It’s derby day for Newcastle United Women, who face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Some pre-match reading here - a week behind the scenes with Tanya Oxtoby and her team in the build-up to matchday, with insight from players and staff. #NUFC
I spent a week at Cochrane Park with Newcastle United Women as they prepared for matchday.
Lots of voices in this, which is really a story about the players and staff who are trying to push #NUFC into the WSL. Full feature:
I spent a week at Cochrane Park with Newcastle United Women as they prepared for matchday.
Lots of voices in this, which is really a story about the players and staff who are trying to push #NUFC into the WSL. Full feature:
🎶 My interview with former #NUFC midfielder Vurnon Anita - on making music under the name JR, the process of writing lyrics, why it’s not easy to be expressive as a footballer, Curaçao reaching the World Cup, retirement and his time at St. James’ Park.
Thanks to Paul Dummett for this interview about what it feels like to become a former footballer. We spoke about retirement, #NUFC, the goal that changed his life, the medical procedure he had in the summer, being 7/10, property and becoming a fan again (he’s heading to Bayer Leverkusen next week).
Enjoyed being part of this behind-the-scenes piece about Bruno Guimarães, brilliantly shot and produced by our video team. #NUFC
Ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby, an interview with Georgia Gibson - on her new role at Newcastle United Women, reaching “a point when I knew my journey was kind of done” before leaving as a player, writing a children’s book and her letter to #NUFC teammates.
Thank you to #NUFC’s Hannah Hawkins for speaking so openly and movingly about her twin sister, Ellen, who died by suicide four years ago. We also spoke about her time in the police and becoming a mum to twins in February. A long read:
My interview with David Hopkinson, #NUFC’s new CEO. “We will execute strategies - I assure you. We will grow - I have absolute confidence in that. But the first job is to listen, and to really understand.”
Some pre-match reading - an interview with Eddie Howe, on the importance of “having something to escape to”, controlling emotions in a deeply emotional place, culture, his pride, the here and now at #NUFC and thinking of his late mum after lifting the Carabao Cup.
It was a real pleasure to work alongside our video team on this feature-length, behind-the-scenes piece with Sandro Tonali and his partner Giulia. #NUFC
Some #NUFC pre-match reading - freeman of Northumberland Dan Burn on his lifechanging fortnight, the baby goat, BDB Walk, the Carabao Cup final, England, dreams being realised, history, the World Cup, lots of emotion and some welcome normality.
🏴 As he makes his England debut, here’s some more Dan Burn content, featuring Asda, “I thought I had a bit of a surfer boy look” & winning his first game for #NUFC: “I was like, ‘whatever happens now, I've always got this’.” A lot’s happened since…
I hope it paints a clear picture of Burn and the path he had to take. “With the journey I’ve had to have ended up playing here, it’s crazy really when you think about it. It shouldn’t ever have happened.” Also features a Dodge Ram and John Cena…
So happy for Dan Burn. A brilliant story but he deserves this call-up (and it probably should have come sooner). This, from last season, veered into ‘love letter’ territory at the end, but it’s my favourite of many interviews I’ve done with him over the last few years. #NUFC
This is Amber’s story, from July 2024, which is referenced in the interview. #NUFC
It was great to see Newcastle United Women captain Amber-Keegan Stobbs again at @nufoundation.bsky.social as she became an ambassador for the charity this week. Here’s an interview about that role, the impact of sharing her story back in July - and March’s Tyne-Wear derby at St. James’ Park. #NUFC
You can read the full interview with one of the most significant figures in Newcastle United Women’s recent history here. #NUFC
This season has been trickier for Gibson but she retains belief. “We’ve had really heavy transitions of personnel in and out for the last couple of seasons. I personally still back myself. I still see myself as in the mix in terms of challenging to be starting and playing every week.”
Since joining in 2020, Gibson has been a common denominator in a hugely successful period for #NUFC, averaging over a goal every other game and delivering many memorable moments. “I would never have imagined the last four-and-a-half years would go the way they have.”
Many of her students would come to watch her play for #NUFC. “They weren’t just interested - they were following, they were invested,” she says. “That’s when I felt like I am actually inspiring, and giving them something to be inspired by.”
It has not come without sacrifice. She had to give up her job as a teacher at Newcastle High School for Girls to become a professional footballer when the Magpies’ women’s team went full time in 2023.
Diego Maradona watched a teenage Gibson score a penalty in a women’s league game in Dubai and approached her after the final whistle. “In football,” he told the 15-year-old, “you will do very well.” Earlier this month, she played her 100th game for #NUFC.
My first post on Bluesky. Thanks for following!
Here’s an interview with Georgia Gibson - on reaching 100 appearances for Newcastle United Women, growing up in Dubai, leaving teaching to become a professional footballer and her encounter with a legendary figure... #NUFC