Thanks for the memories Becky Langley and good luck | OneFootball

Newcastle United Women announced on Monday that they had parted company with manager Becky Langley after more than six years in the job.

Becky had been in the position since 2019 and masterminded the club’s rise from Tier 4 (FA Division 1 North) to their current position in Tier 2 (Women’s Super League 2).

When she took over the team the outlook was very different. It was before the Newcastle United takeover and so the club was run under the Newcastle United Foundation rather than the actual club itself.

That first season saw sparse crowds, players on two-way contracts with local colleges.

Volunteers to operate the turnstiles at the old Wheatsheaf Ground in Callerton.

Becky was coaching the Lasses alongside her day job at Northumbria University, where she coached the students too.

With the pandemic curtailing the 2019-20 season and then the following campaign reduced down to just cup fixtures, United found themselves still residing in Tier 4. However, by the time the new Newcastle United owners took over, Langley had forged a side that pushed for promotion and only narrowly missed out to Liverpool Feds by 3 points.

The highlight of the season was undoubtedly making their first appearance at St James’ Park in April 2022. A game that saw them defeat Alnwick Town 4-0 in front of 22,134 fans. That was the first step to bringing the Women’s team under the club’s main management. It probably helped that Amanda Staveley was a big supporter too.

The following season promotion was clinched after a titanic battle with Durham Cestria saw the Lasses end the campaign with a 15 game unbeaten run.

With promotion to the FA Premier Division North, the club opted to turn fully professional, becoming the first third-tier side to do so. Langley oversaw that transition and led the club to back-to-back promotions as well as to the Women’s League Cup Final.

Last season saw United finish fifth in what was then the Championship, with just four defeats in 20 games, seen as a good return for a first season in the second tier.

However, a series of changes over this summer has seen expectations increase. The Club are ambitious and want to be in WSL 1 as soon as possible. After the league announced there were two automatic promotion spots up for grabs this season rather than one, along with a third place which leads to a play-off with the bottom placed side from the top flight, there was a growing sense that there was no better time to go up.

That of course is true, but there are at least eight other sides thinking the same thing. Never has this division been so competitive.

With that being the case the club backed the Lasses team with the level of investment which almost demands promotion.

In came Morgan Gautrat, a player who has two world cup winners medals to her name with USA. A former England Lioness in Jordan Nobbs who spent 13 seasons with perennial challengers Arsenal and Oona Sevenius who scored for Finland during Euro 2025 this summer.

Throw in internationals Anna Tamminen (Finland), Malgorzta Grec (Poland) and Aoife Mannion (Ireland). Along with Southampton duo Molly Pike and Jemma Purfield. Plus loan signings Femke Liefting and Jorja Fox from Chelsea and you can see why the club means business.

That’s a lot of talent and in many ways the dynamics and character of the team has changed rapidly. That was always going to heap pressure on whoever was managing the team to get instant results.

The 2025-26 season got underway as well as it could have done with an impressive away win at newly promoted Nottingham Forest. A strong start saw a 2-0 lead at half time as they capitalised on their chances. Before a strong defensive display during the second 45 minutes, allowed them to see the game out in a mature manner.

But just a week later the problems crept in. There is no such thing as a guaranteed victory, but Sheffield United were as close to a ‘home banker’ as you can get. The side were relegated at the end of last season but received a reprieve after Blackburn decided to drop out. Then they were smashed 4-0 at Bramall Lane by Sunderland on the opening weekend of the season and arrived at Gateshead with morale surely at a low. Instead it was Newcastle who struggled to create chances of note as the Blades clogged up the middle of the pitch with the Lasses lacking ideas to go wide and break them down.

Perhaps the much maligned 3-5-2 formation didn’t help. A system that seemed to confuse many and produced very little. Although a late equaliser did salvage a point, there were going to be much tougher games to come.

That started just a week later away to Birmingham City. Perhaps the only side in the league that could compete with Newcastle in terms of recruitment and ambition.

The Blues were fired up for a game they realised could be an early promotion decider and were ruthless in front of goal. The irony was that Newcastle didn’t play that bad and despite slipping to a 4-2 reverse were arguably better than they were the year before when the clinched a 2-0 win at St Andrews.

The midweek defeat to Forest in the League Cup was more of an inconvenience than anything else with the game essentially being a battle for third place in the group. But by the time they returned to league action, at home to early season leaders Charlton the following Sunday, it took on the feel of a must win game.

Once again Newcastle played well. Their first half performance was more than good enough to win the game by itself. But the longer the game remained goalless the more nerves crept in. Charlton completed a smash and grab raid when converting a second half penalty before shutting up shop and returning to the capital with their unbeaten record intact.

The game was also significant in that Head of Women’s Football Su Cumming was retiring. That seemed likely after the club appointed Grace Williams as Director of Women’s Football over the summer. Williams arrived at the club with an impressive CV having already led two side’s to promotion to the top flight in recent years. But with Cumming stepping away after a decade in the role, Langley lost a key ally from the management hierarchy.

Things would improve with battling 2-2 draws away to Crystal Palace (another promotion rival) and at home to Bristol City. The draw in South London seemed a turning point in the season as the players battled back and seemed united in their support for their manager. Not to mention a return to a 4-3-3 formation helping matters.

But with points dropped at home to the Robins last week and the club languishing in ninth place on just six points, some five adrift of a top three berth and a further three back on top spot, it is likely Langley’s fate was sealed then.

One win and three draws from the first six games isn’t that bad a return on the face of it. But in a 12 team league and a 22 game schedule, every dropped point is perhaps worth double the value as it is in the men’s league.

As for this season’s performances there is no single answer as to why they have been unable to secure maximum points, particularly at home. Some put that down to playing out of Gateshead Stadium. A move that was announced on the eve of the season with promotion to the top flight in mind. Astro turf is banned in WSL 1 and so a switch to a stadium with real grass a year early was behind the relocation, to allow for that acclimatisation.

However, I don’t buy that as an excuse for the performances. Most teams in this league now play at men’s stadiums with real grass, not to mention a couple of home games a year are played at St James Park. Newcastle have played and won cup games at GIS in the past too, so despite the pitch’s distance from the stands it is perhaps more of an issue for the fans than the players.

Ultimately I think it comes down to a variety of reasons. There has been a great amount of change, with new players arriving during every transfer window for the past 3 seasons. The side is unrecognisable from the one that clinched promotion from Tier 4 just two years ago. Sometimes it takes time for new players to settle and create chemistry with new teammates. Unfortunately life in WSL 2 doesn’t allow time for that to happen with the competition quite simply brutal.

The timing of Langley’s removal does seem odd given that United had just recorded their most significant result in club history with the 3-3 draw against Manchester City in the cup. However, with two weeks before the next league game it allows the club time to appoint a successor.

Who that might be is anyone’s guess. But whoever comes in has to hit the ground running and collect maximum points in the next three games if promotion is to be realised this season. That’s an insane amount of pressure for anyone and perhaps means that appointment will be with a manager with experience from a higher league.

On a personal level I am going to miss Becky Langley. She was always approachable, polite and honest during the interviews and press conferences I attended, and extremely likeable.

When she first took the job it was on a part-time basis. Then following the takeover, expectations and ambitions changed and she was forced to grow into her managerial role at the same frenetic pace as her team. For most of that time it was a period of success and that is what I shall remember. Thanks for the memories Becky and good luck with your next role in football.