Mark Newson

Newson began his career at Charlton Athletic, and progressed through the club's youth system.[4] However, he was unable to break into the first-team, and was subsequently released by the club at the end of the 1978–79 campaign.[4] Newson joined Maidstone United in 1979, remaining at the club for over six years. During his time at Maidstone, Newson helped the club win the 1983–84 Alliance Premier League.[5] After impressing the following season under manager Barry Fry, being described as "one of the best midfielders outside of the Football League",[6] Newson attracted the interest of new Bournemouth manager Harry Redknapp, who wished to make Newson one of his first signings ahead of the 1985–86 season.[7] He signed for Bournemouth in the summer of 1985, with an administrative error in Newson's contract meaning he was able to join Bournemouth on a free transfer.[6] Fry had initially told Bournemouth he wanted £70,000 for Newson, but Redknapp had been aware of the fact that Newson was not on a contract at Maidstone, and could consequently be signed on a free transfer.[8] It proved to be a fruitful move for both parties as Newson stayed with the club for four years.[4] He was made captain during the 1986–87 campaign,[9] his second season with the club, and guided Bournemouth to the Third Division title, winning the league by a margin of three points, ahead of second-place Middlesbrough.[10] Newson went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club during his four-year tenure, scoring 23 goals.[11]

Newson signed for Fulham towards the latter stages of 1989, who were playing in the Third Division, for a fee of £100,000.[8] On signing for the club, Newson was made captain, and went on to make over 100 appearances for the west-London club over four seasons.[4] He made 16 appearances for the club during the 1989–90 season,[4] as Fulham managed to avoid relegation on the last day of the season.[12] Newson played 31 times the following season, scoring once,[4] with Fulham again narrowly escaping the drop after earning four points in their last two games.[13][14] He scored three goals in 26 appearances during Fulham's 1991–92 campaign,[4] as the club improved dramatically to finish in ninth place,[15] only four points behind Peterborough United who were occupying the final play-off spot.[16] Newson made 29 league appearances for Fulham in his final season with the club, with injuries disrupting his season.[4]

Ahead of the 1993–94 season, Newson signed for Barnet of Division Two,[17] captaining the side for two seasons and making 59 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals.[4][18] In June 1995, at the age of 35, Newson signed for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on a short-term loan deal.[18] Newson joined Tottenham on loan in order to play in the club's 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup campaign.[18] Tottenham wished to field a weakened side for their four Intertoto Cup games, with Tottenham's home games being played at Brighton & Hove Albion's Goldstone Ground, and subsequently signed several loan players from local clubs mixed with a number of youth players.[18] He made his first appearance for Tottenham in a 2–0 defeat to Swiss club Luzern, playing the whole match.[18] Newson played in the club's next group match, a 2–1 away win against Rudar Velenje on 1 July 1995, in what turned out to be Tottenham's only victory of the tournament.[19] He played in a 2–1 defeat to Östers, followed by the club's biggest ever defeat, an 8–0 loss away to Bundesliga side FC Köln on 22 July.[20] His loan ended after the final group match, and he subsequently returned to Barnet in July 1995.[18]

He joined Aylesbury United ahead of the 1995–96 season.[4] Newson made his debut for the club in a 1–0 defeat to Dulwich Hamlet, playing alongside fellow debutant Gary Smith, on the opening day of the season.[21] During the season, Newson made 32 appearances for the club, scoring three goals – his first goal coming in a 2–2 away draw against Boreham Wood on 16 March 1996.[22] He remained at Aylesbury for another season, although briefly played for Swedish club Östers,[4] before returning to Aylesbury United in November 1996.[4] He then joined Gravesend & Northfleet, only to return to Aylesbury for a third time and make four appearances at the end of the 1997–98 season.[4] Newson rejoined Gravesend in 1998,[4] before spending two years with Fisher Athletic.[23][24] Newson would end his playing career with Romford, signing for the club in 2001.[25] He made his debut for Romford against East Thurrock United on 8 September 2001, becoming the oldest ever Romford player at the age of 40.[25] He made eight appearances for the club in all competitions, playing his final game against Marlow on 27 October 2001.[25]

During the 1983–84 season, Newson was called up to play for the England C team, who represent England at non-league level, winning five caps for his country.[4][26]

Following his retirement from the professional game, Newson qualified as a UEFA 'A' licence football coach in 1999.[27] He also worked as an FA Licensed Tutor, and worked for the Surrey FA for a number of years, concentrating solely on improving coaches, creating a course described as "one of the best-regarded coaching programmes in the country".[28] Newson later worked for the Kent FA.[24] He is one of only a handful of UEFA coach assessors that exist in the country.[24]

His early coaching career included spending time with West Ham United,[4] where he helped to develop academy players such as Junior Stanislas and Zavon Hines.[27] Newson was also one of the senior coaches involved with the David Beckham Academy.[27] In November 2009, Newson was appointed assistant manager at VCD Athletic.[27] On appointing Newson as his assistant, VCD Athletic manager Paul Foley stated – "He has always been a winner, a character and a real football person with the presence that comes with people who have actually been there and done it, so he brings all of those personal qualities along too".[27] Newson followed Foley to Chatham Town in the summer of 2010, again as assistant manager.[24][29] He later worked as a youth team coach at Crystal Palace in 2011.[26]

In January 2012, Newson joined League One side Stevenage as part of Gary Smith's backroom staff, taking on the role of assistant manager.[26] He left Stevenage when Smith was sacked in March 2013.[30]

He is now first-team coach at National League club Dover Athletic.

Maidstone United

• Alliance Premier League: 1983–84

Bournemouth

• Third Division: 1986–87