O Neill

There's an inevitability in this. The North-East is likely to change in much the same way that Edinburgh has over the last five years. Up here, Hibernian were always the top women's club, closely followed by Spartans, and then Hearts in a distant third. However, Hearts have ploughed money in over the last few years, and are now the best side by far, while Hibs have had to settle for second and Spartans, who have no money to spend, are a good bit behind now. Just looking at the three teams in the North-East, it's hard not to see Durham going a similar route to Spartans. They won't have the finance to match the other clubs, and I'd suspect Sunderland won't be able or willing to pay what Newcastle can on contracts, and even potentially transfer fees. What often isn't considered though is how the financial input influences the academies. The lure of girls potentially earning a full-time playing contract with a big club, very quickly results in academy growth in terms of volume and quality. The Hearts academy up here has become one of the best in the country within the space of 3 years. Parents pulled their kids out of other academies, to send them to Hearts, pretty much overnight, because suddenly the pathway offered a golden ticket at the end. They have some of the brightest prospects at 14-16 years old in the country. I think you are going to see the same at Newcastle over the next couple of years. Better coaches are going to arrive at academy level, more teams will be created to accommodate development and Newcastle will start to produce the best young players in the region. They are not going to like it along the road, but unfortunately, that's how it is going to be. I think had they managed to get into the WSL this season, they might have delayed Newcastle's ability to overtake them for a few years yet, but at the end of the day, money is always going to the defining factor, particularly in women's football, where it isn't exactly in abundance at this point. I have to admit, though, I don't know a great deal about the model they are operating at Sunderland. It looks intriguingly similar to something that Hibernian were trying to do when other clubs up here first went full-time professional. They had this hybrid model, where a handful of players were on full-time contracts. It meant that the core of their best players were being paid, while they were relying on everyone else viewing the club as their best option for football. What eventually happened is that the best players, who had no real ties to the club, eventually just moved on to clubs who were fully professional. They have since abandoned that model and gone full-time, suggesting that they realised it wasn't going to work longer term. Funnily enough, Aberdeen are running a similar model at the moment, and that has them 7th in the league, and I've heard they are also switching full-time from next season. Back to Sunderland, it does seem, from the match reports that I've read, that they are struggling to draw on the gate. I keep seeing numbers between 300 and 400 for home attendances (except for Durham). If they aren't drawing money on the gate, then I'd guess that most of their finance is reliant on sponsors. That's a fairly common model in the women's game. I would go as far as to guess that they don't receive a huge sum of money from the club itself. I think it'll be quite interesting to see where they sit in five years time. With the Championship now having two relegation spots, the league is going to start to sort itself out much quicker, with plenty big name clubs below, starting to put more money into the women's game. If Sunderland are operating a hybrid model, with what feels like limited investment, I'd imagine that they'd do well to stay in the Championship for that duration. I know there are clubs in there right now, such as London City, Durham, Reading etc who are all likely to disappear first, but as more teams below start to put more money in, it could get interesting.

You can probably get a good idea of the dates of those fixtures already. I would expect a little calendar cooperation will come into play to schedule the Sunderland fixtures on men's international weekends. Probably find the Durham home match is the same.

Durham are pretty much safe as Lewes need 4 points from their last two games, and their next game is at home to table topping Crystal Palace. Similarly, it would be some achievement if Sunderland were to win the league. Home to Charlton next week will be a very tough fixture, with the visitors still in the promotion hunt themselves. They've lost the least amount of games this season, too. If they can win that one, then the final day trip to Palace will be a cracker. I don't think it'll go down to the last game, though. I reckon they'll struggle to see off Charlton, and Palace will win the league next week at Lewes.

I think they'll be alright. Getting the first goal will be critical. I think the ball hitting the back of the net will ease the pressure and any sort of tension building in the ground will evaporate if they can get on top early on. It's a little sad that so many people feel the need to share their opinions on social media, particularly as replies to posts from the club. As I've said before, football is a game of opinions. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts on particular players and incidents. However, there is a time and a place for sharing those thoughts with others, and an appropriate manner in which to do so. The big concern I've always had with social media is that it allows people a platform to speak without fear of any consequences, often with a channel to reach the subject of their thoughts. Constructive opinions and educated debate are one thing. Directing abuse towards or ridiculing someone is a different matter entirely. It's positive to hear that the club seem to be on top of it. On the similar situation up here, this is absolutely brilliant. Rangers captain, and Scotland international fullback, Nicola Docherty has come out in support of Partick Thistle's young goalkeeper, Ava Easdon, after people have been piling on via social media.

I think the important thing right now is to focus on the present. Newcastle have built a squad that is probably not good enough for the second tier, but is absolutely excellent for the third tier level they are playing at. The current players have put in an outstanding effort to get themselves into a position where they can win the league in the next few weeks, should they continue to win football matches. However, it has to be noted that the job is not done yet, and both the players and coaching staff will be desperate to show that the weekend was a blip and that they can get right back on course this Sunday. What I feel is key, is not to let the final defeat cause a loss of momentum with the support. There have been some really poor comments over the last few days, many of which are ill-informed and coming from people who haven't regularly backed the team until recently. In general, the support this season has been outstanding. The turnout at matches has been huge, for a third tier outfit. Hopefully people realise that with four matches to go, that the girls deserve that support, turning out again to help push them towards the finish line. What happens in the summer, is something to consider tomorrow. It's a distraction that the team doesn't need until after promotion to tier two has been secured. I'm sure there will be some very difficult conversations to be had in the coming months. I've seen it before at Rangers, when they turned full-time professional. There will be mixed emotions in the future, but for now it's important to back the current players towards achieving that phenomenal success that comes first.

It's very frustrating, and in a league where two clubs have riches, you quickly get the picture. Not only do they have a first team squad of 30, but they end up with all the youth players in their academies, queuing up in the hope they'll be the next one to get a professional contract. There are so many talented players not playing at the moment, because they are sitting on benches, or on the sidelines, or playing in youth leagues that they are too good for.

To put things into context. Ava Easdon, who was in goal for Partick Thistle today, is the third choice keeper at Glasgow City and is at Partick on loan this season. She's only 17, and looks far from the finished article. I've seen her play for the Scotland U19 national team, and she looked to be struggling at that level. She's not playing every week at the top level, and has featured mostly in games against the relegation threatened clubs, where she hasn't really had as much to do. Partick were forced to play her as the club don't actually have their own goalkeeper, due to the big three clubs (Rangers, Celtic and Glasgow City) hoarding mass amounts of players, on full-time contracts, in the hope of being able to sell them on. Partick's first choice keeper is Megan Cunningham, but she's on loan from Rangers, and since they pay her a full-time wage, and Partick are not in the financial position to pay any player a full-time professional contract, they are stuck with loaning from the big clubs, if they want to be able to compete in the top division. And if that isn't bad enough, they drafted in a third keeper on loan for a week from Celtic, to sit on the bench today. Why that was allowed is anyone's guess, but given the shambles that SWPL as a collective is, I'm hardly surprised by it.

Finding a good goalkeeper is tough, and it can often involve a bit of risk. There's a temptation to try to lure someone in that's on the bench at a bigger club, but often those keepers are untested. Watched my club bring in an U19 international on loan for a few months. She was the third keeper at her parent club, and came with a massive reputation as being the 'next big thing', having played plenty of first team games for that club. The catch is that the games she played, she wasn't really being tested in terms of her shot stopping, or distribution. For the most part, she'd spend 90 minutes standing there watching. In four games with us, she conceded three goals above her head, right down the middle of the goal. After returning to her parent club, she was shipped out within a week, as they'd clearly decided she wasn't going to be their next keeper.

I think the future has a lot of uncertainty still. The whole NewCo thing needs figuring out yet, before they get to expanding what they have. My best guess is that it may be three seasons before they jump to 16 teams. With the NewCo taking over the independent running of the game next season, I don't expect many changes. The year after, I would imagine they'll really start pushing the commercial side of the product. Then it'll be in year three that they try to expand it. That's probably good timing for a club like Newcastle. I'm considering putting together a post on a few players Newcastle may consider looking at, who are currently plying their trade up here. It's fairly common now for players in the SWPL to make the move to the English second tier if they have ambitions of going further with their careers. These days there are full-time contracts available up here with five, maybe six of the top twelve clubs, but there are plenty of players who have an eye on heading South, because ultimately they have ambitions of playing in a league where every game is very competitive as opposed to the awkward SWPL setup that has three top teams, two below that and then another seven. Newcastle has already taken a few back down South. Dodds having played at Glasgow City, Bartle at Celtic and Potts with Hibernian. There is definitely still some good quality in the league here, and probably bargains to be had.

It's ridiculously tight at the top of the WSL2. Four teams with a single point between them, but Palace and Charlton have a game in hand. Sunderland have them both to play in the final two fixtures next month. It's also good at the other end of the table, with two clubs now going down. Watford look doomed, but there are only four points between Durham in 8th and Lewes in 11th. Quite intriguing to see ex Newcastle player Brianna Westrup at Sunderland. She was made captain of Rangers in the season they won the league up here, and was also voted their player of the season. She left under a bit of a cloud, with suggestions that she rated herself much more highly than the club did. I always thought she looked really solid, and the club has struggled to replace her since, despite bringing in Kathryn Hill from Durham. I wonder if she could be tempted back to Newcastle next season? I think Durham's survival probably hinges on the away trip to Reading. I can't see them getting much out of Palace or Birmingham. Would be a shame to lose them, but I think it's becoming clear that teams without significant investment are slowly going to drift out of WSL2, being replaced by more familiar names in the next few years. Although, that might change somewhat if they decide to expand the WSL, which is quite possible. I don't think it's going to be too long before they push for 16 teams in the top tier, and I suspect the second tier might follow that if there are clear signs that more clubs are investing to go full-time.

Not far away from what I guessed. Goal difference of +21, but only 36 goals scored, while Portsmouth above them have a GD of 59 and have scored 66 in the league. Being fair, it does average out to around two goals per game scored and one conceded. Obviously, I have next to no knowledge of that league, but would have thought that the bottom teams might have taken a few smashings from the top sides given they haven't won any games all season.

I thought Hashtag looked awful if I'm honest. They reminded me a lot of Partick Thistle up here. A handful of decent players, but well-organised and physically big. They look like they would bully teams at this level out of matches, but not score many goals in the process. Can imagine they win plenty of games 1-0, and few by more than two goals. That type of football is effective up to a certain level. Then suddenly you find that every team in the league is able to match up physically, but also has better technical ability as well. At that point, 1-0 wins dry up and become losses.

That was the point I was trying to express in my post last night. As much as I know people want to be optimistic about this group of girls and what they have achieved the last two seasons, the next step is a massive move up in quality. I feel that when you are seeing one particular level on a regular basis, it's difficult to get perspective on how big a difference there is at the next level up. You can also often watch a game at the tier above, and not realise that a team that looks poor at that level is still a better side than one from the division below.

I have done a handful of times for the agency @OpenC. I know the club snapper, Colin, from years gone by, shooting at SJP. Nice guy, and he's been covering NE women's football for longer than I've been doing Scottish football. I may actually ask if the agency has any interest in seeing the trophy being handed over, should it come to that at Kingston Park. I'm actually a little surprised that they've clamped down on that. I'm not aware that tier 3 is covered by DataCo. I've only ever seen the WSL mentioned in communications, but the media rights are always a minefield as you go down the pyramid. Most snappers are covered under the licence of the agency they are shooting for. Eg. Every snapper that works with the same agency that I do, is able to photograph Premier League, even if they on their own merit wouldn't be able to, because the agency itself holds the licence and can send anyone. When you get down to the non-league, it gets really messy as to which licences you need to hold as an individual. By comparison, up in Scotland it's an outright free-for-all. You don't even need any sort of licence to do a top level men's game. Just get the nod from the club and you are fine. All that said, I still don't see why dSLRs aren't permitted in the stands at that level. It's not like there's a safety concern, and you aren't going to be taking money out of anyone's pocket shooting from the stand. The only thing you are in danger of doing is promoting the game in a manner that might see more people turn up. Football is very much about opinions, and on some of those I agree. But on others, I can say from what I've seen that I don't think so. I'd be worried on your rating system if you really believe Charlotte Potts can play at WSL level. I watched her struggle up here against WSL2 loanees like Charlie Wellings (Reading), Zoe Ness (formerly Durham) and Sarah Ewens (formerly London City). I'd be happy to suggest that some of the challenges were in the team she was playing with, and the management. However, she never stood out in this league, which makes it hard for me to think she'd be capable at WSL level. That does not mean I don't think she's a good player. I think she's solid enough, there were signs of a good player in there for sure. I think she'll do a decent job at WSL2 level, as she's reliable, and with the right players around her, I've no doubt she'll play better than she did up here. I'll also be happy to take any criticism back if I'm wrong. We've all seen decent players, look poor in certain teams. If you had told me Luuk de Jong would win European Cups back in 2014, I'd have laughed at you. I've seen a lot of the WSL2 over the last few years. Both matches down South where I've gone specifically to see girls who I've worked with up here, and teams coming up in pre-season for friendlies against Scottish clubs. One thing is for certain, it's a fast improving level. Go back five years and high-end WSL clubs were coming up here and being seen off by our best teams. Now mid-tables WSL2 teams are coming up, and we can't get the ball off them, or into their final third. Over the last few seasons I've seen Durham, Sunderland, Charlton, Palace, Birmingham, Blackburn and Sheffield United. What I've been particularly impressed with is just how quickly those teams press out of possession and how successful they are at turning the ball back over. They also don't give it away cheaply often, either. It's difficult to compare between levels, because you can only compete against the opposition in front of you, but I'm not convinced Newcastle has the consistency in intensity or physicality to compete with some of the sides I've seen on a week-to-week basis. Am I saying this current Newcastle side would get relegated? Absolutely not. I think the first eleven would survive fine, but it is a squad game, and I don't believe the intent going up will be to come 7th or 8th. I saw Newcastle at the start of this season play against Hibernian in a friendly at Meadowbank. I would say it is probably the most competitive game I've seen between a SWPL team and an English team in the last few years. Hibs had more of the game in the first half, Newcastle were better in the second. However, I also saw Charlton play the same Hibs team behind closed doors, and it was a frighteningly one-sided affair. Just based on my experiences of what I've seen from Newcastle, I do think if they want to compete at the upper end of the league, then they are going to have to strengthen significantly to do so. The jump in quality is bigger than most people think it is, more so than I thought before, having seen a few of the pre-season games back in July/August. I'm just sharing my thoughts based on what I've seen. What's most important before any of that is that this Newcastle United side goes on to achieve success, not just in tomorrow's final, but in winning the league. There are no certainties in football, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse, however things look promising.

They need to be up for it. As grim as this is going to sound, for most of the girls in the squad, this final and the league win will more than likely be their final chapters with Newcastle. I've seen it a couple of times over the last five years, where clubs have put money in, reached a particular level, and then cleaned out the squad to take them forward. It's a harsh process, and horrible to observe, but also necessary at some stage. I think from what I've seen this season that the current squad would struggle at WSL2 level, so I'm expecting this summer they'll make sweeping changes, because I believe the club wants to not only exist in WSL2, but start to compete from the moment they arrive.