AAt half-time Carly Telford walked onto the pitch, smiled approvingly on the 24,000 fanatics within the stands and reiterated how “honoured and proud” she was once to be there. The not too long ago retired former England, Sunderland, Chelsea and San Diego Wave goalkeeper was once born in Newcastle, has all the time supported the membership and was once overjoyed to be Sunday’s visitor of honor at St James’ Park.
Telford has watched Newcastle males are living numerous instances however she in particular relished chatting to the membership’s co-owner Amanda Staveley as Becky Langley’s girls’s facet thrashed Bradford 6–1.
Had Aston Villa’s Lucy Staniforth no longer been enjoying in a slender FA Cup semi-final defeat in opposition to Chelsea on Sunday, she may smartly were there too. Telford’s pal and previous England midfield teammate not too long ago advised the Guardian her long-term “dream” was once to “work for Newcastle women and help turn them into a top WSL club”.
The handiest downside is that, at this time, Langley’s crew stays within the fourth tier. Although, as not too long ago as November, Dan Ashworth, the membership’s carrying director, stated the ladies’s squad was once “an absolute priority” for Newcastle’s majority Saudi Arabian house owners and focused their attainable arrival within the WSL for the 2025–26 season, the potential of promotion This season hangs within the steadiness.
Durham Cestria are best, six issues transparent of Langley’s facet however they’ve just one recreation closing to Newcastle’s 3. A awesome purpose distinction dictates that wins at Leeds, Bradford and Barnsley must safe Newcastle a third-tier position.
The drawback is that no margin for error stays. “We’re not here to pretend,” stated the spectacular Langley on Sunday as she detailed her frustration at Newcastle’s concession of a overdue equalizer at Hull of their earlier recreation. “I felt like walking into the changing room and tearing the ceiling down. After the disappointment of last season promotion’s really important … but no one here’s putting us under any extra pressure to get across the line.”
With Langley having given up her former job at Northumbria University last summer to work full-time at St James’ she is probably subjecting herself to quite enough stress already. Given that only one team is promoted a season, climbing the women’s league ladder is tricky and Langley’s side were fully assimilated by the men’s parent club only last summer.
A couple of key players, Anna Soulsby and Rachel Lee, were sidelined for most of this campaign after waiting six months for NHS operations to repair ruptured cruciate ligaments last season. Access to the men’s highly qualified medical team and fast-track appointments with leading surgeons have altered the landscape dramatically but Langley has still spent much of the season playing catch-up.
“Last summer was a headache because we had a lot of injuries and no depth,” she stated. “Since then the depth’s really improved but it’s not feasible to have full-time players at this level. We’ve got a lot of students and some players doing other jobs; it means we do a lot of work on set pieces on Friday nights.”
Accordingly four goals from set plays helped deconstruct Qasim Akhtar’s Bradford after congestion at the turnstiles had delayed kick-off by 15 minutes. “I’m so proud of the way my players performed in front of 24,000,” stated Langley. “That’s no longer simple; It’s somewhat an adjustment.”
This was the third time in the past year that Newcastle Women have played at St James’ Park but it still represented a step change from appearing in front of 2,000–4,000 average crowds at the Kingston Park home shared with the Newcastle Falcons rugby union side or the gatherings of a few hundred their away games typically draw.
Such high levels of home backing – astonishing at this level – emphasize why Staveley and Ashworth are confident Newcastle can not only become England’s best-supported women’s team but attract leading internationals.
The tricky bit, though, is getting to a WSL that has a glaring regional imbalance. With no side north of Manchester and Merseyside, anyone living on Tyneside is at least a three-hour drive from live top-tier women’s matches.
Part of Ashworth’s brief is to alter that and everyone at St James’ Park accepts there will ultimately have to be some big changes amongst Langley’s squad. Indeed for some players the future may be a little bitter-sweet.
Georgia Gibson, for instance is Langley’s No. 10 and starred against Bradford. She is also a full-time teacher and would struggle to walk away from a long-term career and excellent pension if the team gets to the second tier and turn professional.
For the moment, though, she remains on a mission to help the next generation maximize their talent. “The more youthful avid gamers right here now have were given an improbable alternative,” Gibson said. “They can go a long way with this club. Hopefully my experience can help them.”