The only top-tier WSL side not to have an affiliated professional men’s team, London City were promoted as winners of last season’s Championship.
For now they sit sixth with 12 points – nine points behind leaders Manchester City and eight behind reigning champions Chelsea after eight rounds of games.
Manchester United are third with 17 points, while rival capital outfits Arsenal and Tottenham are only three points better off that London City at this stage.
Victory against Tottenham was their third straight win on home soil, with all four of their wins coming against sides that finished in the bottom half of the table last season.
All four of their defeats have come against last season’s top four of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.
They could hardly be trending any more mid-table if they tried, but London City have higher aspirations.
Promoted sides have dropped straight back to the second tier in the past two seasons, with Bristol City and Crystal Palace finishing bottom in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively.
Not only are London City on course to avoid following suit, their 12-point haul at this stage of the season has only been bettered by one other promoted side in WSL history.
That was Sunderland, who, with a young Beth Mead scoring goals for fun, collected 15 points after eight games during the eight-team 2015 season. They finished fourth – only collecting five more points in their remaining six games.
Only three other promoted sides have collected 12 points at this stage: Manchester United and Tottenham in 2019-20 and Manchester City – who were given a top-flight place after a reshuffle of the leagues – in 2014.
Godfrey said of the ambitious Lionesses: “We’ve showed that we’re not another team that’s going to get promoted and relegated the next year.
“The direction this club is looking to go is up. We want to show this club is going to be a mainstay in English football for the foreseeable future.”