Newcastle head coach Becky Langley has challenged her side to win promotion to the Women’s Championship to pave the way for other aspiring clubs to join them in turning professional.
The Magpies went full-time last summer – 12 months after head coach Langley had done the same – to become the first tier-three outfit to make the move in England.
They currently sit at the top of the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, nine points clear of Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand, and 14 better off than Burnley, who have played three fewer, as they chase promotion to the Championship and ultimately the Women’s Super League.
Langley told the PA news agency: “If we let a Burnley or a Forest, who are on a hybrid part-time model, win the league, then other clubs will go, ‘Well actually, you don’t need to go full-time, you can still do it part-time’, so there’s a duty of care for players to actually get them to be full-time players.
“We’ve got to be doing that on the pitch and showing that with results so the likes of a Wolves, a Burnley, a Forest, a Huddersfield, teams who have got good men’s sides, will start investing in the women’s game.”
The trajectory taken by Langley’s team since Amanda Staveley’s consortium assumed control at St James’ Park has been rapidly upwards.
On the night they were handed the keys to the club, Staveley referenced the women’s team as a major focus and an arm of Newcastle which had previously operated under the auspices of its charitable foundation was taken in-house during the summer of 2022.
Significant investment since has helped to fuel successive promotion drives, the latest of which appears to be firmly on course after a recruitment mission which, among others, brought Jamaica international striker Paige Bailey-Gayle to the club from Championship Crystal Palace in January.
Langley said: “Amanda has been absolutely phenomenal, since arriving, for the women’s team, showing her support – and it’s been consistent support.
“They just completely get it and they want the best for the women’s team as well as the men’s and the Academy.”
Much of the financial power behind Staveley’s consortium comes from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80 per cent stake in the club, and the human rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community in the Gulf state have been a particular focus for critics since the takeover.
Langley, who has completed her UEFA B and A Licence courses and hopes to join an exclusive band of women in this country who have been invited to study for the Pro Licence, travelled to the Middle East late last year to work with female coaches.
The 28-year-old said: “To see actually so many girls participating in the sessions was fantastic – the quality was really good – and then actually empowering other female coaches out in Saudi was really important as well.
“Newcastle United and the power of having female role models at Newcastle United Women going out and empowering girls and women out in Saudi, I think is only a positive.”
It is not so long since sport and exercise science graduate Langley, then working full-time at Northumbria University, had to coach a squad including police officers and teachers after they had all done a day’s work.
Now fully professional, Langley and her Newcastle side are focusing on Sunday’s FA WNL Cup semi-final clash with Portsmouth at St James’, which is expected to be attended by a crowd in excess of 25,000, and beyond that, securing promotion.
Asked how big the club could be, Langley said: “It’s all going to take time, it’s not going to happen overnight. We can’t jump any steps. But I think it can be one of the best teams in the WSL.”
Simeone grateful to hit landmark 700th game with Atletico
Diego Simeone says he is grateful to be managing his 700th game at Atletico Madrid, even as rumours swirl about his future.
The Argentine will hit the landmark on Saturday when Atletico host Alaves in LaLiga.
Simeone is nearing 13 years in charge of Atletico having taken the job in December 2011, and the 54-year-old has since transformed the side from perennial underdogs to dangerous rivals to Spain's big two - Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The club has won two league titles, one Copa del Rey and two Europa League trophies, while they also reached the Champions League final twice - losing to city rivals Madrid on both occasions.
However, they remain a force to be reckoned with and Simeone's record of 326 clean sheets is a testament to his side's defensive prowess.
"First of all, I'd like to thank all the people who worked with me on the coaching staff and who are not with us today, all the players who made it possible for me to be at the club for so long," Simeone told reporters.
"Miguel Angel (CEO) and Enrique Cerezo (president) for supporting me on the path and trying to follow it together, and our fans for the respect they have always shown me.
"I am absolutely grateful to Atletico, I am very happy to have been able to enjoy these 700 games."
However, Atletico's start to the season has led to questions being raised in the media about his future.
Atletico are third in LaLiga, seven points behind leaders Barcelona after five draws, while they are a lowly 23rd in the Champions League halfway through the new group stage.
But Simeone has a contract until June 2027 and is not bothered by speculation, saying: "I think about Alaves, I don't focus on anything else... I think about how to resolve an important match."
Atletico went into the international break with four straight wins in all competitions, and if they win on Saturday, it will be Simeone's 300th in LaLiga. He believes the next eight games will be crucial.
"Alaves is coming, we know them. They play direct, with speed... and a lot of guys we know because they have been here [at Atletico]," Simeone said.
"We need to take the game to where we think we can hurt them. It will be important to play at a high pace and that's what we'll be looking for."
Holders Spain drawn against the Netherlands in Nations League quarters
Reigning champions Spain have been drawn against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.
Spain won five of their six games in Group A4, and will face the Dutch for the first time in a competitive match since their 5-1 defeat at the World Cup in 2014.
France, who emerged victorious in the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League, will take on Croatia in a repeat of their World Cup final meeting six years ago.
Germany will face Italy while Portugal, who were the inaugural winners of the tournament, were drawn against Denmark, with the two-legged fixtures taking place in March.
The semi-finals are single legs which will get underway in June, with the third-place play-off and final to be played three days later.
European champions Spain, Portugal and Germany topped their groups without losing a game to go into the seeded teams' pot along with France.
The winner of Spain's enticing tie with the Netherlands will play either France or Croatia, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to inspire Portugal to a second title.
Only Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres (nine), Norway's Erling Haaland (seven) and Romania's Razvan Marin (six) have scored more goals in this year's edition than Ronaldo (five).
Scotland, who finished third in Group A1 behind Portugal and Croatia, will face Greece in a Nations League play-off to remain in the top tier of the competition.
The other play-off games will see Turkey face Hungary, Ukraine take on Belgium, and Austria square off against Serbia in March.
Pareja sees no limit to what Orlando can achieve in playoffs
Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja is taking the playoffs one game at a time, with the Eastern Conference semifinals next up, but would love to bring the MLS Cup back to Florida.
The Lions are the highest-seeded team in the East, meaning they will have home advantage for the final if they make it past Atlanta United on Sunday.
They beat Charlotte FC in the first round, winning both of their home matches – the second on penalties – to advance, and Pareja remains hopeful his side can keep their playoff journey going.
"It's good [that the road to the final goes through Orlando]," he said. "I'm always optimistic to advance and have the advantage to play it at home and the next game.
"In Major League Soccer, anything can happen. I would love to not just advance to the final of the conference but to bring the MLS Cup here. Our responsibility is to play one game at a time, and we're going to be ready for this one for sure."
Atlanta, meanwhile, pulled off arguably one of the greatest upsets in playoff history when they knocked out MLS Cup favourites Inter Miami.
Having lost the first tie, they won the following two in the series to advance, having previously been given a slim chance of making the playoffs in the first place, getting through by beating Orlando 2-1 away on decision day.
Before another trip to Florida, Dax McCarty outlined the ways in which they can make it difficult for their hosts.
"It's a fine balance," he said. "You don't want to allow them to have too much of the ball, because then we get frustrated...
"We're just going to have to be sharp in all phases of the game, in transition and possession, because if we can keep the ball away from them, they don't want that, they'll get a little bit frustrated."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Facundo Torres' equalizing goal at 101:47 in Game 3 against Charlotte FC was the third-latest stoppage time goal in MLS history (regular season & playoffs).
It was also the second-latest result-changing goal (Tom Barlow – 90'+17 for New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes in 2023).
Atlanta United – Jamal Thiare
Jamal Thiare's two goals in 107 seconds in the first half of Atlanta’s Game 3 win over Inter Miami was the fastest a player has scored twice in a postseason match since Nicolas Mezquida scored two goals in 90 seconds for the Vancouver Whitecaps against San Jose in the 2017 playoffs.
MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN
This will be the first postseason meeting between Orlando and Atlanta. Orlando have four wins in 22 all-time meetings with the Five Stripes (D7 L11), including losing the only previous knockout match 2-0 in the 2019 US Open Cup semifinals.
Orlando have lost only one of their last 13 home matches in all competitions (W8 D4, including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss). Orlando's only home defeat in that time was a 2-1 loss to Atlanta United on October 19.
Atlanta's 3-2 win at Miami in Game 3 on November 9 ended a six-match road winless run in the playoffs (D1, advancing in a penalty shoot-out, L5).
It was Atlanta's second-ever road playoff win after also beating NYCFC on the road in the 2018 conference semifinals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 55.6%
Draw – 22.9%
Atlanta United – 21.5%
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