From FA youth joy to a world of grit and crime

HE is a man of mystery undoubtedly, a man of many things to many people.

- 

He was a footballer with Newcastle United who helped them win a domestic trophy and was capped by England Boys six times, playing twice at Wembley.

He was also a detective with Northumbria Police specialis-ing in running informants and monitoring sex offenders as well as working on numerous covert operations and high profile murders.

Worked out who he is? I bet you haven't. Because the mystery deepens. He is currently going under the name Tom Hair but you won't find such a person in the annals of NUFC.

That's because Tom Hair is a nom de plume he uses as the author of a gritty crime novel set right here in the North East. The moniker I knew him by when he played for Newcastle in the 80s is his real name Tony Nesbit.

His fleeting claim to fame came when he was a teammate of Gazza in United's 1985 FA Youth Cup winning side against Elton John's Watford.

Tony, a central midfielder, went on to make three first-team appearances including a full debut against Sheffield Wednesday but by the age of 19 he was forced to retire following a series of knee operations.

It was a tragic end to a teenage dream as his Youth Cup teammates like Gazza, Kevin Scott, Paul Stephenson, Joe Allon and Brian Tinnion went on to have top careers but his life was to change forever and be lived out not in the glare of publicity and fame but in the shady undercover world of policing.