Jordan Nobbs: 'It would be job done' if Newcastle secure WSL promotion

Jordan Nobbs said during Newcastle's pre-season that winning promotion to the Women's Super League would be "job done" for her footballing wishlist. The former England midfielder made the remark as she outlined the club's ambitions ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Nobbs, who has 71 England caps and was born in Stockton-on-Tees, described the arrival of a top-tier club from the north-east as a personal ambition and a boost for regional women’s football. Newcastle ended last season sixth in WSL2, 11 points behind title winners Birmingham and nine points short of a playoff place, and have strengthened their squad this summer by signing Martha Thomas from Tottenham and Leanne Kiernan and Gemma Evans from Liverpool.

Asked about targets for the season, Nobbs said: "It is promotion. I know we said it last season [too]." She added that while the side produced strong displays last term, converting draws into wins would be crucial: "Looking back on last season, we had some really good performances but nine draws, so I think that’s too many points [dropped]. So it’s just about focusing on finding a way to win. We’ve just got to build on the good stuff from last season, I don’t think we’re far off it."

Speaking of her personal ambitions, Nobbs said: "[Winning promotion with Newcastle], I’ve always said it would be like job done, like it would, it really would. There wouldn’t be many [more] tick boxes that I think I could possibly do. I think to get a northern team promoted … I mean as soon as I heard from Newcastle I was like, that is exactly what I want to do. I felt like, in the WSL, I’d ticked as much as I possibly could, so I think to get a north-east team, which we all had to leave back in the day, promoted would be an achievement that I would love. So we’re praying."

Nobbs began her career at Sunderland, breaking into their side in the old top flight before moving to Arsenal when the WSL was launched in 2011 after Sunderland's application to join the breakaway division was rejected. That decision contributed to the breakup of a successful Sunderland side that also featured Lucy Bronze and Lucy Staniforth, although Sunderland later returned to the top tier between 2015 and 2018.

On the broader regional picture, Nobbs welcomed recent investment at Newcastle and among WSL2 rivals, noting the takeover of one opponent by Bay Collective this year. "I think it’s been a long time coming, but it was something that us northerners have always wanted," she said. "We don’t want the north-east to fizzle out. We want to show the players that have come from there and developed there. It’s definitely grown in the right direction now, which is what we wanted. But I think the big stepping stone would be getting into the WSL. That would be where we really put the north-east back on the map and I’d love to be a part of that."

Nobbs also reflected on her role under manager Tanya Oxtoby, contrasting her position at Newcastle with the one she occupied at Aston Villa. "Obviously with Villa I played a lot of a deeper role and [now] I really love being back in my high position, scoring goals, assisting and [I’m] kind of in my happy place. I feel like I found that little spark again [last season] that was nice."

Nobbs reiterated that promotion is the explicit objective for the upcoming campaign and concluded her remarks by returning to the aspirational tone: "So we’re praying."