Newcastle United Women - Champions and Promoted

[Jonas]

43 minutes ago, OpenC said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pics. Remember walking down that alley (if its the one behind the executive box only stand) after the cup game, first time I've seen it from such an angle since, and could only imagine the amount assaults that took place there in the previous decade or so.

[OpenC]

Yeah, that's where it is that was my first view of the stadium so I made my way to it and that alley was photographic heaven. Wish I'd taken my full kit, there were plenty of people there with full bags of camera gear but I only took my phone

[Tsunami]

Didn’t see the 2nd half, can’t see I’m surprised we lost. For a professional outfit the 1st half was extremely poor. Countless 10 yard passes way off line, air kicks, no control, 1 footed players, lack of awareness and what I can only describe as “flick” shots. Other than some pace we offered nothing.

 

I’m a little pleased we lost, what I saw was awful. These players are getting paid, full time, we should be battering every other side at that level. 
 

Quite clearly doing their best, no problem there, but it was so poor.

[dcmk]

Nice to see Amanda there supporting them today.

[O Neill]

1 hour ago, Paullow said:

Sunderland vs Durham is on The FA Player tomorrow at 2pm. I might actually watch it. Sunderland top of the 2nd tier, but it's extremely close, and Durham are starting to look over their shoulder at the other end after no win since Dec 17th. Obviously a local derby, and a massive lack of other live matches tomorrow.

 

It's ridiculously tight at the top of the WSL2. Four teams with a single point between them, but Palace and Charlton have a game in hand. Sunderland have them both to play in the final two fixtures next month. It's also good at the other end of the table, with two clubs now going down. Watford look doomed, but there are only four points between Durham in 8th and Lewes in 11th. Quite intriguing to see ex Newcastle player Brianna Westrup at Sunderland. She was made captain of Rangers in the season they won the league up here, and was also voted their player of the season. She left under a bit of a cloud, with suggestions that she rated herself much more highly than the club did. I always thought she looked really solid, and the club has struggled to replace her since, despite bringing in Kathryn Hill from Durham. I wonder if she could be tempted back to Newcastle next season?

 

I think Durham's survival probably hinges on the away trip to Reading. I can't see them getting much out of Palace or Birmingham. Would be a shame to lose them, but I think it's becoming clear that teams without significant investment are slowly going to drift out of WSL2, being replaced by more familiar names in the next few years. Although, that might change somewhat if they decide to expand the WSL, which is quite possible. I don't think it's going to be too long before they push for 16 teams in the top tier, and I suspect the second tier might follow that if there are clear signs that more clubs are investing to go full-time.

[Iwantcurlyhair2]

Just got home. Rally gutted for the lasses. Typical Newcastle having their worst performance of the season in a cup final. Fingers crossed Burnley and Forest lose tomorrow and a win against Liverpool Feds next week will secure the league.

Onwards and upwards, but gutted for them today. Effort was there but uncharacteristic sloppy passing and control let them down. 

 

 

 

[OpenC]

46 minutes ago, O Neill said:

that might change somewhat if they decide to expand the WSL, which is quite possible. I don't think it's going to be too long before they push for 16 teams in the top tier, and I suspect the second tier might follow that if there are clear signs that more clubs are investing to go full-time.

 

Aye, I think this needs to happen sooner rather than later. 12 team leagues with single promotion places are more than a little bit restrictive.

[O Neill]

Just now, OpenC said:

 

Aye, I think this needs to happen sooner rather than later. 12 team leagues with single promotion places are more than a little bit restrictive.

 

I think the future has a lot of uncertainty still. The whole NewCo thing needs figuring out yet, before they get to expanding what they have. My best guess is that it may be three seasons before they jump to 16 teams. With the NewCo taking over the independent running of the game next season, I don't expect many changes. The year after, I would imagine they'll really start pushing the commercial side of the product. Then it'll be in year three that they try to expand it. That's probably good timing for a club like Newcastle.

 

I'm considering putting together a post on a few players Newcastle may consider looking at, who are currently plying their trade up here. It's fairly common now for players in the SWPL to make the move to the English second tier if they have ambitions of going further with their careers. These days there are full-time contracts available up here with five, maybe six of the top twelve clubs, but there are plenty of players who have an eye on heading South, because ultimately they have ambitions of playing in a league where every game is very competitive as opposed to the awkward SWPL setup that has three top teams, two below that and then another seven.

Newcastle has already taken a few back down South. Dodds having played at Glasgow City, Bartle at Celtic and Potts with Hibernian. There is definitely still some good quality in the league here, and probably bargains to be had.

 

 

[et tu brute]

52 minutes ago, Iwantcurlyhair2 said:

Just got home. Rally gutted for the lasses. Typical Newcastle having their worst performance of the season in a cup final. Fingers crossed Burnley and Forest lose tomorrow and a win against Liverpool Feds next week will secure the league.

Onwards and upwards, but gutted for them today. Effort was there but uncharacteristic sloppy passing and control let them down. 

 

 

 

 

And I know I keep saying it (I have every time I've watched her), a terrible goalkeeper. A new one needs to be the first upgrade this summer. Swap the two keepers round today and the score would have been different. 

[O Neill]

11 minutes ago, et tu brute said:

 

And I know I keep saying it (I have every time I've watched her), a terrible goalkeeper. A new one needs to be the first upgrade this summer. Swap the two keepers round today and the score would have been different. 

 

Finding a good goalkeeper is tough, and it can often involve a bit of risk. There's a temptation to try to lure someone in that's on the bench at a bigger club, but often those keepers are untested. Watched my club bring in an U19 international on loan for a few months. She was the third keeper at her parent club, and came with a massive reputation as being the 'next big thing', having played plenty of first team games for that club. The catch is that the games she played, she wasn't really being tested in terms of her shot stopping, or distribution. For the most part, she'd spend 90 minutes standing there watching. In four games with us, she conceded three goals above her head, right down the middle of the goal. After returning to her parent club, she was shipped out within a week, as they'd clearly decided she wasn't going to be their next keeper.

 

[Groundhog63]

3 hours ago, maybe_next_year said:

 

That was the idea, but apparently not  

Unlucky. Tbf if they hadn't fucked about on the penalty spot so much and got a shot away you'd have had a better day 

[et tu brute]

12 hours ago, O Neill said:

 

Finding a good goalkeeper is tough, and it can often involve a bit of risk. There's a temptation to try to lure someone in that's on the bench at a bigger club, but often those keepers are untested. Watched my club bring in an U19 international on loan for a few months. She was the third keeper at her parent club, and came with a massive reputation as being the 'next big thing', having played plenty of first team games for that club. The catch is that the games she played, she wasn't really being tested in terms of her shot stopping, or distribution. For the most part, she'd spend 90 minutes standing there watching. In four games with us, she conceded three goals above her head, right down the middle of the goal. After returning to her parent club, she was shipped out within a week, as they'd clearly decided she wasn't going to be their next keeper.

 

Yeah I agree, I just think our keeper is just too short, too slow and her decision making and kicking is shocking. I hate to call out someone living the dream, but it's a professional football team now and there is no room for sentiment. 

 

 

Edited March 24 by et tu brute

[Mag3.14]

55 minutes ago, et tu brute said:

 

And I know I keep saying it (I have every time I've watched her), a terrible goalkeeper. A new one needs to be the first upgrade this summer. Swap the two keepers round today and the score would have been different. 

 

They signed an international keeper in January - dont know if she's been given any gametime yet?

 

 

 

[et tu brute]

8 minutes ago, Mag3.14 said:

 

They signed an international keeper in January - dont know if she's been given any gametime yet?

 

 

 

Don't think so and neither has the usual second keeper.

[OpenC]

Grace Donnelly has been putting in some heroic performances that you wouldn't expect of her recently, really commanding, but she was very hesitant and uncharacteristically glued to her line yesterday - not sure if they were drilled to expect a particular threat so not to play sweeper as she usually does - but you could see the whole back line was operating differently to usual, right from the opening exchanges. Ultimately there's no room for sentiment if you want to progress, I guess - I have no problem with Langley showing faith in GD though.

 

I wasn't close enough to judge how she did with the second yesterday but it looked like it all started from an absolute hospital ball from someone in midfield, Boddy I think? It looked like none of them dealt with the situation particularly well after that was given away.

 

I can't really recall it but I feel like the first came from us cheaply surrendering possession over on the right wing as well.

 

 

Edited March 24 by OpenC

[leffe186]

14 hours ago, O Neill said:

 

I thought Hashtag looked awful if I'm honest. They reminded me a lot of Partick Thistle up here. A handful of decent players, but well-organised and physically big. They look like they would bully teams at this level out of matches, but not score many goals in the process. Can imagine they win plenty of games 1-0, and few by more than two goals. That type of football is effective up to a certain level. Then suddenly you find that every team in the league is able to match up physically, but also has better technical ability as well. At that point, 1-0 wins dry up and become losses.

Don’t think they really have a choice though. Semi-pro in a league where the top clubs are paying fortunes. In the lower divisions they’re up against similar sides in some respects but anyone decent will get snapped up and so they have to make a virtue of what they can do. The top level is way ahead of the fifth and sixth sides, let alone the lower divisions.

[Iwantcurlyhair2]

Still can't quite get my head round how they played yesterday. Everyone had a sub par performance but some of the uneducated, sweeping statements I have read online are disgraceful. I agree with OpenC that Grace Donnelly deserves Langley's faith and support rather than the abuse that she has had since the match yesterday. Disappointingly the abuse the team has had online, some of it very personal, shows how our fanbase has changed this season. The "We don't demand a team that wins" motto has long been forgotten. I've stopped reading social media after the men don't win and last night I had to do the same with the lasses. I thought we, as a fan base, were better than this.

[leffe186]

6 minutes ago, Iwantcurlyhair2 said:

Still can't quite get my head round how they played yesterday. Everyone had a sub par performance but some of the uneducated, sweeping statements I have read online are disgraceful. I agree with OpenC that Grace Donnelly deserves Langley's faith and support rather than the abuse that she has had since the match yesterday. Disappointingly the abuse the team has had online, some of it very personal, shows how our fanbase has changed this season. The "We don't demand a team that wins" motto has long been forgotten. I've stopped reading social media after the men don't win and last night I had to do the same with the lasses. I thought we, as a fan base, were better than this.

It hasn’t changed man, it’s always been the same, but all fanbases have this. Just remember that whatever happens we’re all better than Arsenal and Liverpool, so we all have that to fall back on.

[Dr. TC]

30 minutes ago, Iwantcurlyhair2 said:

Still can't quite get my head round how they played yesterday. Everyone had a sub par performance but some of the uneducated, sweeping statements I have read online are disgraceful. I agree with OpenC that Grace Donnelly deserves Langley's faith and support rather than the abuse that she has had since the match yesterday. Disappointingly the abuse the team has had online, some of it very personal, shows how our fanbase has changed this season. The "We don't demand a team that wins" motto has long been forgotten. I've stopped reading social media after the men don't win and last night I had to do the same with the lasses. I thought we, as a fan base, were better than this.

Talking of the fanbase, the thing that annoyed me most yesterday was the chorus of loud boos and shouts of 'who are ya?' at every stadium announcer mention of an opposition player. 

 

Announce their team, boo everyone. 

Substitution announced, chorus of jeers

Goal announced, who are ya? 

 

So embarrassing 

[OpenC]

We got it back plenty at the end from the few of them who were there, tbf might teach some a bit of humility. I'm not a fan myself but it's not that unusual a feature of a football crowd in my experience

 

 

Edited March 24 by OpenC

[maybe_next_year]

All the booing etc seemed jovial and very much in jest around me. Only surprise was how many fans left as soon as the final whistle went, rather than stay and applaud the players. Despite their poor performance yesterday, you'd think that's the least they deserve after getting to a cup final in the first place. 

[Dr. TC]

2 hours ago, OpenC said:

We got it back plenty at the end from the few of them who were there, tbf might teach some a bit of humility. I'm not a fan myself but it's not that unusual a feature of a football crowd in my experience

 

 

 

I have been going to the men's matches for more than thirty years and I found it highly unusual. Sometimes a specific individual gets booed for something they have done or said, but not every single mention of the opposition. 

 

I thought it was rude, and made their underdog beating the bullies story even more true. 

[OpenC]

Aye, that's the risk of doing it - if the opposition can use it as motivation then it's powerful. I feel the same about booing referees. I do feel it's more pantomime than unpleasantness though.

 

Most folk around me stayed to applaud but I saw plenty departing as well.

 

Just back north of the Tyne now, been a long couple of days but I'm still pleased I went.

[LFEE]

10 minutes ago, Dr. TC said:

I have been going to the men's matches for more than thirty years and I found it highly unusual. Sometimes a specific individual gets booed for something they have done or said, but not every single mention of the opposition. 

 

I thought it was rude, and made their underdog beating the bullies story even more true. 

Not sure which men’s games you’ve been going to for 30yrs mind. Sound like pretty normal fare.
 

As for the game we looked nervous first few minutes. Looked to be trying to play football but the link to the final third poor. 
 

23 still looks the best player the few times I’ve watched them.

 

GK looked very poor. Surely you just need to scout someone tall and train them when it comes to women’s GKs. The one position that let’s the game down badly at all levels.

[Mag3.14]

6 hours ago, OpenC said:

Grace Donnelly has been putting in some heroic performances that you wouldn't expect of her recently, really commanding, but she was very hesitant and uncharacteristically glued to her line yesterday - not sure if they were drilled to expect a particular threat so not to play sweeper as she usually does - but you could see the whole back line was operating differently to usual, right from the opening exchanges. Ultimately there's no room for sentiment if you want to progress, I guess - I have no problem with Langley showing faith in GD though.

 

I wasn't close enough to judge how she did with the second yesterday but it looked like it all started from an absolute hospital ball from someone in midfield, Boddy I think? It looked like none of them dealt with the situation particularly well after that was given away.

 

I can't really recall it but I feel like the first came from us cheaply surrendering possession over on the right wing as well.

 

 

 

 

Aye true, the second came from an awful giveaway in midfield  (couldn't make out who it was because of the shadow of the main stand) - literally passed to the # player under zero pressure.

 

Seemed to me the occasion got to them yesterday unfortunately, a trait that's plagued the men's team for decades.