 Gillespie playing forCarlisle United in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Joseph Gillespie[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-03-27)27 March 1992 (age 33)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2008 | Newcastle United | ||
| 2008–2010 | Carlisle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2017 | Carlisle United | 161 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Blyth Spartans (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Walsall | 23 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Motherwell | 57 | (0) |
| 2020– | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:25, 7 March 2020 (UTC) | |||
Mark Joseph Gillespie (born 27 March 1992) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as a goalkeeper forPremier League clubNewcastle United.
Gillespie was part of the academy setup atNewcastle United before moving to Carlisle United in 2008, at the age of 16. He started at Carlisle as a youth team player before graduating to the reserve team.
On 20 February 2010, Gillespie was named as a substitute for Carlisle'sLeague One match againstSwindon Town due to an injury suffered byLenny Pidgeley. He was on the bench for a further seven games before Pidgeley returned for the 2010Football League Trophy final on 28 March 2010.
On 8 May 2010, the final day of the 2009–10 season, Gillespie made his professional debut in a win againstNorwich City at Carrow Road after coming on as a late substitute. Gillespie therefore became the youngest keeper ever to represent Carlisle, at 18 years and 42 days, beating the previous record set byTony Caig.
In the 2010–11 season, Gillespie joinedBlyth Spartans, then in theConference North, on a month-long loan. He made his first start against Eastwood Town on 16 October 2010, keeping a clean sheet. His loan was extended for a further two months before he returned to Carlisle.[4] He made no appearances for Carlisle in either of the 2010–11 or 2011–12 seasons.
Gillespie made his first start for Carlisle in Carlisle'sFootball League Trophy tie againstPreston North End on 4 September 2012.[5] This ended a run of 146 consecutive starts forAdam Collin. Gillespie retained his place in the team the following Saturday, in a league fixture againstHartlepool United, after Carlisle managerGreg Abbott said that Gillespie and Collin were competing against each other for the goalkeeping position.[5][6]
Gillespie was praised by Tottenham Hotspur bossAndré Villas-Boas and veteran keeperCarlo Cudicini after Carlisle slipped to a 3–0 defeat in aLeague Cup tie on 26 September. The praise was earned after Gillespie pulled off a string of fine saves to keep United in the match early on.[7] Gillespie lost his place in the first team at the start of November 2012, after playing 13 consecutive games in two months, during which he conceded 23 goals and kept only one clean sheet (in a game againstCrewe Alexandra on 18 September 2012).
He regained his place in the team one and a half months later in a 2–1 loss atShrewsbury Town and retained it to make 37 appearances for the season. During the season, he extended his contract until the end of the 2014–15 season,[8] while at the season's end, Collin departed the club forRotherham United.[9]
Gillespie's 2013–14 season was curtailed by a knee injury suffered in anFA Cup tie againstBoreham Wood in November.[10] He made no further appearances for Carlisle during the season, as the club was relegated toLeague Two.[11]
Gillespie turned down a new contract from Carlisle on 7 June 2017, instead moving on to Walsall in League One.
On 23 June 2017, Gillespie joinedLeague One sideWalsall on a two-year contract.[12]
On 5 June 2018, Gillespie signed for Scottish Premiership clubMotherwell on a two-year deal.[13] He made his debut on 17 July 2018, in aScottish League Cup group stage match at home toEdinburgh City,[14] but was backup toTrevor Carson in league matches until November 2018 when Carson was ruled out withdeep vein thrombosis.[15] During the season Gillespie saved a penalty on four occasions; at home againstCeltic,[16] two in matches againstSt Johnstone,[17][18] and at home toLivingston in the final game of the season.[19] On 31 May 2020, Motherwell announced that Gillespie (who had been ever-present that season) would be leaving the club after his contract expired.[20]
On 3 July 2020,Newcastle United announced the signing of Gillespie on a three-year contract, returning to the club after twelve years.[21]His first team action has been limited to three League Cup appearances in 2020/21 but has appeared on the bench, most notably in the League Cup Final in 2023 with Nick Pope suspended, Martin Dubravka cup-tied and Karl Darlow away on loan.
On 30 May 2024, the club announced it had extended the player's contract by a year.[22]
On 6 June 2025, Gillespie signed a further one-year contract with Newcastle.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Carlisle United | 2009–10[23] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010–11[24] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[25] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[26] | League One | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 2013–14[27] | League One | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[28] | League Two | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[29] | League Two | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[30] | League Two | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 52 | 0 | |
| Total | 161 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 180 | 0 | ||
| Blyth Spartans (loan) | 2010–11 | Conference North | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Walsall | 2017–18[31] | League One | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Motherwell | 2018–19[32] | Scottish Premiership | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[33] | Scottish Premiership | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| Total | 57 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 7[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle United | 2020–21[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[36] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[37] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle United U-21s | 2021–22[35] | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 239 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 287 | 0 | ||
Newcastle United
EFL Cup:2024–25;[38] runner-up:2022–23[39]
