Neil Bailey

Who is Neil Bailey?

Neil Bailey is an English former footballer. He played as a midfielder.

He began his career at Newport County in the early 1980s, during the most successful period in the club's history. Bailey was part of the team that won promotion and the Welsh Cup and, in the subsequent season, reached the quarter-finals of the 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup. Bailey made 134 appearances for Newport, scoring seven goals.

He joined his hometown club, Wigan Athletic, in 1983. He spent three years at Springfield Park, making 41 league appearances and scoring two goals.

In 1986, Bailey joined Stockport County and went on to make a half-century of appearances for the Greater Manchester club. During his time at Edgeley Park, he was loaned out to his first club, Newport County.

Bailey retired from playing in 1988, but stayed on at Stockport County as a coach.

In 1992, Bailey joined Billy Ayre's Blackpool, also as a coach, but occasionally took to the field as an emergency fill-in when injuries dictated.

Bailey was later a youth team coach at Manchester United and then a coach for the Professional Footballers' Association between 2002 and 2007. In January 2007, Bailey became first team coach at Sunderland, where he is now assistant manager.