Gerard McNamee (born 16 August 1960) is an English former footballer who works at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

as the academy's Head of Recruitment.

Playing career

McNamee came through the youth system at Hartlepool United before signing his first professional contract in 1980. His time as a player with Pools was blighted by injury and he made just four appearances in three seasons, scoring once against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. After leaving Hartlepool, McNamee went onto play for

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

as well as various other North-East non-league sides.

Coaching career

McNamee began working for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

's regional development centre in Durham in 1992. In 1995, McNamee began running the Durham branch of Manchester United's Centre of Excellence before moving to

Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

in 1997 where he became the club's Centre of Excellence Director. In 2004, Sunderland manager

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...

moved McNamee into the position of the club's Academy Manager. He would remain in that position with the Black Cats until 2016 when he stepped down following a restructure of the club's academy. During McNamee's time as Academy Manager, Sunderland produced players such as

Jordan Henderson Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool and the England national team. Henderson joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of eight, making his first-team ...

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

Jack Colback Jack Raymond Colback (born 24 October 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Nottingham Forest. Colback began his career at Sunderland in 2008, having graduated from their academy, and broke int ...

and

Duncan Watmore Duncan Ian Watmore (born 8 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Championship club Millwall. Watmore previously played for Altrincham, Clitheroe, Curzon Ashton, Sunderland and Hibernian. Early life Watmor ...

. McNamee returned to football in February 2018 working as a voluntary coach at

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

as part of caretaker manager

Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates (born 10 December 1986) is an English former football manager and former professional footballer, as well as holding a UEFA B coaching licence. He is currently the assistant manager at Northern Premier League side Whitby T ...

' backroom staff. Following Bates' appointment as first-team manager in May 2018, McNamee's position of first team coach became a full-time paid role. In October 2019, McNamee departed the club alongside manager

Craig Hignett Craig Hignett (born 12 January 1970), is an English former professional footballer. He started his career as a striker but later moved into midfield. Playing career Born in Whiston and previously a trainee at Liverpool, Hignett began his se ...

. In January 2020, McNamee returned to Sunderland as the academy's Head of Recruitment.

Personal life

McNamee's son, Tom, previously played for

but failed to make a first-team appearance before moving onto

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is a football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secretary before fo ...

in 2015.

References

External links

Ged McNamee's coaching profile
a
Hartlepool United FCGed McNamee's player profile
a
In The Mad Crowd
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamee, Ged 1960 births Living people Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Hartlepool United F.C. players Consett A.F.C. players English Football League players Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff Hartlepool United F.C. non-playing staff