Mark Gillespie is living the dream*. A boyhood fan of Newcastle United , that dream* had been “shattered”, he says, when he was released by the club at 16. But he dropped down the leagues and rebuilt, fighting “for his life”, always “one mistake away from obscurity”, until in 2020, the goalkeeper came home, rejoining his old club.
Advertisement And now just look at him: dreamland*. Look at Newcastle, back in the mix following their Saudi-led takeover in 2021, competing again, just as they were when Gillespie came to St James’ Park as a kid with Neil, his dad, Mark staring awestruck at Shay Given, Steve Harper and Tony Caig. “My dad had a season ticket in the Strawberry Corner of the Gallowgate End and we’d get to games an hour early, just so I could watch the goalies warm up,” Gillespie says.
“Now, when we come out to warm up, I always look across to that corner and I can’t help it; I think to myself, ‘What would that little kid think now that I’m on the pitch?’. It’s mental.” But you may have noticed — as Gillespie adds — rejoining Newcastle was “a no-brainer, but with a small asterisk attached”, because at 32 and in his prime, he does not play.
He has played; three appearances in the Carabao Cup in 2020-21, which “mean more to me than if I’d played another 100 games for another club”. There is a misconception about players in Gillespie’s position. “The first thing people say is, ‘You’ve got the best job in the world’.