Inside Newcastle's push for WSL promotion: Signing a Lioness, Champions League ambitions and building on back-to-back titles

For a team described as being nothing more than an "afterthought", as one club employee previously told the i, under the previous ownership of Mike Ashley, the last few seasons have been a dream for Newcastle's women's side. That's both in terms of on-pitch success, which has seen the Magpies win back-to-back promotions to rise from the fourth tier to the Championship, and off-pitch growth, with record-breaking attendances at St James' Park and the professionalism of the team among the highlights in that sense.

Last year, Newcastle became the first full-time women's team to compete in the third-tier, underlining the club's ambition to rise to the top as quickly as possible. Such commitment paid dividends, too, as they finished some 11 points clear of Burnley at the top of the table to win promotion, having won 19 and lost only one of their 22 league fixtures.

"We want to be a WSL side as soon as possible," head coach Becky Langley told BBC Radio Newcastle after her team secured promotion with a 10-0 thrashing of Huddersfield Town. "But we have perspective," she added. "We understand where we are at."

Of all the things on Langley's plate, perhaps keeping everyone's expectations in check is becoming one of her most difficult tasks. That's because her team is doing plenty to increase the hype, not least this summer. Stokes, Furness and Cooper are the headline additions made in the transfer window, but there is plenty of smart business elsewhere that has further strengthened a group already bursting with quality.

Claudia Moan, the goalkeeper who arrived from Sunderland, was named the Women's Championship Player of the Year for 2023-24; Shania Hayles, capped at senior level by Jamaica, scored 11 goals in 22 games when she was last at this level two years ago; while Lois Joel, who has played in the WSL with West Ham, has been a regular starter for London City in the second-tier for the past two seasons.

A pre-season shootout win over Italian giants AC Milan has only added to the excitement. The two sides put on a show for a bumper crowd at St James' Park, the final score 2-2 before the home side prevailed on penalties. Any football fan knows that there's only so much you can read into pre-season results but the fact that Newcastle have been testing themselves against teams the calibre of Milan, Manchester United and Everton this summer is certainly positive.

It all sounds great, right? Top signings, a positive pre-season and the momentum of back-to-back promotions. It's no wonder Newcastle are being talked about as a title contender in the Championship this season. However, there are certainly challenges for Langley and her team coming up.

One is the fact that the coach has no experience of this level and nor do many of her players. Even a recruit like Stokes, who won multiple major titles with Manchester City and became a European champion with England, doesn't know what the Championship is about. There is some weight of responsibility on those like Furness and Cooper, then, to really step up and lead this group through an increasingly competitive and unpredictable league, and thus the integration of those new signings is going to be key. After a summer of nine incomings and 13 outgoings, that isn't going to be easy, either.

That said, it certainly sounds like the process is going well. "It's a challenge because you've got to integrate so many new people and we lost some really good characters who we parted ways with in the summer, who'd been on the journey for five or six years," Langley explained. "It leaves a bit of a hole in terms of that love for the club and that personality that they brought.

"But I think with the new players, they've come with the right intentions. You've got Demi and Furney, who are from the North East and they're passionate about giving something back to Newcastle and the young players here. I think the players who were here last season and a couple of seasons before, they've been massive in integrating the other players and making them feel at home and making sure they know what our standards and our values are, and they have been happy to challenge people, regardless of the level they've played at."

Cooper certainly echoes that sentiment, describing the "family feeling" she experienced upon her first visit to the club as a big reason why this group has been able to gel so quickly. "The players that are here from last year are some of the most fantastic humans," she explains. "They've worked really hard to get where they are, but they also know what the club is about. It was kind of a two-way situation. We will bring in some experience from the leagues above, but they will bring in what it's like to play for Newcastle. I think that's been really key in pre-season to teach each other and help each other with each side of it. If you can get both of those put together, it's going to be a hell of a season for us."

There are other teams in the Championship who believe they could be in for strong seasons too, though. Charlton finished just one point off eventual champions Crystal Palace last year, Southampton have added some established names to a promising young squad, Birmingham City have made a strong managerial appointment in Amy Merricks, while Bristol City will hope to bounce back after relegation from the WSL.

However, the team that many will see as Newcastle's biggest rival to win this title are London City Lionesses. Powered by the money and ambition of Michele Kang, who also owns eight-time European champions Lyon and the Washington Spirit of the NWSL, the club has turned plenty of heads this summer.

Sweden star Kosovare Asllani left Milan to join the project, as did Paris Saint-Germain boss Jocelyn Precheur. Those fantasy football-esque moves have been complemented by some promising young players, such as former Chelsea goalkeeper Emily Orman and Arsenal loanee Teyah Goldie.

Langley and her team understand all of these challenges. They have respect for the Championship and, as such, aren't coming into the division declaring that their objective is to stand at the top of it come May. "We've got a lot of learning to do," said the coach. "I think we'd be very naive if we were to be shouting from the rooftops, 'We want to win promotion this season'. We've got to be mindful of the context."

Is that the feeling of the whole club, though? With only one team able to win promotion to the WSL, someone's ambitious plan is going to be setback. After such smooth sailing in recent seasons, do those higher up at Newcastle understand the context of this year and how difficult it will be to achieve back-to-back-to-back promotions?

"I think they do," Langley responded. "I think we've got our own internal aims of where we want to get to and we've got to be careful how we manage that with everybody, whether that's fans and their excitement for it, or it's friends and family or the outside world looking in. I think the club's been really understanding of that context, so it eases the pressure, I guess.

"But it's an odd one," she added, pondering what she'd just said. "In terms of pressure, there's no more pressure than what I will put on myself to achieve three points every weekend. In terms of the external pressure or internal pressure from the club, it will never match my own that I put on myself anyway. In terms of that, it doesn't bother me that much. I know I've got a very supportive network around me, of people at the club who have got my back and they know how much I put into every day. They want to see me do well and they'll know that if we don't do well, it won't be because of a lack of effort."

It's hard to find the right words to describe the ambition that Newcastle come into the year with, then. They're not being quiet, with Langley admitting "it's no secret we want to get to the top of the women's game", but they're not being as openly bold in the short-term as London City Lionesses, their opening weekend opponent.

"We’re mindful that there’s lots of steps that have to be met in the process," the Newcastle boss said. "At the same time, we’re working really hard behind the teams to keep investing in talent we can bring into the squad so we can keep improving on and off the pitch. It’s going to be a lot of learnings this season for us, but we want to progress as quickly as possible so we’re doing everything in our power to learn quickly."

Those representing the club from the capital, meanwhile, have stressed a strong desire to get out of the Championship this year. "I'm not here to play in this division for long," marquee signing Asllani said earlier this summer. "We want to be at the top." Their approaches to the summer transfer window have been different, too, with London City casting their net abroad much more.

Despite their nuances, the overriding similarity is that both teams are extremely ambitious and well-backed - but only one can be promoted. There's a world in which neither makes it, even, with those looking to compete at the top with the pair sure to be enjoying the manner in which they are flying under the radar ahead of the new season.

After months of hype, expectation and excitement, this weekend is where it all starts for each contender, and Sunday’s clash between Newcastle and London City is certainly the headline fixture. What bearing it will have on the promotion race, we won't know for several months yet, but it's an opportunity for both to make an early statement ahead of what is sure to be a thrilling Championship season.