Player Who Won Sky Sports Competition to Join Chelsea Under Mourinho Now Managing Gateshead
Carl Magnay, winner of the 2007 Sky One talent show Football Icon, is now the manager of National League side Gateshead, following a unique 14-year playing career. Magnay won the competition, which offered unsigned players aged 16 to 18 a chance to sign with Chelsea, then the Premier League champions. After impressing in Chelsea’s reserve team, managed by Brendan Rodgers, Magnay was awarded a six-month contract at Stamford Bridge.
Reflecting on his time at Chelsea, the Gateshead-born defender recalled how he was initially seen by his teammates. “Some of the comments I got were, ‘How has he ended up here off the back of a TV show?’ I understood that. These guys were the best in the country, some of them were the best in Europe. I had to get over it very quickly,” he said. Magnay worked hard to earn his teammates’ respect, adding, “Within a month, I was playing for the youth team. By the end of the season, I’d made my first start for the reserves and would eventually captain them.”
However, his time at Chelsea ended in 2011 after a cruciate ligament injury in 2010 hampered his career. Despite this setback, Magnay went on to play for Grimsby Town and captained Hartlepool United in League Two. After stints at Spennymoor Town and Gateshead, he began transitioning into coaching, eventually joining the Gateshead coaching staff. He also had coaching spells at Milton Keynes Dons and Carlisle United, reuniting with former manager Mike Williamson at both clubs.
Earlier this year, Magnay took on his first managerial role at Gateshead, where the club currently sits fourth in the National League table.
Gateshead chairman Neil Pinkerton expressed confidence in Magnay, saying, “We are fully confident that Carl is the right person to continue the club’s progression – just as he has done in his previous spells as a player and a coach.”
