Gateshead F.C.

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.[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, 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.[2]

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 following 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 only one 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 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 Conference. After this reprieve, the club were runners-up in 1989–90 and were promoted back to the Conference,[2] as champions Colne Dynamoes were ineligible for promotion. 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.[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 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.[4]

In the 2008–09 season, Gateshead were Conference North runners-up.[2] In the subsequent play-offs, they beat 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.[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 beat Grimsby Town 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, setting up a Wembley final against Cambridge United, which they lost 2–1.[6][7] 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 Premier League side West 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 curtailed 2019–20 season saw Gateshead finish seventh (with the league table calculated on points-per-game), qualifying for the play-offs.[10][2] However, after beating Brackley Town on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the first round, they lost 5–3 to Boston United in the semi-finals.[11] In 2021–22 Gateshead were National League North champions, earning promotion back to the National League.[12] The 2022–23 season saw them reach the final of the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium, where they lost 1–0 to FC Halifax Town.[13]

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 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.

The club's crest incorporates an image of the statue the Angel of the North.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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".[17] 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".[18]

As of 10 October 2023[19]

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  SCO Archie Mair 2 DF  ENG Robbie Tinkler 3 MF  ENG Regan Booty 4 DF  ENG Callum Whelan 5 DF  ENG Kenton Richardson 6 DF  ENG Louis Storey 7 FW  ENG Tom Allan 8 MF  ENG Ed Francis 9 FW  ENG Marcus Dinanga 10 MF  ENG Greg Olley (captain) 11 FW  ENG Stephen Wearne

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ENG Jordan Hunter 16 FW  ENG Aidan Rutledge 17 MF  ENG Connor Pani 18 DF  ENG Joe Grayson 19 MF  ENG Luke Hannant 21 FW  SCO Connor McBride 23 FW  ENG Billy Chadwick 28 MF  ENG Kyran Lofthouse 32 DF  ENG Carl Magnay 37 GK  IRL Rob Elliot

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK  ENG Harrison Bond (on loan to Whitley Bay) [20] 14 MF  ENG Elliot Forbes (on loan to Blyth Spartans) [21] 20 MF  ENG Lirak Hasani (on loan to South Shields) [22] 27 MF  ENG Lewis Knight (on loan to Blyth Spartans) [23] 39 FW  ENG Oli Thompson (on loan to Ashington) [24]

As of 7 August 2023[25]

As of 12 February 2023[25]

• National League
  • National League North champions 2021–22[2]
• Northern Premier League
  • Premier Division champions 1982–83, 1985–86[2]
  • Challenge Shield winners 1985–86[3]

• Best FA Cup performance: Third round, 2014–15[2]
• Best FA Trophy performance: Finalists, 2022–23[2]
• Record attendance: 11,750 vs Newcastle United, friendly match, 7 August 1995[15]
• Biggest win: 8–0 vs Netherfield, Northern Premier League[15]
• Heaviest defeat: 9–0 vs Sutton United, Football Conference, 22 September 1990[15]
• Most appearances: James Curtis, 596 (2003–2016)[15][40]
• Most goals: Paul Thompson, 130[15] (1995–1997, 1999–2004, 2005–2008)
• Record transfer fee paid: £9,000 to Dagenham & Redbridge for Paul Cavell, 1994[15]
• Record transfer fee received: £250,000 from Peterborough United for Marcus Maddison, 2014[41][42]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gateshead F.C..

• Official website
• Gateshead F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures