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Charlton women news - Karen Hills is WSL2 Manager of the Year 2026 (p202)
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Well that was well deserved after the season Karen her staff & especially these girls have had,each n everyone has played a part in the uprising of the mighty Addicks…from looking like missing out on the prize so very cruelly after being around the very top for pretty much most of season…we ran out of steam against big teams with big money & big players,but they found that last big push…that game was never going to pretty in that heat & what was at stake,but our girls & the management got us there…Sophie Whitehouse has now made herself a legend between them posts,but the squad over the season all dug in…it’s gonna be tough to see who stays or who goes,but who ever they are Cafc Women need us to get behind them,along with the owners,I’m well up for that ride,I get & got to as many games as I could but this time round…season ticket purchased..
Well done Girls…❤️🤍
Cmon U Addicks..12 -
A huge thank you must go to Stephen King for his backing for well over a decade before we went fully professional. Without him, we wouldn't have had today.30
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Very much THIS!Desmond Oulu said:A huge thank you must go to Stephen King for his backing for well over a decade before we went fully professional. Without him, we wouldn't have had today.6 -
Pleased for the lot of them but a bit of a roll call:
Muya and Macateer were excellent first half
Newsham cheering them on from the sidelines
Gutted for N’Dow missing out today but Skeels and Lobata stood firm.
Hutton ran herself into the ground.
Fab to have Carla back on the pitch.
All of them put in a real shift and somehow came back stronger in extra time when I feared tanks were empty. But then as Karen said, pain is temporary.
And Sophie has that touch of goalkeeping madness and resilience to add to her immense talent.
So very pleased for Karen, all the coaching staff and back room team. A remarkable achievement on one of the smallest budgets in the league.
Think I’ve received more messages from friends and family taking notice than I did for the men last year. And one friend told me The Greyhound pub in Woolwich went crazy when we won.Roll on Lessi Russo back at The Valley next season.We’ve got to aim for target 5K average imho.19 -
We weren't going to do it any other way, were we?
If I'm being blunt, that was a horrible watch, as neither we nor Leicester produced much attacking threat. We went into this game having had three weeks to stew over the Birmingham result, and were forced into multiple changes through injury and suspension. We had to do without our classy centre-back N'Dow, our midfield enforcer Flannery and our hard-tackling right-back Newsham, and we had several players in unfamiliar positions, but they can all be proud of how they played. Hutton was a willing runner up front, Fitzgerald filled in (wo)manfully at right-back, and (after a slightly shaky start) Lobato stepped up impressively in N'Dow's absence. I was a bit worried when Kenney moved over to the right, especially as Leicester had brought on Neville on the left, who was given a lot of space and looked like one of the few players on the pitch who might offer a bit of quality. But it allowed Ross to play in central midfield when she came on, and she did a good job to help us stay compact and keep Leicester's opportunities to a minimum.
When Lockwood's shot came back off the bar and the rebound was ruled out for offside, I feared it might not be our day, particularly as Leicester then put a bit more pressure on during the second half of extra time and that was when we'd conceded against Liverpool. But I'd reckoned without Sophie Whitehouse, whose achievements in this game (not forgetting the save in the first half) are instantly as iconic for our women's team as Sasa Ilic's were in 1998 for our men's team. Getting her to sign a new contract might already be one of the best bits of business we do this summer, though of course we'll need a LOT more.
You could see why Leicester finished bottom of the WSL, and I think Birmingham and Palace were better than them. But we still had to fight very hard, in energy-sapping heat, to hold them off - and no one has known how to fight better than us in the WSL2 this season. It's appropriate that Nathan Jones was there to watch, because the women's and the men's teams really are cut from the same cloth, and this season this club has shown that being financial underdogs doesn't mean you can't be successful.
To Karen Hills and the players: what you have achieved is absolutely phenomenal. THANK YOU!
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Depends how much they have available. Spending on the women's team doesn't count for EFL or Premier League financial fair play rules so if they have enough available to spend whatever they're allowed to then spending on the women doesn't affect that. If the limit on their spending comes from their own cashflow rather than from league rules, there's a potential for the two budgets to conflict.se9addick said:
Any risk that the owners “injecting equity” into the women’s team will detract from how much can be spent on the men’s team this summer?CAFC_boi said:
TV income is about £10-£15m split between the clubs which is the main one.se9addick said:Brilliant stuff!
Is there a big difference in tv money/sponsorship in WSL? Will the owners need to put their hands deeper into their pockets to make the team competitive at the level above?I think the hope would be to increase attendances significantly.Average WSL club gets £5-7m revenue per season but that’s massively skewed by the big clubs.We will have the smallest budget in the league by quite some way due to the similar financial restrictions in relation to only being able to spend a percentage of revenue on the squad and our revenue will be tiny.I think owners can eject some equity outside the rules, so realistically they will need to do that if there is any hope.0 -
He also writes a brilliant horror novel.Desmond Oulu said:A huge thank you must go to Stephen King for his backing for well over a decade before we went fully professional. Without him, we wouldn't have had today.
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A Charlton goalkeeper saving multiple penalties - whatever next ! A tremendous performance from Sophie Whitehouse and a gutsy and determined display from the entire team in such energy-sapping conditions. Huge congratulations to Karen, her staff and all the girls.
A great end to the season for the club, following the Under 18s win and the Women’s promotion to the Super League.As an aside, how great did The Valley look in this sunshine ?11 -
Hope he was scouting Sophie WhitehouseCrusty54 said:
Jemma White the Head of Women's Football is to the left of Nathan. If you were Reebok wouldn't you expect her to wearing their kit.fenaddick said:
NJ sat next to Simon Lenegan there
Earlier in the season she thought she could do the job working from home........in Sheffield.
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Congratulations great penalty saves. Game was very tight and I think Leicester looked a bit stronger second half but that effort that hit the bar deserved to win the game for me. Look forward to seeing them up against the best.2
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Good, but not as good as the image of the Oslo stadium with the city and sea in the background, in the Champions League Final.Blucher said:A Charlton goalkeeper saving multiple penalties - whatever next ! A tremendous performance from Sophie Whitehouse and a gutsy and determined display from the entire team in such energy-sapping conditions. Huge congratulations to Karen, her staff and all the girls.
A great end to the season for the club, following the Under 18s win and the Women’s promotion to the Super League.As an aside, how great did The Valley look in this sunshine ?2 -
Sophie Whitehouse won her team the promotion.Great anticipation. She did her homework on their penalty takers. One she wasn’t sure about and was booked for referring to her notes.Great for the women’s team.Glad that Hull beat boro. Just shows how well the men’s team played when we beat them 2-1 at the valley with two superb goals from Kellman and Fevrier.Looking forward to Soton v Boro next season.An appropriate banner for the Southampton supporters could be :1
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I'm still smiling & watching all the content on repeat 😊🤩🗡❤️3
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A win on penalties is always worth the price of admission alone . Well done players and fans.Garrymanilow said:If like me you want to rewatch the penalty shootout and the aftermath. It's interesting, I noticed a lot more about the shootout this time round, mostly because I wasn't watching from behind my fingers this timeFor all his faults you have to credit Sandgaard for the rise of the women’s team.6 -
She signed before she was appointed.Lincsaddick said:
Hope he was scouting Sophie WhitehouseCrusty54 said:
Jemma White the Head of Women's Football is to the left of Nathan. If you were Reebok wouldn't you expect her to wearing their kit.fenaddick said:
NJ sat next to Simon Lenegan there
Earlier in the season she thought she could do the job working from home........in Sheffield.2 -
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What a superb outcome to the season!
Well done the entire squad, and especially Sophie.
Up the Addicks!2 -
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Still here Gaz! Well done to the team for getting over the line today. Our keeper was outstanding in the shoot out.Garrymanilow said:@Jobbers where are you?I still think Karen is not good enough and that hasn’t changed after today.
if we are being honest, both teams were dreadful. We can enjoy the weekend, bits lots of work to do during the summer.5 -
Bottom third budget, playing in the WSL.Jobbers said:
Still here Gaz! Well done to the team for getting over the line today. Our keeper was outstanding in the shoot out.Garrymanilow said:@Jobbers where are you?I still think Karen is not good enough and that hasn’t changed after today.
if we are being honest, both teams were dreadful. We can enjoy the weekend, bits lots of work to do during the summer.
I think I'll trust the judgement of those in charge other yourself tbh14 -
First pen 2:33:500
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They are said to be getting £4 million from the owners.sam3110 said:
Bottom third budget, playing in the WSL.Jobbers said:
Still here Gaz! Well done to the team for getting over the line today. Our keeper was outstanding in the shoot out.Garrymanilow said:@Jobbers where are you?I still think Karen is not good enough and that hasn’t changed after today.
if we are being honest, both teams were dreadful. We can enjoy the weekend, bits lots of work to do during the summer.
I think I'll trust the judgement of those in charge other yourself tbh3 -
Brought a tear to my eye too Dave. Though you must be the first pitch side announcer to say "let's hear from the gaffer" in womens football history!BDL said:
She’s not related… and if you think I have any footballing skill close to Katie’s level then I’d willingly wear a wig!KBslittlesis said:A hell of an emotional day, yes I blubbed. Seeing this team grow over the past five years from VCD to the Valley and the WSL. Wow!Karen deserves all the plaudits, she’s built a squad with a minimal budget. The injuries and suspensions hit us over the last few weeks but they stuck in there and got us over the line.
What a day!
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Not a great watch but the result was the only aim. Well done to all. Another big step forward for the club and the owners3
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Isn't attendance, especially for derby games, going to depend a lot on whether public transportation decides to cooperate with what could be a strange schedule?Weegie Addick said:Pleased for the lot of them but a bit of a roll call:
Muya and Macateer were excellent first half
Newsham cheering them on from the sidelines
Gutted for N’Dow missing out today but Skeels and Lobata stood firm.
Hutton ran herself into the ground.
Fab to have Carla back on the pitch.
All of them put in a real shift and somehow came back stronger in extra time when I feared tanks were empty. But then as Karen said, pain is temporary.
And Sophie has that touch of goalkeeping madness and resilience to add to her immense talent.
So very pleased for Karen, all the coaching staff and back room team. A remarkable achievement on one of the smallest budgets in the league.
Think I’ve received more messages from friends and family taking notice than I did for the men last year. And one friend told me The Greyhound pub in Woolwich went crazy when we won.Roll on Lessi Russo back at The Valley next season.We’ve got to aim for target 5K average imho.1 -
Corrected that for you 🤪.KiwiValley said:
A win on penalties is always worth the price of admission alone . Well done players and fans.Garrymanilow said:If like me you want to rewatch the penalty shootout and the aftermath. It's interesting, I noticed a lot more about the shootout this time round, mostly because I wasn't watching from behind my fingers this timeFor all his faults you have to credit Sandgaard for the rise of the women’s Ladies team.4 -
Nice to see the Women’s team making such a strong case for equality in the game by doing exactly like the Charlton men’s team has always done and made it all way bloody harder than it needed to be!
Got there in the end though.Well done girls. Now do like the men’s team did 25 ish years ago (gulp) and go give the big girls some bloody noses.7 -
This season has been built on defensive resillience. With a limited budget, Hills has done a fantastic job. When we were winning all the time, my gut was telling me two things, well possibly three. That we were not better than the previous season but we had a fantastic keeper and a strong defence. Hills found a way and it was great to see Nathan there. I am very happy with both managers we have. Top of the list next season is going to be some physicality and goals. No easy task but we ae building from a strong defence which is the way to go. My worry is keeping Whitehouse but at least she will be busy and playing the the right level for her next season.9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e24iIk-SPZ4
