'Newcastle need to be in the WSL asap' - will this be their year?

From the obscurity of the fourth tier in English football to pushing for a place in the Women's Super League, Newcastle United have had an eventful few years.

"We have to be ambitious," says manager Becky Langley, as she leads the club in its second season in the second tier. "This club needs this team in the WSL as soon as possible."

When Langley first took charge six years ago, as part of her role at Northumbria University, the Magpies operated independently with the support of the Newcastle United Foundation.

They were plying their trade at Druid Park - a claustrophobic ground, where football would be played to the sound of intermittent airplanes flying overhead such was its proximity to Newcastle Airport.

Langley enlisted help from her grandmother and mother to wash the players' bibs, while her family were occasionally needed to help collect money at the gates.

But that all changed following the club's takeover in 2021.

New co-owner Amanda Staveley revealed a five-year plan for the women's side to reach the top tier and in August 2022 the team officially became part of Newcastle United football club, allowing Langley to become the full-time manager.

One year on they turned professional - a landmark moment which was sandwiched between back-to-back promotions - and last season they came a creditable fifth in their debut year in the second tier.

Yet if they are to fulfil their target of reaching the top flight within five years, time is running out.

"The aim is to be as bold as possible," said Langley.

"We have spoken about [it] internally, we have got our aims and externally we don't want to heap too much pressure on."

If you attended a Newcastle game six years ago, the extent of the physio would have been a 'magic sponge' and a bottle of lukewarm water.

Pre-match nutrition would have consisted of a burger and chips.

Langley introduced professional standards way before Newcastle's takeover, and the investment the club has made in the women's team supercharged the development behind the scenes.

Kingston Park was announced as the Magpies' home ground when they went full-time in 2023, sharing it with Newcastle Falcons rugby union team.

But because of the pitch regulations of the newly branded WSL2, Langley's team are this season playing their home matches at Gateshead International Stadium.

"The grass was like St James' Park," said Langley before their first match there on Sunday, which they drew 1-1 with Sheffield United.

"In terms of investment from the club to get that up to speed, it is brilliant.

"Kingston Park was a great home for us, but I have to say the whole infrastructure around Gateshead is good, in terms of investment in the changing rooms and the pitch and just making it a really good experience for everybody."

Newcastle have invested heavily as they look to assemble a squad that can reach the WSL.

Record top-flight appearance holder Jordan Nobbs and two-time USA World Cup winner Morgan Gautrat were the headline names among Langley's recruitment.

But with lofty ambitions comes ruthlessness - 12 players were let go at the end of 2024-25.

Club captain Grace Donnelly and on-pitch captain Amber-Keegan Stobbs both departed, while all-time top goalscorer Katie Barker was also deemed surplus to requirements.

This turnover of personnel has been a regularity for the ambitious Magpies.

"I think a lot of the fanbase was pretty upset with the way [the departures] were announced," said Lee Lawler of popular fan channel NUFC Fans TV.

"It was more that it was just a statement. 'Thanks for your efforts, and we will move on.' I just think it could have been handled a bit better."

Stobbs, whose name stems from her father's love of former Newcastle manager and player Kevin Keegan, was something of a poster girl for the Magpies and was given the captain's armband when she signed for the club.

"Unfortunately, we have to lose a lot of the local girls who have been with the club for a number of years," added Lawler.

"You are losing a lot of girls who know about the club and the DNA, however the calibre of the players we have brought in is massive.

"If I just mention the likes of Jordan Nobbs and Morgan Gautrat coming in, you are looking at a double World Cup winner and a player who has done it in the English game."

The face of Newcastle's takeover in its early days, Staveley had lofty ambitions for the Magpies' men's and women's teams.

She would regularly attend matches and after the women's team won the fourth-division title in 2023, she FaceTimed the team as they celebrated on the coach back from Barnsley.

"She was absolutely fantastic," said former Magpies midfielder Georgia Gibson, who left the club at the end of last season.

"Some of us who have left still engage with her and I don't think that happens everywhere.

"That's what made the start of the journey so successful. They were not just investing money, they were investing time and showing us how much they wanted us to be successful.

"Hopefully the girls will continue to have that journey, and it will be nice to see a conclusion to what we started."

Despite Staveley's departure last year, Nobbs - who arrived in the summer - says the backing from the club is still "incredible".

She adds: "Naturally promotion is the goal. Nothing happens in a day, but the club wants to push into the WSL and I want to help with that."

Newcastle are now on the cusp of realising their ambitions, with the expansion of the WSL in 2026-27 meaning three clubs could win promotion this season.

They started the campaign with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest but, after a disappointing draw with Sheffield United, they face the first big test of their credentials on Sunday against promotion-chasing Birmingham.

"We are breaking records all the time," says Lawler. "Just look at the attendance for the derby last season."

Some 38,502 fans turned out for their match against Sunderland at St James' Park in March - a record for women's football in England's second tier.

"Realistically, because of the way the league format is now, we have a much better chance of getting promoted. Becky will want promotion and that has to be the aim."