Newcastle United Women will be playing in the Championship next season after securing back-to-back promotions in front of a record crowd at Kingston Park.

Becky Langley’s side, which became the first-ever FA Women’s National League team to become full-time professional at the start of this season, thrashed Huddersfield Town 10-0 on Sunday.

Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Newcastle’s co-owners, were in attendance along with 7,382 fans as Emma Kelly opened the scoring after 15 seconds. There were also two goals from Beth Lumsden, another for Kelly, two for Katie Barker and one each for Jasmine McQuade, Charlotte Potts, Kacie Elson and Georgia Gibson as Newcastle ran riot.

Having previously been under the umbrella of Newcastle’s charitable foundation, the women’s team were officially brought under the club’s control in 2022, when Langley was named full-time manager.

GO DEEPER

Dreams, struggles and Taylor Swift – behind the scenes with Newcastle United Women

The team’s uplift has been remarkable, with consecutive promotions as champions from the fourth and third tiers of the women’s game. This season has encompassed a 399-day unbeaten run in all competitions, which only came to an end when they lost to Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup and a losing…

It is that time of year again. Lighter nights, daffodils and the sobering discovery of just how much your football team has handed over to agents.

The Football Association (FA) published its annual figures yesterday and, as is the norm, they were bigger, more gasp-inducing than ever before.

The Premier League’s 20 clubs combined to pay £409million ($509m) in agents’ fees in a 12-month monitoring period that began on February 1, 2023. Include the EFL’s outlays and English clubs handed over close to half a billion to that select group of men and women representing a footballer’s interests.

It was the usual suspects leading the way but the Premier League’s spend continues to rise. This year’s total is markedly up on the £318million of last season and almost twice the amount paid in 2017-18.

The Athletic picks out the key points from the FA’s latest report.

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Chelsea drive spending records… again

An age of excess at Stamford Bridge has seen Chelsea spend like no club has ever spent before. Close to £1billion has funded a lavish overall that is yet to deliver discernible progress under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake-led ownership group and the fees paid out to agents are another marker of their intemperance.

Brace yourself for Chelsea’s full outlay over 12 months:…

Former Wimbledon manager and Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Kinnear has died at the age of 77.

Kinnear played for Tottenham and Brighton and Hove Albion during an 11-year career as a player, making a combined 212 club appearances.

He also won 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Kinnear went on to manage Luton Town, Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United — where he also held the position of director of football.

His passing was confirmed in a statement by Newcastle that read: “Newcastle United is saddened to learn of the passing of Joe Kinnear at the age of 77.

“Joe worked at the club as both Manager and Director of Football.

“The thoughts of everyone at #NUFC are with Joe’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

A statement from Spurs said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former player, Joe Kinnear. The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”

AFC Wimbledon added: “A true legend of the Club, Joe gave us some amazing memories that we treasure.”

Former Premier League striker John Harton, who played under Kinnear at Wimbledon, said: “Sad news hearing that my ex-boss Joe Kinnear has passed away.. My thoughts are with Joe’s wife Bonnie and the Kinnear…

Newcastle United Women lost 2-1 to Hashtag United at Luton’s Kenilworth Road to miss out on the FA Women’s National League Cup.

This would have been Newcastle’s first cup trophy since the takeover, and comes amidst heavy investment from the new ownership in the women’s team.

Head coach Becky Langley made three changes against fellow third-tier side Hashtag United, including recalling striker Bridget Galloway in place of Paige Bailey-Gayle.

A horrible own goal from Hashtag United left-back Malika Apindia opened the scoring, slicing a cross straight into her net after 17 minutes.

However, Hashtag struck back moments later, midfielder Macey Nicholls volleying home brilliantly from the edge of the box.

Though Newcastle remained in the ascendancy, Hashtag goalkeeper Frankie Angel was in excellent form, making big saves from Jasmine McQuade and Katie Barker.

That resilience was rewarded when Sammy Rowland created Hashtag’s lone second-half chance — getting to the byline, drawing goalkeeper Grace Donnelly, and squaring for Phoebe Williams to put the Essex side in front with 20 minutes remaining.

Though substitute Bailey-Gayle had a late chance to win it, and went down amidst penalty appeals, Hashtag held on to win their first trophy at this level.

Newcastle’s attention will…

Newcastle United and winning something; call it the great obsession, call it a ferocious yearning, call it part of the psyche, call it the ultimate contradiction, call it whatever the hell you want, but it hasn’t happened, not since 1955 for a domestic trophy of any significance, which almost seems careless. And now, let them call time on it, which is precisely what Becky Langley’s women’s team intend to do this weekend.

Their shoulders do not bear the weight of 69 pot-less years — 55, if we take Europe and the now defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as the starting point — and do not deserve to. Newcastle’s women’s team have their own context and history to draw upon, although there are some caveats here. With the women no longer an afterthought after officially being brought under the club’s ownership two years ago, it is now one enterprise. The big idea is that success and pain are shared.

Should Langley’s side lift the FA Women’s National League Cup at Premier League side Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road, where they face Hashtag United tomorrow (Saturday), it would mean something and stand for something. Since the takeover at Newcastle in October 2021, resources have been poured into the women’s operation; this season, they became the first team in the third…

Newcastle United are 10th in the 20-team Premier League. For many other clubs in many other seasons, that would represent one giant, “meh” — the very definition of mid-table mediocrity.

Not for head coach Eddie Howe and his team, however. Their 2023-24  has been a compilation of soaring highs and crushing lows, with misfortune a constant companion, often at Newcastle’s invitation.

After two difficult transfer windows, after finding themselves constricted by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), after battling against a sapping list of injuries, Sandro Tonali’s long suspension, and with Dan Ashworth, their sporting director, heading to Manchester United, it feels like they are approaching a crossroads, on and off the pitch.

The loss at Chelsea on Monday was deflating and familiar. Last season’s team of front-footed swarmers are routinely making life difficult for themselves and easy for their opponents.

Before Saturday’s daunting trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals — Newcastle’s final tilt at winning silverware this season (for the men’s team, anyway) — The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and George Caulkin assess what has gone wrong since the summer, where things stand and what they expect from the final two months of the…

Permanent concussion substitutions will be introduced into the laws of football, the game’s lawmakers have confirmed.

The measure, which has been trialled in a number of competitions such as the Premier League, Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship and FA Cup, will come into effect from July 1, 2024.

Teams will be able to use additional substitutions, outside of their allotted amount, if any player is showing signs of a concussion, regardless of the number of changes they have made already.

However, a trial for temporary concussion substitutions — a measure which has been called for by the Premier League as well as players’ unions — was not approved at the annual general meeting of The International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Scotland on Saturday.

It is understood the Premier League remain of the view that permitting professional leagues to trial temporary concussion substitutes will significantly benefit player welfare and the sport.

Scottish Football Association CEO, Ian Maxwell, said: “Regarding permanent concussion substitutions, the trial we’ve run is effectively concluded and that is now enshrined in the laws of the game.

“It will be for competitions to determine whether they want to use permanent concussion substitutes, as per the…

The game begins and the week ends with team talks, both of them held on the pitch in tight circles. One is delivered in the moments before kick-off by Amber-Keegan Stobbs, the Newcastle United captain. “First tackle, hit them hard,” she yells at her fellow players over the clamour of clapping and loudspeakers. “Second tackle, hit them harder. Everything we do, we do together.”

The other is less urgent and comes after the final whistle. Newcastle, who are in the third tier of women’s football, have won. They are top of their league. “I’m so proud of you,” Amanda Staveley, one of the club’s co-owners, says. “You’ve come so far.” The players jostle her and giggle, dancing in celebration. She groans and joins in.

Between the huddles, Staveley stands in front of Box 6 at Kingston Park stadium, home of the Newcastle Falcons rugby union team, watching the match and discussing budgets with Su Cumming, the head of women’s football. As children, neither were permitted to play. Now, they allow others to fulfil their dreams, handing out professional contracts.

Stobbs is one. A Newcastle fan from south London who was named after Kevin Keegan, she is living her “second act”. “There have been plenty of times in my life when I thought, ‘What am I here for?’…

It’s raining in Galicia, with drops running down the windows at Celta Vigo’s recently opened Cidade Deportiva Afouteza training ground.

Bounding into the media room comes Rafa Benitez, still wearing his ‘RB’ personalised shorts and jersey, having just taken training with Celta — his 14th job in almost three decades managing at the top level.

Over that time, Benitez has won 13 trophies with six clubs in three countries, with highlights including two La Liga titles and the 2003-04 UEFA Cup with Valencia, the 2004-05 Champions League with Liverpool and the 2012-13 Europa League with Chelsea.

The 63-year-old took on a new challenge last summer, joining Celta on a three-year contract, and the team from Spain’s far north-west are currently 17th in the 20-team La Liga table, with wobbling champions Barcelona coming to town this weekend.

Benitez warmly welcomes The Athletic to his new workplace for an interview that often returned to one major theme — the importance of timing and opportunity in the career of a coach or manager.

This is an edited transcript of the conversation.

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The Athletic: Vigo seems quite like Liverpool — the rain, the river, the port…

Benitez: When I speak with my wife, who is there in Liverpool, I tell her, ‘It’s raining’. And she says, ‘Of…

Dan Ashworth has informed Newcastle United that he has been approached by Manchester United in relation to the sporting director position at Old Trafford.

The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Manchester United have made Ashworth their top target, with the situation expected to develop rapidly.

Formal contact is yet to take place between the clubs, although that is anticipated soon and the 52-year-old is said to be open to the opportunity.

The matter is complicated by Ashworth being under contract on Tyneside and that makes it likely Manchester United would need to pay significant compensation to secure his services.

Ashworth joined Newcastle United after resigning from his post as technical director at Brighton & Hove Albion in February 2022, then serving three months of gardening leave.

He moved to Brighton in 2019 following a spell as technical director at the Football Association, where he started in 2012 and played a key role in the development of the men’s and women’s national teams.

Ashworth has generated a strong reputation in areas such as player recruitment and the building of high-performance structures, which would be important remits if this potential switch happens.

It would come against the backdrop of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman and founder of the petrochemical…