Mark Joseph Newson (born 7 December 1960) is an English former footballer. He has since moved into coaching.
Newson's career began as an apprentice at Charlton Athletic, although he made no first-team appearances for the club and was released in 1979. He signed for Maidstone United ahead of the 1979–80 season, and spent six seasons with the club, enjoying success when Maidstone won the 1983–84 Alliance Premier League. He joined Bournemouth in 1985, and captained the side to the Third Division title during the 1986–87 season. Newson later signed for Fulham in 1989, captaining the club for four years. He was captain at Barnet for two years, before joining Tottenham Hotspur on loan in order to play in the club's 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup games. He spent a brief spell at Swedish club Östers, before playing out the remainder of his career at four different non-league clubs.
After gaining a number of coaching qualifications, Newson began coaching as a youth team coach at West Ham United. He later became assistant manager at VCD Athletic in 2009, before moving to Chatham Town a year later. He was appointed as a youth team coach at Championship club Crystal Palace in 2011. He then spent a-year-and-two-months as assistant manager at League One side Stevenage.
Club career
Newson began his career at Charlton Athletic, and progressed through the club's youth system. However, he was unable to break into the first-team, and was subsequently released by the club at the end of the 1978–79 campaign. Newson joined Maidstone United in 1979, remaining at the club for over six years. During his time at Maidstone, Newson helped the club win the 1983–84 Alliance Premier League. After impressing the following season under manager Barry Fry, being described as "one of the best midfielders outside of the Football League", Newson attracted the interest of new Bournemouth manager Harry Redknapp, who wished to make Newson one of his first signings ahead of the 1985–86 season. He signed for Bournemouth in the summer of 1985, with an administrative error in Newson's contract meaning he was able to join Bournemouth on a free transfer. Fry had initially told Bournemouth he wanted £70,000 for Newson, but Redknapp had been aware of the fact that Newson was not on a contract at Maidstone, and could consequently be signed on a free transfer. It proved to be a fruitful move for both parties as Newson stayed with the club for four years. He was made captain during the 1986–87 campaign, his second season with the club, and guided Bournemouth to the Third Division title, winning the league by a margin of three points, ahead of second-place Middlesbrough. Newson went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club during his four-year tenure, scoring 23 goals.
Newson signed for Fulham towards the latter stages of 1989, who were playing in the Third Division, for a fee of £100,000. On signing for the club, Newson was made captain, and went on to make over 100 appearances for the west-London club over four seasons. He made 16 appearances for the club during the 1989–90 season, as Fulham managed to avoid relegation on the last day of the season. Newson played 31 times the following season, scoring once, with Fulham again narrowly escaping the drop after earning four points in their last two games. He scored three goals in 26 appearances during Fulham's 1991–92 campaign, as the club improved dramatically to finish in ninth place, only four points behind Peterborough United who were occupying the final play-off spot. Newson made 29 league appearances for Fulham in his final season with the club, with injuries disrupting his season.