 | ||||
| Full name | Gateshead Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Tynesiders, The Heed | |||
| Founded | 1977 | |||
| Ground | Gateshead International Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 11,800 | |||
| Chairman | Bernard McWilliams | |||
| Manager | Alun Armstrong | |||
| League | National League | |||
| 2024–25 | National League, 8th of 24 | |||
| Website | gateshead-fc.com | |||
Gateshead Football Club is a professionalassociation football club based inGateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in theNational League, the fifth level of theEnglish football league system, and play their home matches at theGateshead International Stadium.
Established in 1977 afterGateshead United folded, the club are known as the "Tynesiders" or the "Heed". There had been aGateshead A.F.C. in theFootball League from 1930 to 1960, which had folded before Gateshead United had been established. The current incarnation of the club began life in theNorthern Premier League, winning Premier Division titles in the 1982–83 and 1985–86 seasons. However they were relegated from theFootball Conference in 1984 and 1987. They secured promotion back to the Conference at the end of the 1989–90 season, though would remain there until another relegation in 1998. The club were further relegated from 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 from theConference 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 in2014, before they were demoted to the National League North in 2019 due to financial irregularities. They returned to the National League after winning the National League North in 2021–22. They won their firstFA Trophy title in the2023–24 season having finished as runners-up in the previous competition.
The originalGateshead club was formed in 1899 as South Shields Adelaide and became members of theFootball League in 1919. In 1930 financial problems saw the club moved to Gateshead, where they adopted the name of their new town.[1] 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, becomingGateshead United in 1974. However, they were dissolved at the end of the1976–77 season. A new club was established, taking over from United in theNorthern Premier League.[1] After three seasons in the bottom half of the table, they finished eleventh in1980–81, also reaching the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 atLincoln City. The club finished fourth in the league thefollowing season.[2]
The1982–83 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 theAlliance Premier League. After a sixteenth-place finish in theirfirst season in the league, they finished second-from-bottom in1984–85 and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League.[2] Thefollowing season saw the club win the Northern Premier League title and the league's Challenge Shield,[3] earning an immediate return to the (now renamed)Football Conference. However, they lasted onlyone season in the Conference, and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League after finishing bottom of the table.[2]
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 in1987–88 and second-from-bottom thefollowing season, but avoided relegation to Division One as no team was relegated to the league from the Conference. After this reprieve, the club were runners-up in1989–90 and were promoted back to the Conference,[2] as championsColne Dynamoes were ineligible for promotion. The following seven seasons saw them in mid-table every season, but after finishing in the relegation zone in1997–98, they returned to the Northern Premier League.[2]
After two top-five finishes following their return, Gateshead finished in mid-table in2000–01 and2001–02.[2] Although they were relegated to Division One at the end of the 2002–03 season,[2] a sixth-place finish in 2003–04 was sufficient to secure a return to the Premier Division due to the creation of theConference North andSouth 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 defeatingEastwood Town 4–0 in the semi-finals, they beatBuxton 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North.[4]
In the 2008–09 season, Gateshead were Conference North runners-up.[2] In the subsequent play-offs, they beatSouthport 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before a 1–0 win overAFC Telford United in the final saw them promoted to the Conference National.[2] The club adopted a full-time squad for the first time for the 2010–11 season.[5] In 2013–14, the club finished third in the league, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They beatGrimsby Town 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, setting up aWembley final againstCambridge United, which they lost 2–1.[6][7] In thefollowing season the club reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time; wins overNorton United in the first round andWarrington Town in the second led to a third-round tie withPremier League sideWest Bromwich Albion, with Gateshead losing 7–0.[2] The club were suspended from the National League in May 2019 due to financial irregularities,[8] and were demoted to the National League North the following month.[9]
The curtailed2019–20 season saw Gateshead finish seventh (with the league table calculated on points-per-game), qualifying for the play-offs.[10][2] However, after beatingBrackley Town on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the first round, they lost 5–3 toBoston United in the semi-finals.[11] In2021–22 Gateshead were National League North champions, earning promotion back to the National League.[12] The2022–23 season saw them reach thefinal of theFA Trophy at Wembley Stadium, where they lost 1–0 toFC Halifax Town.[13] After finishing sixth in the National League in2023–24, the club were barred from competing in the play-offs after failing to meet the entry criteria for the Football League due to not obtaining a "10-year security of tenure" for their stadium.[14] They also reached a second successive FA Trophyfinal, this time defeatingSolihull Moors on penalties following a 2–2 draw to win the competition.[15]
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 previousGateshead incarnation – 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.[citation needed]
The club's crest incorporates an image of the statue theAngel of the North.[16]
The club have played at theGateshead International Stadium since their establishment. The record attendance of 11,750 was set in a 1995 friendly match withNewcastle United.[17]
On 28 October 2009, Gateshead unveiled plans for a new 8,000 capacity stadium to be built in the town centre, opposite theGateshead Civic Centre, formerly the home of North Durham Cricket & Rugby Club.[18] However, after the failure of England's bids to host theWorld Cup in 2018 or 2022, the stadium, which would have acted as a training base for teams playing at nearbySt 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".[19] 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".[20] Despite Gateshead qualifying for the National League play-offs in2023–24, they were excluded due toGateshead Council failing to grant the club a ten-year security of tenure for the International Stadium, which is required for all teams that apply for EFL membership from the National League.[21]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Coaching staff | |
|---|---|
| Position | Name |
| Manager | Alun Armstrong |
| Assistant Manager | Jacob Butterfield |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Peter Jameson |
| Head of Football Operations | Simon Johnson |
| Head of Analysis | Josh Lucas |
| S&C Lead | Angelo Mappouras |
| Community Officer | Ben Clark |
| Physiotherapist | Frazer Bell |
| Non-playing staff | |
|---|---|
| Position | Name |
| Chairman | Bernard McWilliams |
| Vice-Chairman | Lawrence O'Halleron |
| Directors | Laurence Dinning, Mark Nellist |
| General Manager | Mike Coulson |
| Media Manager | Jack McGraghan |
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Years | Manager | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1977–1986 | Ray Wilkie | |
| 1986 | Terry Hibbitt | |
| 1986–1987 | George Smith | |
| 1987–1988 | Dave Parnaby | |
| 1988 | Billy Bell | |
| 1988 | John Carver (caretaker) | |
| 1988–1990 | Dave Parnaby | |
| 1990 | Jim Pearson (caretaker) | |
| 1990–1991 | Tony Lee | |
| 1991–1993 | Tommy Cassidy | |
| 1993–1997 | 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 | [24] |
| 2002–2004 | Derek Bell | |
| 2004 | Alan Bell | |
| 2004–2005 | Tom Wade | |
| 2005–2006 | Colin Richardson | |
| 2006–2007 | Tony Lee | [25] |
| 2007–2012 | Ian Bogie | [26] |
| 2012–2013 | Anth Smith | [27] |
| 2013 | David Rush (caretaker) | [28] |
| 2013–2015 | Gary Mills | [29] |
| 2015 | Malcolm Crosby | [30] |
| 2015 | Ben Clark,Micky Cummins (co-caretakers) | |
| 2015–2017 | Neil Aspin | [31] |
| 2017 | Micky Cummins (caretaker) | [32] |
| 2017–2019 | Steve Watson | [33] |
| 2019 | Ben Clark | [34] |
| 2019–2023 | Mike Williamson | [35][36] |
| 2023–2024 | Rob Elliot | [37][38] |
| 2024 | Ben Clark (caretaker) | |
| 2024–2025 | Carl Magnay | [39] |
| 2025–present | Alun Armstrong | [40] |
