Mark Gillespie

Mark Joseph Gillespie (born 27 March 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United.

Club Career

Early career

Gillespie was part of the academy setup at Newcastle 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.

Carlisle United

On 20 February 2010, Gillespie was named as a substitute for Carlisle's League One match against Swindon Town due to an injury suffered by Lenny Pidgeley. He was on the bench for a further 7 games before Pidgeley returned for the 2010 Football 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 against Norwich 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 by Tony Caig.

In the 2010–11 season, Gillespie joined Blyth Spartans, then in the Conference 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. 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's Football League Trophy tie against Preston North End on 4 September 2012. This ended a run of 146 consecutive starts for Adam Collin. Gillespie retained his place in the team the following Saturday, in a league fixture against Hartlepool United, after Carlisle manager Greg Abbott said that Gillespie and Collin were competing against each other for the goalkeeping position. Gillespie was praised by Tottenham Hotspur boss Andre Villas-Boas and veteran keeper Carlo Cudicini after Carlisle slipped to a 3–0 defeat in a League Cup tie on 26 Sept