1. Keith Robert Gillespie is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who plays as a winger for FC Mindwell in the Mid-Ulster Football League.
31 Facts About Keith Gillespie
1. 2.
Keith Gillespie began his career at Manchester United after winning the FA Youth Cup in 1992, before moving to Newcastle United, where he played in the UEFA Champions League.
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Keith Gillespie earned 86 caps for Northern Ireland between 1994 and 2008, putting him 6th in their most capped players of all time.
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Keith Gillespie had well-publicised issues with problem gambling during his career, and has since spoken out about gambling.
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Keith Gillespie was scouted playing for St Andrews FC from Belfast, playing in the DAWFL, and was the first professional footballer to come from this club.
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Keith Gillespie signed for Manchester United on leaving school in the summer of 1991, being a member of the FA Youth Cup winning side in 1992.
7.
On 20 August 1995, the News of the World carried reports that Keith Gillespie was subject of an approach from Alex Ferguson to return to Manchester United to fill the gap on the right wing being left by the sale of Andrei Kanchelskis to Everton, but the return to Old Trafford never happened and United instead turned to up-and-coming youngster David Beckham to occupy that position.
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Keith Gillespie stayed at Newcastle for three and a half years and during this time he played 143 games, including 15 European ties and scored 13 goals.
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In September 1996, Keith Gillespie was outed as a problem gambler by The Sun.
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Keith Gillespie helped Newcastle to reach the FA Cup final.
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Keith Gillespie was initially out of favour with new manager Graeme Souness, and another loan spell at Wigan Athletic brought his total appearances for Athletic to 15, from which he scored four goals.
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Keith Gillespie moved to newly promoted Leicester City on a free transfer on 8 July 2003, signing a two-year contract.
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Keith Gillespie played 48 games and scored two goals in two seasons.
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Keith Gillespie signed for Sheffield United on 5 August 2005, signing a one-year contract.
15.
On 20 January 2007, during a Premier League match against Reading at the Madejski Stadium, Keith Gillespie was sent off for violent conduct, "throwing an elbow in the direction of" Reading's Stephen Hunt, "within 10 seconds" of coming on as a substitute - play had not even restarted following the substitution.
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Keith Gillespie made only six appearances for the Addicks before being recalled to Bramall Lane as cover for mounting injuries.
17.
Keith Gillespie went to Bradford City with whose manager Stuart McCall Gillespie had been a teammate at Sheffield United.
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However, McCall insisted Keith Gillespie was only training with the club to stay fit and help out the younger players, and not on trial.
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In 2009, Keith Gillespie made a shock move to the east Belfast club, Glentoran.
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In June 2010, the club announced that Keith Gillespie was to leave after just one season after he and the club failed to agree terms on a new deal.
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In October 2010, Keith Gillespie joined up with Conference National side Darlington, later signing with the club.
22.
Keith Gillespie made three appearances before being released on 23 December 2010.
23.
On 24 March 2011, Keith Gillespie signed for League of Ireland First Division side Longford Town.
24.
Keith Gillespie was named on the League of Ireland First Division team of the season for 2012 and was awarded Longford Town FC player of the year, as they lost in the promotion playoffs to Waterford United.
25.
Keith Gillespie scored his one and only Longford goal in May 2013 against Cobh Ramblers.
26.
Keith Gillespie came out of retirement in 2020, aged 45, to play for newly-formed Mid-Ulster Football League side FC Mindwell, a team set up to raise awareness of mental health issues.
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Keith Gillespie is currently sixth place in the list of appearances for Northern Ireland with 86 caps.
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Keith Gillespie was investigated by the Irish FA for his involvement in a fracas with George McCartney on the trip back home from a game in Iceland in September 2007.
29.
Keith Gillespie was not involved with the Northern Ireland set-up since being omitted from the squad that faced San Marino in February 2009.
30.
Keith Gillespie was declared legally bankrupt on 1 October 2010 by the Belfast High Court.
31.
Keith Gillespie has supported the Gambling with Lives charity, which calls for tighter regulation of gambling and offers support for people with gambling problems.