Division play-offs in 2008, before winning promotion out of the Conference North with a second-placed finish in 2008–09. Gateshead spent the next decade in the top-flight of English football's non-League system, losing a play-off final in 2014, before they were demoted into the National League North in 2019 due to financial irregularities.

History[]

The original Gateshead club was formed in 1899 as South Shields Adelaide and became members of the Football League in 1919. In 1930 financial problems saw the club moved to Gateshead, where they adopted the name of their new town. However, the club was voted out of the Football League in 1960 and folded in 1973. History repeated itself as the South Shields club formed to replace the original one was also moved to Gateshead, becoming Gateshead United in 1974. However, they were dissolved at the end of the 1976–77 season. A new club was established, taking over from United in the Northern Premier League.[1] After three seasons in the bottom half of the table, they finished eleventh in 1980–81, also reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 at Lincoln City. The club finished fourth in the league the following season.

The 1982–83 season saw Gateshead win the Northern Premier League with a record points tally (100), scoring 114 goals in the process.[1] As a result, the club were promoted to the Alliance Premier League. After a sixteenth-place finish in their first season in the league, they finished second-from-bottom in 1984–85 and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League.[2] The club went on to win the Northern Premier League at the first attempt, earning an immediate return to the (now renamed) Football Conference. However, they lasted only one season in the Conference, and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League after finishing bottom of the table.

With the Northern Premier League having gained a second division, Gateshead became members of its Premier Division upon their return to the league. They finished eighteenth in 1987–88 and second-from-bottom the following season, but avoided relegation to Division One as no team was relegated to the league from the Football Conference. After this reprieve, the club went on to win the league in 1989–90 and were promoted back to the Football Conference.[2] The following seven seasons saw them in mid-table every season, but after finishing in the relegation zone in 1997–98, they returned to the Northern Premier League.[2]

After two top-five finishes following their return, Gateshead finished in mid-table in 2000–01 and 2001–02. Although they were relegated to Division One at the end of the 2002–03 season, a sixth-place finish in 2003–04 was sufficient to secure a return to the Premier Division due to the creation of the Conference North and South leading to many clubs leaving the Premier Division. A third-place finish in the Premier Division in 2007–08 saw the club qualify for the promotion play-offs, and after defeating Eastwood Town 4–0 in the semi-finals, they beat Buxton 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North.[3]

In the 2008–09 season, Gateshead were Conference North runners-up. In the subsequent play-offs, they defeated Southport 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before a 1–0 win over AFC Telford United in the final saw them promoted to the Conference National. The club adopted a full-time squad for the first time for the 2010–11 season.[4] In 2013–14, the club finished third in the league, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They defeated Grimsby Town 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, setting up a Wembley final against Cambridge United, which they lost 2–1.[5] In the following season the club reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time; wins over Norton United in the first round and Warrington Town in the second led to a third-round tie with West Bromwich Albion, with Gateshead losing 7–0.[2] The club were suspended from the National League in May 2019 due to financial irregularities,[6] and were demoted to the National League North the following month.[7]

Colours and crest[]

The club initially played in all red strip with a white and blue vertical slash on the shirt. Gateshead continued to play in odd-coloured variations until the mid-1980s, when the club changed to the colours of the previous Gateshead club – white shirt, black shorts and socks – and have played in these same colours ever since. Since 2011, Gateshead has adopted their original colours of claret and blue as the club's away strip.

The club's crest incorporates an image of the statue the Angel of the North.

Stadium[]

The club have played at the Gateshead International Stadium since their establishment. The record attendance of 11,750 was set in a 1995 friendly match with Newcastle United.[8]

The stadium planned in 2009

On 28 October 2009, Gateshead unveiled plans for a new 8,000 capacity stadium to be built in the town centre, opposite the Gateshead Civic Centre, formerly the home of North Durham Cricket & Rugby Club.[9] However, after the failure of England's bids to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022, the stadium, which would have acted as a training base for teams playing at nearby St James' Park, was put on hold indefinitely. In 2014, it was reported that chairman Graham Wood "no longer considers a new purpose-built football ground vital to the future of Gateshead Football Club".[10] In December 2015, the club's new owner, Richard Bennett, announced that the club had restarted the search for a new stadium location, although he described the International Stadium as "fabulous".[11]

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 16 August 2021[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Jacob Chapman
2 DF Wales WAL Alex Nicholson
3 DF England ENG Robbie Tinkler
4 MF England ENG Jack Hunter
5 DF England ENG Elliot Forbes
6 DF England ENG Mike Williamson
7 FW England ENG Luke Middleton
8 MF England ENG Danny Greenfield
9 FW England ENG Paul Blackett
10 MF England ENG Greg Olley
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW England ENG Adam Campbell
14 DF England ENG Louis Storey
16 MF England ENG Dan Ward
17 MF England ENG Connor Pani
18 DF England ENG Ryan Wombwell
19 FW England ENG Cedwyn Scott
20 DF England ENG Owen Bailey
21 GK England ENG Adam Cameron
22 DF England ENG Ryan Bolton

Out on loan[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player

Non-playing staff[]

Coaching staff
Position Name
Manager Mike Williamson
Assistant Manager Ian Watson
First Team Coach
Goalkeeping Coach
Academy Coach Matty Pattison
Physio Chris Bell
Kit Man Mark Walton
Non playing staff
Position Name
Owners Gateshead Soul Supporters Society
Chairman Neil Pinkerton
General Manager Alisha Henry
Media Manager Jack McGraghan
Club Secretary

Managerial history[]

Years Manager
1977–1986 Ray Wilkie
1986 Terry Hibbitt
1986–1990 David Parnaby
1990–1993 Tony Lee
1993–1994 Tommy Cassidy
1994–1997 Colin Richardson
1997 Jim Platt
1997–1998 John Carroll
1998 Alan Shoulder, Gary Robson (co-caretakers)
1998–2001 Matt Pearson
2001–2002 Paul Proudlock
2002 Gary Gill
2002–2004 Derek Bell
2004 Alan Bell
2004–2005 Tom Wade
2005–2006 Colin Richardson
2006–2007 Tony Lee
2007–2012 Ian Bogie
2012–2013 Anth Smith
2013 David Rush (caretaker)
2013–2015 Gary Mills
2015 Malcolm Crosby
2015 Ben Clark, Micky Cummins (co-caretakers)
2015–2017 Neil Aspin
2017 Micky Cummins (caretaker)
2017–2019 Steve Watson
2019 Ben Clark
2019 Dave Dickson
2019– Mike Williamson

Honours[]

Conference (5th tier)

Conference North (6th tier)

Northern Premier League Premier Division (7th tier)

Challenge Shield

Records[]

See also[]

  • Gateshead F.C. players
  • Gateshead F.C. managers

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Our History Archived 22 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Gateshead F.C.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Gateshead at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ 2007–08 Northern Premier League Football Club History Database
  4. ^ Bowron, Jeff (28 April 2010). "Gateshead confirm Ian Bogie as full time manager". Gateshead F.C. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012.
  5. ^ Cambridge United 2–1 Gateshead BBC Sport, 18 May 2014
  6. ^ Gateshead: Club suspended from National League after 'multiple breaches' of financial rules BBC Sport, 24 May 2019
  7. ^ "Gateshead relegated to National League North after financial breaches". BBC Sport. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p32 ISBN 978-1869833695
  9. ^ Gateshead FC unveil new stadium site Gateshead F.C., 28 October 2009
  10. ^ Book reveals Gateshead might ditch new stadium plans Chronicle Live, 27 July 2014
  11. ^ Brown, Steve (13 December 2015). "Gateshead have restarted the search for a new home, says Tynesiders owner Richard Bennett". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Squad Numbers confirmed". Gateshead F.C. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  13. ^ Gateshead FC: James Curtis one of nine players released by National League side BBC Sport, 3 May 2016
  14. ^ Marcus Maddison sale can help Gateshead thrive - Gary Mills BBC Sport, 28 August 2014
  15. ^ Gateshead receive another cash windfall after Marcus Maddison plays his 20th game for Peterborough Chronicle Live, 10 February 2015

External links[]

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