Newcastle United Women - Champions and Promoted

[OverThere]

4 hours ago, Jack27 said:

https://theathletic.com/5359213/2024/03/22/newcastle-women-cup-final/?source=user_shared_article
 

decent read, howay the lasses

Great read. Cant wait to see where this lasses journey ends up, in the WSL I'm sure!!

 

[Paullow]

That Bernie seems a character, and she's pretty much at every match. Didn't realise it was Charlotte Pott's mother.

[Paullow]

Just realised the match is tomorrow and NOT Sunday. I hope all of the 3000 or so going down realise that too . Just assumed it would be the same day as the main day for the league, including previous rounds of this cup.

 

First World problems, but the match isn't on the BBC red button which is a bit of a shame. iPlayer obviously isn't fully live, plus a bit of a faff on loading apps if you were wanting to skim other channels, whereas you could easily stick it on 409 on Sky Sports News every now and then to check scores if it was on an actual channel, but that's just me being picky, ha.

 

[Iwantcurlyhair2]

Spoiler

Finally my nightshifts are finished and ready to leave first thing tomorrow. Can't wait to get down there now. Luton here I come. Howay the lasses

 

[OpenC]

Aye, half five start for me I think. Hopefully just a leisurely meander down the M1 and there for about 11.

[LFEE]

1 hour ago, OpenC said:

Aye, half five start for me I think. Hopefully just a leisurely meander down the M1 and there for about 11.

It’s quite an easy drive actually. Did it for the league game. You are off the M1 before it starts to build up for London. I set off around 8am from Gateshead for our 3pm KO and that was the Saturday before Christmas too. Just coasted all the way.

[OpenC]

 nice one, was hoping it would be an easy enough run on a Saturday morning. Get there and parked up at the hotel then find somewhere to eat and get a couple of pints I reckon

[OpenC]

I hope hashtag are nee good mind, I haven't contemplated the grim thought of us losing only seen us subpar a couple of times, hopefully they're more up for it than the blokes were for their last final 

[LFEE]

1 minute ago, OpenC said:

 nice one, was hoping it would be an easy enough run on a Saturday morning. Get there and parked up at the hotel then find somewhere to eat and get a couple of pints I reckon

I’d like to think I’m quite a respectful person and also not some one who seeks fancy pubs with Beehive, Rose & Crown just as agreeable to me than any when in Toon. So with that in mind I just want to say from my very short visit to Luton either side of our match I found it an absolute shit hole…

[OpenC]

It has that reputation, certainly hotel bar it might have to be

[O Neill]

35 minutes ago, OpenC said:

I hope hashtag are nee good mind, I haven't contemplated the grim thought of us losing only seen us subpar a couple of times, hopefully they're more up for it than the blokes were for their last final 

 

They need to be up for it. As grim as this is going to sound, for most of the girls in the squad, this final and the league win will more than likely be their final chapters with Newcastle.

 

I've seen it a couple of times over the last five years, where clubs have put money in, reached a particular level, and then cleaned out the squad to take them forward. It's a harsh process, and horrible to observe, but also necessary at some stage. I think from what I've seen this season that the current squad would struggle at WSL2 level, so I'm expecting this summer they'll make sweeping changes, because I believe the club wants to not only exist in WSL2, but start to compete from the moment they arrive.

[OpenC]

Aye, I've been wondering along those lines without any real knowledge of the quality in the championship.  I wouldn't say most of them, I don't think - I didn't think we looked two divisions behind Manchester United although the scoreline told a different story - but that sort of change is the price of quick progression.  There are a few who are obviously good enough to play at a higher level than they have been (the standouts for me are Charlotte Potts and I think Elysia Boddy from what I remember of her before she was injured, and I've also been impressed with Jas McQuade and Kacie Elson whenever they get a go and Hannah Greenwood works well in a quietly industrious way, but there are others too) but more higher level incomings and starters will I guess be inevitable. 

 

That said there are plenty of them I would be really happy to see in the squad if not starters at the next level; a lot of them have earned a go at it, if they can be accommodated.

 

 

Edited March 22 by OpenC

[Iwantcurlyhair2]

I disagree with this opinion more now than at the start of the season.

Becky Langley is in her 20's and this is her first managerial post. She has developed massively and surrounded herself with experience and I have no thought that she will not see us through the next few years of progress.

Grace Donnelly is producing displays that I, prior to this season, didn't think was possible and is keeping an international keeper out of the side.

Olivia Watt has developed into a tremendous right sided defender and is improving continuously.

Charlotte Potts could play in the WSL now, I'm convinced of it.

Georgia Gibson continues to score massive goals and is, I think, our top all time scorer. (I might be wrong)

Katie Barker just improves game on game and will definitely push on in the championship.

Jaz McQuade highlights how good our development squad and that Becky has got a route for girls to push through to the first team.

Kacie, Anna, Sharna etc,etc will also continue their development.

Everyone they've bought in the last 12 months have championship and WSL experience.

 

I believe saying that most of the lasses are more than likely in their final chapter with Newcastle is  wrong and undermining the sterling work that the staff have carried out. Moving to full time has transformed the players and they will continually develop and move forward. It may take 2-3 years to get out of the championship and if it does so be it. I'll be there and will cheer even more for the Katies, Olivias and Charlottes as there get to the promised land.

[OpenC]

You ever shoot at Kingston Park @O Neill? Or are you exclusively Scotland based? Does my head in that I can't take an SLR in there to get a bit of ambience, even if it only had a 16-35 on it. 

[OpenC]

12 minutes ago, Iwantcurlyhair2 said:

I disagree with this opinion more now than at the start of the season.

Becky Langley is in her 20's and this is her first managerial post. She has developed massively and surrounded herself with experience and I have no thought that she will not see us through the next few years of progress.

Grace Donnelly is producing displays that I, prior to this season, didn't think was possible and is keeping an international keeper out of the side.

Olivia Watt has developed into a tremendous right sided defender and is improving continuously.

Charlotte Potts could play in the WSL now, I'm convinced of it.

Georgia Gibson continues to score massive goals and is, I think, our top all time scorer. (I might be wrong)

Katie Barker just improves game on game and will definitely push on in the championship.

Jaz McQuade highlights how good our development squad and that Becky has got a route for girls to push through to the first team.

Kacie, Anna, Sharna etc,etc will also continue their development.

Everyone they've bought in the last 12 months have championship and WSL experience.

 

I believe saying that most of the lasses are more than likely in their final chapter with Newcastle is  wrong and undermining the sterling work that the staff have carried out. Moving to full time has transformed the players and they will continually develop and move forward. It may take 2-3 years to get out of the championship and if it does so be it. I'll be there and will cheer even more for the Katies, Olivias and Charlottes as there get to the promised land.

 

I agree with all of this  there genuinely aren't many who I feel are at their limits now, and the scorelines this season have reflected that.  But I also feel like O Neill is right that they'll want to push on as soon as possible in case the women's game ends up hamstrung by financial fair play the same as the blokes, as we all know it inevitably will. I guess we'll see

 

You're right on Grace Donnelly as well, she was routinely criticised on here for months but the last few games she has been astonishingly good. I've always liked the way she reads the game and judges runs to sweep up to perfection, but her shot stopping has really come on too.

 

 

Edited March 22 by OpenC

[maybe_next_year]

9 hours ago, Jack27 said:

Basildon 

 

Not really, they were just formed when Basildon AFC joined Hashtag United. Hashtag United are a bit odd in that their various teams are based all over south Essex really. There is a training ground on the outskirts of Basildon that is linked to Hashtag United but I think that is just the youth squads. 

[OpenC]

Has anyone watched them play? I could only judge them by their score against Halifax, which wasn't as good as our score against Halifax.  

[Jonas]

4 hours ago, Paullow said:

First World problems, but the match isn't on the BBC red button which is a bit of a shame. iPlayer obviously isn't fully live, plus a bit of a faff on loading apps if you were wanting to skim other channels, whereas you could easily stick it on 409 on Sky Sports News every now and then to check scores if it was on an actual channel, but that's just me being picky, ha.

 

Just to confirm, its on iplayer with just the usual minute or so delay?

[SteV]

2 hours ago, OpenC said:

 nice one, was hoping it would be an easy enough run on a Saturday morning. Get there and parked up at the hotel then find somewhere to eat and get a couple of pints I reckon

When I was there for the league game, there was a pub next to the station, the Bricklayers Arms, which was ‘Home Fans Only’.

 

I nipped in for a piss before getting the train home and bumped into a lad I knew that said he’d been in before the game too and it was decent. Think it did food.

[Paullow]

51 minutes ago, Jonas said:

Just to confirm, its on iplayer with just the usual minute or so delay?

Yes, it's on iPlayer and BBC website, just me being greedy 

[Paullow]

It will be an interesting summer for sure, and I do expect a fair few changes. I can see 4-6 coming in, most of who would be expected to start. Some of the starters now will likely become squad players, and the current squad players, especially those at a certain age, will likely move on. 

 

The standard will clearly be a lot higher next year and they will certainly at least want to comfortably stay in it, and they will have the resources to give it as good a go as they can, so would be shocked if there wasn't at least 4 quality additions who are deemed above average at Championship level.

[O Neill]

30 minutes ago, OpenC said:

You ever shoot at Kingston Park @O Neill? Or are you exclusively Scotland based? Does my head in that I can't take an SLR in there to get a bit of ambience, even if it only had a 16-35 on it. 

 

I have done a handful of times for the agency @OpenC. I know the club snapper, Colin, from years gone by, shooting at SJP. Nice guy, and he's been covering NE women's football for longer than I've been doing Scottish football. I may actually ask if the agency has any interest in seeing the trophy being handed over, should it come to that at Kingston Park.

I'm actually a little surprised that they've clamped down on that. I'm not aware that tier 3 is covered by DataCo. I've only ever seen the WSL mentioned in communications, but the media rights are always a minefield as you go down the pyramid. Most snappers are covered under the licence of the agency they are shooting for. Eg. Every snapper that works with the same agency that I do, is able to photograph Premier League, even if they on their own merit wouldn't be able to, because the agency itself holds the licence and can send anyone. When you get down to the non-league, it gets really messy as to which licences you need to hold as an individual. By comparison, up in Scotland it's an outright free-for-all. You don't even need any sort of licence to do a top level men's game. Just get the nod from the club and you are fine.

All that said, I still don't see why dSLRs aren't permitted in the stands at that level. It's not like there's a safety concern, and you aren't going to be taking money out of anyone's pocket shooting from the stand. The only thing you are in danger of doing is promoting the game in a manner that might see more people turn up.

 

32 minutes ago, Iwantcurlyhair2 said:

I disagree with this opinion more now than at the start of the season.

Becky Langley is in her 20's and this is her first managerial post. She has developed massively and surrounded herself with experience and I have no thought that she will not see us through the next few years of progress.

Grace Donnelly is producing displays that I, prior to this season, didn't think was possible and is keeping an international keeper out of the side.

Olivia Watt has developed into a tremendous right sided defender and is improving continuously.

Charlotte Potts could play in the WSL now, I'm convinced of it.

Georgia Gibson continues to score massive goals and is, I think, our top all time scorer. (I might be wrong)

Katie Barker just improves game on game and will definitely push on in the championship.

Jaz McQuade highlights how good our development squad and that Becky has got a route for girls to push through to the first team.

Kacie, Anna, Sharna etc,etc will also continue their development.

Everyone they've bought in the last 12 months have championship and WSL experience.

 

I believe saying that most of the lasses are more than likely in their final chapter with Newcastle is  wrong and undermining the sterling work that the staff have carried out. Moving to full time has transformed the players and they will continually develop and move forward. It may take 2-3 years to get out of the championship and if it does so be it. I'll be there and will cheer even more for the Katies, Olivias and Charlottes as there get to the promised land.

 

Football is very much about opinions, and on some of those I agree. But on others, I can say from what I've seen that I don't think so. I'd be worried on your rating system if you really believe Charlotte Potts can play at WSL level. I watched her struggle up here against WSL2 loanees like Charlie Wellings (Reading), Zoe Ness (formerly Durham) and Sarah Ewens (formerly London City). I'd be happy to suggest that some of the challenges were in the team she was playing with, and the management. However, she never stood out in this league, which makes it hard for me to think she'd be capable at WSL level. That does not mean I don't think she's a good player. I think she's solid enough, there were signs of a good player in there for sure. I think she'll do a decent job at WSL2 level, as she's reliable, and with the right players around her, I've no doubt she'll play better than she did up here. I'll also be happy to take any criticism back if I'm wrong. We've all seen decent players, look poor in certain teams. If you had told me Luuk de Jong would win European Cups back in 2014, I'd have laughed at you.

 

40 minutes ago, OpenC said:

Aye, I've been thinking along those lines without any real knowledge of the quality in the championship.  I didn't think we looked two divisions behind Manchester United although the scoreline told a different story, but that sort of change is the price of progression, and although there are a few who are obviously good enough to play at a higher level than they have been (the standouts for me are Charlotte Potts and I think Elysia Boddy from what I remember of her before she was injured, but I've also been impressed with Jas McQuade and Kacie Elson whenever they get a go and Hannah Greenwood works well in a quietly industrious way) higher level incomings and starters will I guess be inevitable. 

 

That said there are plenty of them I would be happy to still see in the squad if not starters at the next level, a lot of them have earned it, if they can be accommodated.

 

 

I've seen a lot of the WSL2 over the last few years. Both matches down South where I've gone specifically to see girls who I've worked with up here, and teams coming up in pre-season for friendlies against Scottish clubs. One thing is for certain, it's a fast improving level. Go back five years and high-end WSL clubs were coming up here and being seen off by our best teams. Now mid-tables WSL2 teams are coming up, and we can't get the ball off them, or into their final third. Over the last few seasons I've seen Durham, Sunderland, Charlton, Palace, Birmingham, Blackburn and Sheffield United. What I've been particularly impressed with is just how quickly those teams press out of possession and how successful they are at turning the ball back over. They also don't give it away cheaply often, either. It's difficult to compare between levels, because you can only compete against the opposition in front of you, but I'm not convinced Newcastle has the consistency in intensity or physicality to compete with some of the sides I've seen on a week-to-week basis. Am I saying this current Newcastle side would get relegated? Absolutely not. I think the first eleven would survive fine, but it is a squad game, and I don't believe the intent going up will be to come 7th or 8th.

 

I saw Newcastle at the start of this season play against Hibernian in a friendly at Meadowbank. I would say it is probably the most competitive game I've seen between a SWPL team and an English team in the last few years. Hibs had more of the game in the first half, Newcastle were better in the second. However, I also saw Charlton play the same Hibs team behind closed doors, and it was a frighteningly one-sided affair. Just based on my experiences of what I've seen from Newcastle, I do think if they want to compete at the upper end of the league, then they are going to have to strengthen significantly to do so. The jump in quality is bigger than most people think it is, more so than I thought before, having seen a few of the pre-season games back in July/August.

 

I'm just sharing my thoughts based on what I've seen. What's most important before any of that is that this Newcastle United side goes on to achieve success, not just in tomorrow's final, but in winning the league. There are no certainties in football, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse, however things look promising.

[OpenC]

On me way. Howay the lasses

[Groundhog63]

Looking forward to this. 

[Jack27]

#howaythelasses