Words — numerous public declarations of reaching the Women’s Super League (WSL) — have been followed by actions. There has also been huge investment in the side, the recruitment of a two-time World Cup winner in Morgan Gautrat, the appointment of a women’s director of football in Grace Williams, a move of home ground, an upgrade in training facilities and, most ruthlessly, the dismissal of Becky Langley as manager last month.
Adored by a large section of the fanbase, Langley will always (rightly) be credited with turning Newcastle into a professional outfit and then leading them up two divisions to the WSL2 with back-to-back promotions. But following just one victory in Newcastle’s opening six league games and a growing belief among sections of the hierarchy that the environment needed a shake-up to realise their immediate ambitions, a new figure was sought, with an appointment close and expected to be confirmed soon.
Suddenly, following a momentum-generating 3-1 derby victory over Sunderland at St James’ Park, whoever takes charge will do so with that ultimate goal of promotion appearing eminently achievable again.
Claire Ditchburn, the highly rated assistant, has revealed she was tasked with delivering “stability” by the hierarchy, yet what she has overseen is a reinvigoration of Newcastle’s stated objectives.
Assisted by Peter Ramage, the former Newcastle defender and current assistant loans manager, Ditchburn has collected seven points from a possible nine during her interim spell in charge — a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town and a 1-1 draw at Durham preceded the Sunderland triumph — and lifted Newcastle from ninth to fourth.
Pacesetters Charlton Athletic aside, the table is extremely congested, with only four points separating Newcastle from second-bottom Portsmouth. Crucially, however, Birmingham City, who occupy the second automatic promotion spot, are now only six points ahead of Newcastle, while third-placed Bristol City have just three more points.
With the WSL set to be expanded for 2026-27, for this season only third place would be enough to secure a relegation/promotion play-off against the club third-bottom of the top tier.
That, alongside what multiple insiders have referred to as “enormous” aspirations, have increased the sense of urgency around Newcastle’s need to reach the top flight as quickly as possible. Ideally, that would come this season and, preferably, via one of the two automatic slots.
Once that began to appear like an increasingly distant prospect, Williams — who had been overseeing an audit of the women’s side of the club after joining from Crystal Palace in August — determined that a fresh voice, with elite-level pedigree that can take Newcastle forwards, was required. The timing of Langley’s exit felt especially awkward, given it came following an impressive 3-3 draw against WSL outfit Manchester City in the League Cup, but the call had already been made and was then ratified by Ross Wilson in one of his first major moves as sporting director.
Cold, hard ambition was the main driver.
If Wilson and David Hopkinson’s arrivals as sporting director and CEO have injected fresh leadership into a club that had appeared increasingly rudderless at the top, the pair must still publicly outline their vision for Newcastle men’s side. With the women’s team, the objectives have never wavered, yet now the previous warm, almost family, feel about the environment has been dispensed with in search of more rapid success.
Amber Keegan-Stobbs, the childhood Newcastle fan who captained her team to a derby win in March, was among the players to be let go during a summer in which 10 players arrived at a substantial cost to prime a team who finished fifth in their debut second-tier campaign, with 71-cap England international Jordan Nobbs among them. Further investment is expected in the January window. Langley, who had been at Newcastle since 2019 and used to wash the kits herself pre-takeover, has since followed Keegan-Stobbs out of the club.
Sentiment gave way to hard-nosed determination to continue Newcastle’s rise. Never mind the WSL, former part-owner Amanda Staveley declared that the Champions League was the goal and top-level sources refuse to place a limit on their ambitions.
For now, turning Gateshead International Stadium into a proper home ground must be a priority for Ditchburn or whoever is appointed.
Newcastle are yet to win since trading the plastic pitch at Kingston Park, the home of Newcastle Red Bulls rugby union side, for the grass surface they will require in the WSL over the River Tyne. Newcastle’s ground staff have improved the quality of the playing surface at Gateshead, the National League outfit, but positive results have proven elusive, even since their transfer to a dedicated training base at Cochrane Park on the outskirts of the city last month.
At their ‘big-occasion’ home, however, Newcastle are unbeaten in competitive fixtures. They have played 10 times at St James’ and have yet to lose, with Emily Murphy’s brace and Deanna Cooper’s goal, as well as Anna Tamminen’s penalty save on debut, proving decisive against Sunderland.
The crowd of 18,972 may have been significantly down on the second-division record of 38,502 that Newcastle set in the previous Wear-Tyne derby in March, but the average in the WSL2 this season is 1,262 and even in the WSL it is 6,945. Only Arsenal (36,682) average a figure in excess of the crowd Newcastle attracted on Sunday.
Perhaps, though, Langley’s exit and the slow start to the 2025-26 league campaign have also punctured the momentum built around the rise of Newcastle’s women.
Another morale-boosting victory over their rivals has the potential to renew interest among the fanbase, but it needs to be followed by further affirmative action. The identity of Langley’s successor really does feel key to Newcastle’s success, in both the short and long term.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Newcastle United, Sunderland, Women’s Soccer, Premier League
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