1947 Raymond Finnigan born, Wallsend. 
(1965-66)

Full back who appeared for Newcastle at junior level but failed to progress into the first team and moved on to Darlington. 

Signing for Gateshead in 1968, Ray later worked in the motor trade on Tyneside,

1948 Dennis Laughton born, Dingwall, Scotland. (1973-75)

Primarily a defender (although he did feature in midfield while at Gallowgate), Dennis began his playing career at Ross County before joining Greenock Morton.

He moved to SJP for £20K plus Alex Reid during October 1973, shortly after facing Newcastle in the Texaco Cup - and scoring at both ends in the two-legged tie.

Debuting in a 0-1 defeat at Birmingham City during December 1973, Laughton had a short run of league games at the tail end of that season ahead of the FA Cup Final, but was omitted from the Wembley party.

A 3-0 home win over Southampton in December 1974 proved to be his only first team victory - and his tenth and final senior appearance.

Forced into retirement in 1975 by a leg injury sustained during a reserve game, Dennis moved to Gibraltar before returning to the North East six years later when signing for non-league Whitley Bay and becoming a hotelier in the town.

He passed away in May 2020.

1959 Rob McDonald born, Hull. (1988-89)

Striker who arrived in November 1988 from PSV Eindhoven for a £150K fee and debuting in a 0-4 defeat at Millwall that month, while United were under the caretaker charge of Colin Suggett and Mick Martin. 

It was rumoured at the time that McDonald was bought after a "scouting" mission by Chairman McKeag - and such was his lack of presence that old Gordon may as well have picked himself in the number nine shirt.

Getting off the mark in a Full Members Cup tie at Watford in mid-December after Jim Smith's appointment, the only league goal of his Magpies career came in a 2-1 Boxing Day win at Sheffield Wednesday.

Nine more league & Cup outings followed, the final six of which were from the bench, replacing the equally useless Frank Pingel on numerous occasions. We won precisely none of them and were rightly relegated.

McDonald had began his playing career at hometown club Hull City as an apprentice in 1974, moving on to Dutch side Cambuur Leeuwarden some six years later. 

Subsequent transfers took him across the Netherlands to Wageninen, Willem II, Groningen and most notably PSV Eindhoven - where he won a League championship in the 1985/86 season.

Loan spells followed at Sporting Lisbon, Groningen, Racing Jet (Belgium) and Ikast (Denmark) before joining Newcastle after an unsuccessful trial at Wimbledon.

Following our relegation, Turks Besiktas paid £60K for McDonald, but within six months he'd gone Dutch with Veendam, remaining there until retiring in 1992.

Coaching thereafter at Dutch clubs Emmen, Zwolle, DOVO and De Graafschap, 2001 saw McDonald switching continents as he moved to South Africa to coach Ajax Capetown. 

Returning to Cambuur two years later, the man hilariously known as "Mister One Touch" in Holland unsuccessfully applied for the Dundee job in 2006 before taking over at Irish side Sligo Rovers.

That proved disastrous though, as Rob oversaw the club's move to a full-time set up, but quit before they played a single competitive fixture in the Eircom League.

Reappearing in the unexpected location of Slovakia, McDonald coached Trencin for a brief period before dropping off the scene.

2010 then found him at the helm of Dutch amateur side VV Dovo and he set himself up as a Dutch-based headhunter for football coaches in addition to working as a guest/motivational speaker.    

1974 Jörg Böhme born, Hohenmölsen, Germany. (1998)

Midfielder who began his career at Chemie Zeitz, moving to Carl Zeiss Jena, Nuremberg, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1860 Munich.

Appearing in Newcastle's reserves briefly as a trialist, Bohme made little impression and was soon back at 1860.

Signing for Armenia Bielefeld in 1998 and later playing for Schalke 04, Bohme received a belated call-up to the German national side in 2001 and participated in the 2002 World Cup Finals for his country. 

Joining Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2005 saw him struggle for fitness and after an unsuccessful trial at Fulham, he agreed a second stint at Bielefeld.

Retiring in 2008 after failing to overcome a knee problem, Jorg held a number of coaching roles at Bielefield and later managed fellow Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus.

Assistant Coach at Schalke 04's second team in the 2015/16 season, he later managed lower league Steinhagen, living close to their stadium. 

1980 Jonathan Woodgate born, Nunthorpe. (2003-04)

Central defender who began his career at the smoggies but defected to Leeds, where he won the FA Youth Cup in 1997 and signed professional forms.

An integral part of a successful Leeds side, Woodgate was awarded his first full England cap in June 1999 by Kevin Keegan.

The events of January 12th 2000 brought Jonathan to national notoriety, when he and team mate Lee Bowyer were accused of the assault of Sarfraz Najeib outside a Leeds nightclub.

Woodgate was cleared of causing grevious bodily harm with intent but found guilty of affray at Hull Crown Court in December 2001 and given 100 hours community service.

Newcastle took advantage of the financial meltdown at Elland Road to sign Woodgate for £9m in January 2003 and he debuted two months later against Chelsea at SJP.

An assured performer, what proved to be his 37th and final United game was at home to Chelsea in April 2004, when injury crucially ruled him out of the second leg of our UEFA Cup Semi-Final against Marseille.

Sensationally sold to Real Madrid for £13.4m in August 2004 (with no sell-on clause for Leeds), he followed Michael Owen to the Bernabeu but endured an endless succession of fitness problems.

His first competitive game was delayed for 13 months and in it he contrived to score an own goal and be dismissed against Athletic Bilbao.

Loaned back to Boro two years later, a permanent £7m move to the Riverside came  in April 2007. Spurs then spent the same amount to sign him eight months later, Woody preferring White Hart Lane rather than the offer of a return to Newcastle.

The same pattern of comebacks and more injury problems repeated itself there though and he was released in June 2011, signing for Stoke City on a pay as you play deal (we commented at the time that Stoke Mandeville may have been more fitting...)

And with a certain degree of inevitability, Woody rejoined Boro at the start of the 2012/13 season on a three year deal.

Playing regularly for the next two seasons, injury sidelined him again in 2014 but he recovered to play in the closing months of the season as another promotion challenge came up short.

Amid talk of retirement, Jonathan agreed a new one year deal in 2015 but what proved to be the final senior game of his career came that August.

A free agent the following summer, Woodgate joined the Liverpool scouting team with responsibility for Spain and Portugal.

By March 2017 he was back at the Boro as a first team coach under Steve Agnew - moving to the U18s before regaining a senior team role following the arrival of Tony Pulis.

He took over as 'Boro boss in June 2019 and guided the smoggies clear of the relegation zone, but was sacked in June 2020 after another poor run of results.

A return to coaching came the following February, taking a first team role at Championship side Bournemouth after their coach Graeme Jones moved to SJP.

Within hours though, Woodgate had been promoted to interim manager after the Cherries chose to part company with first team boss Jason Tindall.

Bournemouth got to the 2021 play-offs but despite winning the first leg of the semi-final they lost 2-3 on aggregate to Brentford. He left soon after and was replaced by another ex-Magpie, Scott Parker in June 2021.

2022 brought a return to Boro, joining Michael Carrick's coaching team. The pair were then unexpectedly reunited at Old Trafford in January 2026.

1982 Fabricio Coloccini born, Córdoba, Argentina. (2008-16)

Central defender whose professional career began in his native Argentina with Boca Juniors before moving to AC Milan in 1999 at the age of 17.

Things failed to work out in Italy though and Fab was loaned back to the San Lorenzo club in his home country.

Further loan spells in Spain at Deportivo Alaves, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal followed before a permanent move in 2005 from Milan to Deportivo La Coruna. 

That came shortly after making the only two senior appearances of his Milan career before leaving the San Siro.

A gold medalist for Argentina in the 2004 Olympic football tournament, Colo found himself in and out of favour internationally with various coaches 

Remaining at SJP following relegation, Colo's first goal for the club was a match-winning header at Cardiff City in September 2009 and followed that up with another at Watford in the promotion season.

His first Premier League goal salvaged a vital point at home to Wigan in the fourth minute of added time - and Fabricio then celebrated his 29th birthday by netting in a 1-1 home draw with Spurs.

Playing the best football of his Magpies career, Colo was voted the North East Football Writers player of 2011 and was then included in the 2012 PFA Premier League XI after playing his part in Newcastle's fifth place finish that year. 

However the 2012/13 season saw his performance levels dip as United struggled to cope with injuries, a Europa League campaign, a lack of squad investment and a downturn in form across the team.

What he termed "a domestic crisis" then prompted Colo to inform United that he wanted to return to Argentina in January 2013 and talks with the club over his future eventually saw the defender stay at SJP.

However a back injury sustained in a home win over Southampton in late February 2013 saw him miss the next dozen games - and return to a side out of the Europa League who just had endured back to back home league humiliations (0-3 and 0-6).

Colo's presence steadied the ship and a point at West Ham followed by victory at QPR mathematically confirmed United's top flight survival with one game to play.

2013/14 saw him continue as club captain, although talk of a return to Argentina resurfaced in November 2013 - fuelled by comments made by the player while back "home" recovering from a groin problem.

That situation appeared to be resolved by early 2014 and Fabricio's influence on the dressing room remained large - cited by observers as a key factor in the removal of Hatem Ben Arfa from the squad.     

A 2-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion in November 2014 then saw him net for the first time since 2011, burying a memorable header in front of the jubilant travelling support at the Hawthorns.

By the end of that season though, his discontent was evident and a red card during a defeat at Everton in March 2015 raised questions as to his commitment.

Colo unexpectedly penned a new one year deal at SJP the following August - with the option of a further 12 months - although incoming manager Steve McClaren didn't seem to be know much about it.

The 2015/16 season included a sending off in the derby and a goal in a home draw with Aston Villa, but his influence was waning and a 1-5 loss at Chelsea when he partnered Steven Taylor confirmed that his days were clearly numbered.

That defeat in February was to be his final game, an alleged injury meaning that he was never available for selection by Rafa Benitez and endured his second relegation at the club as a non-combatant.  

Reaching agreement on the remainder of his contract in July 2016, Fabricio signed for San Lorenzo - his reputation sadly diminished if not totally ruined.

Colo's 39th birthday in 2021 found him still in the San Lorenzo squad and occasionally on the bench - although without an appearance since March 2020.

He switched to Aldovisi - also based in Buenos Aires - before retiring in December 2021 and unexpectedly reappearing as coach of Venezuela's U20 side.

Early 2024 found Fabricio in Mexico, as Assistant Coach of Chivas, making a brief return to Argentina in a similar role with Boca Juniors.

Next came a return to Mexico with Necaxa but that ended in November 2025. 

1992 Achraf Lazaar born Casablanca, Morocco (2016-21)

Left back/wing back raised in Italy, beginning his career with Serie B side Varese and debuting during 2012.

Loaned out to Palermo in 2014, Achraf earned a permanent transfer that summer after they  returned to the top-flight. 

Sold to United in August 2016 for around £2.5m, Lazaar was first sighted during an EFL Cup tie against Wolves a month later but remained largely on the fringes of the first team over the following months. 

Failing to retain his place in the Moroccan squad for the African Nations Cup Finals in early 2017, Achraf was then selected in the starting XI for both FA Cup ties against Birmingham City and the subsequent exit at Oxford United.

The following season saw him feature in the League Cup exit to Nottingham Forest before joining Italians Benevento on what was meant to be a season-long loan.

However nine games brought nine losses and he failed to play again after November due to fitness issues; a dispute with the new coach saw him packing his bags before the Serie A side suffering inevitable demotion.

The 2018/19 season saw Lazaar restricted to reserve games before a four game loan spell at Steve Bruce's Sheffield Wednesday along with Rolando Aarons.   

Improbably, Achraaf featured in both of Newcastle's pre-season games in China the following pre-season but failed to win a place in Bruce's 25 man squad and was loaned out to Italian Serie B side Cosenza.

Back at SJP for the last year of his deal, Lazaar played a few reserve games but was again omitted from the senior squad.

Finally negotiated his release in February 2021, he joined Watford on a short-term deal and then trialed with Reading before signing for Portuguese side Portimonense.

A spell in Italy with Novara then followed before turning in up the UAE during 2024 with Al-Ittifaq and a loan to Dubai City.

2025 found Achraf playing for Australian semi-professional side Preston Lions but he's disappeared since then.
 

1995 Lee Desmond born, Dublin, Ireland.
(2010-13)

Academy full back who joined the Magpies from Dublin-based junior side Cherry Orchard but was sidelined by injury before making a belated U18 debut in April 2012.

Lee was then blooded at reserve team level in December 2012, hastily promoted from the substitutes bench when fellow defender Lubomir Satka pulled out with an injury shortly before kick-off against Aston Villa.

Wearing shirt number 14, he played the full 90 minutes as United lost 2-3 at Whitley Park in a rare Sunday reserve game.

However, the Republic of Ireland U19 international was released by the club at the end of the 2012/2013 season.

Appearing for Dublin-based side Shelbourne against Ipswich Town in a friendly, Lee made a good impression and after spending time with the Shels U19s, agreed a senior contract in November 2013.

Called up to the Republic of Ireland U21s and moving to St. Patrick's Athletic in November 2014, Lee played against Newcastle in a friendly at Richmond Park in July 2018.

Clocking up over 200 appearances for Pat's he left on a high after they beat Bohemians on penalties in the FAI Cup Final.

He then headed over the pond to sign a two-year deal for USL Championship side Sacramento Republic. 

1999 Owen Bailey, born Newcastle.
(2015-21)

Former North Shields Juniors player who made his U18 bow from the bench during a 1-5 loss at Everton in February 2015.

Debuting for United reserves against Derby County at Whitley Park the following January, central defender Owen agreed an extended deal ahead of the 2017/18 season. 

His first competitive U23 goal then came against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns during August 2017.

Captaining the side at the start of the 2019/20 season, a leg injury that required surgery frustratingly sidelined him.

He was released in June 2021 and signed for Gateshead, moving on to League Two Doncaster Rovers two years later.

2006 Scott Bailey, born Durham.
(2022-present)

Midfielder with the club's academy since the age of nine who made his U18 bow against Nottingham Forest in early 2022.

Featuring for the Magpies in their first UEFA Youth League campaign in 2023/24, Bailey opened the scoring in a 2-1 victory against PSG in the French capital.

November 2024 then saw Scott debut at U21 level, named in the starting lineup for a 5-1 win over Alnwick Town in the Northumberland Senior Cup.