Mark Carruthers: The near impossible task of Gateshead replacing captain Greg Olley

Replacing any key player is always a sizeable task – yet the one facing Gateshead this summer feels as if it is creeping into the territory of impossible.

In a club that has lurched from heartbreak to success and back on a routine basis over the last seven years, Heed captain Greg Olley has been a constant.

Although injuries have decimated his last two seasons, Olley has been a setter of standards, an inspiration by just his presence alone and someone who has personified the attitude and ethos that has taken the club from within 72 hours of going out of business to National League play-off challengers and FA Trophy winners.

My first encounter with Greg came just weeks after he had penned a permanent deal at Gateshead after a successful trial period.

Still a youngster finding his way in the game, he spoken refreshingly openly about his recent release from Hull City and the similar experience he had just two years earlier at boyhood club Newcastle United, where the midfielder came out on the wrong end of a ’50-50 call’ from the Magpies academy staff.

Turbulence and uncertainty were to bookend his seven-year stay with Gateshead as his first season saw the club’s former owners take the club to the precipice before a supporter-led takeover ensured the Heed remained alive.

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Captaincy

Despite suffering an enforced relegation into the National League North, Greg shunned offers from the EFL and the National League to remain faithful to Gateshead, and his rewards came in the form of the captain’s armband as new manager Mike Williamson named Olley as club captain of the new Heed.

The England C midfielder cemented his status as a fan favourite by leading his side to the National League North title in 2022 and followed in the footsteps of the legendary Ben Clark in becoming the second Gateshead captain to lead them out at Wembley in the FA Trophy final 12 months later.

A defeat against FC Halifax Town brought disappointment but Olley’s post-match vow to ‘be back next year’ was backed up as he lifted the Trophy following a penalty shoot-out win against Solihull Moors at the end of the following season.

As we now know, Olley’s final season with Gateshead was over before it had even begun thanks to a cynical and crude challenge from Woking’s Dion Kelly-Evans that came just seven days after the Heed captain had scored his first ever senior career hat-trick in an opening day win against Ebbsfleet United.

Disappointing Season

As a season that offered and promised so much descended into disappointment and frustration with a failed play-off bid, Olley laid bare several issues within the club and revealed he was yet to receive an offer of a new contract.

Last weekend brought confirmation his seven-year spell on the south bank of the Tyne was at an end as the midfielder released an emotional statement paying tribute to supporters of the club that has reinvigorated his career after release and put him on the path to success.

He repaid their faith several times over by providing quiet, unassuming leadership on and off the pitch and helping guide the Heed through some pretty challenging times.

His ability on the pitch is without question.  Great players are said to glide, Greg seems to float across the ground and has a canny knack of being in the right place and the right time to provide a goal or an assist ranks up there with the very best in Non-League football.

National League Interest

There will be interest from EFL and National League clubs as Olley looks for a new club this summer after coming through the final stages of his recovery from a broken leg, dislocated ankle and ruptured ligaments suffered just under 10 months ago.

But what of Gateshead?  Where do they go now their talismanic leader has moved on and how do they replace someone that has been integral to their success?

The simple answer is you can’t and won’t find another Greg Olley.  It would be foolish to suggest you could find someone who can provide everything he did throughout his time at the club and forge a strong bond with supporters and key figures alike.

But there are lessons to learn from his departure.  Firstly, a fractured club can’t move forward without repair and an open and honest outlook. 

Communication during the summer months is now more important for Gateshead than it ever has been and a need to calm the understandable concerns of supporters is of paramount importance.

First steps towards doing so came in the form of a statement from new chairman Bernard McWilliams last weekend in the aftermath of Olley’s departure – it has to be done with regularity when and if it is possible to do so.

Gateshead’s strength in their recent rise has come with trust and togetherness at all levels of the club – and if they are to maintain their place in Non-League’s top tier, that trust and togetherness must be rediscovered to ensure Olley’s legacy at the International Stadium does not go to waste.

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