Former Newcastle United captains set for Wembley showdown

Born and raised on the same estate, educated at the same primary and secondary schools, the lives and careers of former Newcastle United academy duo Jack Hunter and Owen Bailey have followed a similar path.

Experiences, good and bad, have been shared. Both have relished the highs of being a young Geordie donning the famous black and white stripes, representing their beloved club, feeling pride course through their veins by pulling on the captain’s armband at Under-21 level and training alongside first-team stars.

Yet in the unforgiving world of academy football, where every man is in it for himself and any marginal gain is to be seized, both Hunter and Bailey have suffered. There have been serious injuries, some potentially career threatening, several crushing disappointments and setbacks, and in the end, a dream snatched away when they were released by the Magpies with first-team involvement close, yet always just a step too far away.

But for Hunter and Bailey, life after the dream dies has been far from a nightmare. Non-League football, and particularly Gateshead, has brought stability, progress and success. The duo played key roles in helping the Heed reach the second round of the FA Cup and become National League North champions last season before a temporary parting of ways came last summer when Hunter joins FC Halifax Town - but now he will enjoy one more joint experience with Bailey when they walk out at Wembley as Gateshead face the Shaymen in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley on Sunday.

“It was always a pleasure to share any experience with Bails,” explained Hunter.

“It’s crazy really, I’m a year older, but we grew up together, lived on the same estate, went to the same schools, came through at Newcastle together, ended up at Gateshead together. It was never a rivalry, if anything we roared each other on. I know how good he is, we have massive mutual respect, although it will be strange being on the other side on at Wembley.”

For Bailey, boyhood dreams, where a post-school kickabout saw a concrete pitch become the hallowed turf of Wembley, will be realised when both he and Hunter walk out on opposing sides under the famous arch.

“We have done a lot together, we are really close, probably best mates to be honest,” said the Heed midfielder.

“We’ve had some jokes about it, living around the corner, we played out together after school, we played football on the schoolyard, we imagined Wembley, but now we will do that together at Wembley, it’s everyone’s dream really. You pretend to be at Wembley on the schoolyard, it’s gone full circle.”

Competing with each other is nothing new for the former Magpies academy duo.

Both are combative midfielders that look equally at home in defence, roles they both filled at various age groups during their developing years. That scenario continued at Gateshead when Bailey joined his former team-mate at the International Stadium two years ago. There was frustration played out during car journeys to the south bank of the Tyne - but not to the detriment of a friendship built up over a number of years.

Bailey explained: “We had to get used to competing, we were always in the same position, but we always had that relationship where we knew we each of us had to do. We used to share a car and there would be times when one of us might be frustrated because the other had our place in the side but it never spilled over. It never got in the way of our friendship, we just wanted the other to do well.”

The harsh reality of the academy system is shown by the small percentage of promising youngsters that go on to establish themselves at the top level of the game.

Among Bailey and Hunter’s close friends and former colleagues is Sean Longstaff, one of few Magpies academy stars to become a Premier League regular over the last decade. For hundreds of others, awaking from the dream at such a young age can be a cruel experience that they are not prepared for.

The support network of family and friends kicks in, an unrelenting journey around the country for trials becomes normality. Yet some even drift away from football completely, with the mental impact of rejection stripping away the love of the game - but Bailey and Hunter have shown there is life after release by ‘taking a risk’ of going into the non-league game and experiencing glory and success, albeit it away from the billion pound broadcasting deals and bright lights of the Premier League.

Shaymen midfielder Hunter said: “Coming out of big club like Newcastle can finish people’s careers without them even realising - but me and Bails have similar mentality. We are both hardworking and that’s paid off for both of us. We won the league, now we are competing to win the FA Trophy, they are great achievements and it’s down to mentality. Hopefully it can help us both achieve more, wherever our careers take us.

“It’s not easy coming out of somewhere like Newcastle, it’s the case for most players coming out of a big club. You feel that change, but there is life after coming out of a big club. It takes that strong mentality, yes, you may have to take a risk and go lower, it’s away from the level at Newcastle but it’s a strong level and we have both shown what can be done.”

“Being released by Newcastle, you wonder where life will take you,” responded Bailey.

“You don’t know where you’re going to be. You start questioning everything, but getting the chance to play at Wembley, with this club, after the injuries I’ve had, trying to get back to where I want to be, is a real dream. To win the league, to be at Wembley, I couldn’t have asked a better start to life in senior football. It shows there is life after being released.”

But for now, for boyhood friends and lifelong competitors, the Wembley playground awaits.