It is a little over a decade since Warren Barton's offer to help his beloved Newcastle United was met with an 'emphatic no'. The ex-captain had just completed his UEFA Pro Licence in 2008, and suggested scouting on behalf of the Magpies in the USA having made the move stateside.
Barton's initial conversation with then-director of football Dennis Wise was met with a firm refusal, and a second approach received the same response. It was arguably among the first of many decisions which saw the Mike Ashley regime slowly ostracise itself from club legends and the entire fanbase.
But Tyneside is a much happier place now, and Barton is one of several cult heroes who has already received an invitation to St James' Park on behalf of the new owners. The former full-back was in attendance for Newcastle's shock FA Cup defeat to Cambridge United in January, and met briefly with part-owners Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley following the full-time whistle.
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It is six months to the day since the protracted takeover saga reached a remarkably quickfire resolution, and the feel-good factor of the 'Entertainers' and Sir Bobby Robson eras are back. There is a long road ahead, but fans' favourite Barton could not be fulsome in his praise of the new owners' almost immediate impact.
He told ChronicleLive: "When an ownership comes in, it looks to have an impact in the football club. What this ownership has done is rejuvenated the city as a whole.
"Fans are excited about what's going on, they're pleased about the way the six months have gone. Even a small detail such as cleaning the stadium, St James' Park is the heartbeat of Newcastle and the heartbeat of the football club is the fans.
"It's the first time in 14 years you've had everyone going in the right direction. Has it gone smoothly? There's been ups and downs, but every decision has been made in the best interests of the footbal club.
"It's not going to be plain-sailing, the predicament we were in with 14 years of nothing, it's going to take a long while to change. But the impact in six months has been very impressive."
Barton's was joined by fellow club legend Brian Kilcline in the stands for his first taste of this rejuvenated St James' Park. The Fox Sports pundit made it known he would like to visit during a brief return to the UK, and this was swiftly met with an invitation to meet the new owners.
The result somewhat soured this homecoming, but Barton was given a flavour of the vision which has recaptured the imagination lost amidst the apathy of Ashley. He said: "They get it, they get what 'it' is. Going back to Sir John, Kevin, Sir Bobby, when you get that, it's a powerful thing.
"I've seen their impact on social media, their interviews, looking after the womens' team and an interest in the city in general. The talk on the training ground, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, the foodbank - it doesn't surprise me."
Barton has remained in contact with the co-owners since, and this reconnection is just one of a handful of gestures warmly received by the re-engaged Toon Army. The return of Shearer's Bar and the relocation of the legendary number nine's statue was a 'no-brainer', according to his former team-mate.
David Ginola is the latest Newcastle favourite to speak with Ghodoussi and Staveley, despite his impassioned televised rant in the wake of Sunday's humbling at Tottenham. It was a plea which caused a social media stir, and a message which Barton largely echoed.
He said: "I sort of 95% agree with what he said. I wouldn't say we need to scrap everything, I don't agree with that as there's some positives there.
"We've got a foundation, but we need a bigger foundation. I think it was a reality check, and it happened a little bit with the Everton game in the second half. When we're missing three or four starters, we haven't got the depth and quality at the moment.
"David was absolutely right, that wasn't good enough what we saw out there, conceding goals so quickly and so cheaply. We have seen that with Eddie [Howe] and what he wants to do, and how he is going to try and implement it, but there are games at the moment we can't go toe-to-toe how we used to."
Seeing the likes of Barton, Ginola and Shearer engage once more with the club is among the most heartwarming sights from the new administration so far. But the 53-year-old is wary of wallowing in nostalgia, and believes the owners have already ticked the box for their most important reconnection.
He added: "We have to be careful, it's great to reminisce but we didn't win anything. We had a great time and a great affinity with the club.
"That's something to be proud of, it's all wonderful things but all things Newcastle should be doing. We shouldn't have to reminisce 20 years down the line, we should be thinking where we are going now.
"We've always said we just want the best for Newcastle, and the fans and the club gave us so much more back. We feel now an obligation as ex-players to give something back.
"Whether it's in the academy, the reserves, or whether it's going to Shearer's bar and having pictures outside, I don't really care. Whatever we can do to help, we are more than willing to do."
Three straight defeats have tempered the rising expectations that always seemed incongruous with a squad that did not taste victory until December. Newcastle remain seven points clear of the relegation zone, and Howe has been praised for his work with a tired squad given an adrenaline shot by an extravagant January spend.
For Barton though, it isn't the tactics, the identity, the results or the performances which standout under the new coach. The pundit said: "We can analyse tactics and substitutions, that's the beauty of the game and we do that with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
"But Eddie gets 'it', he gets driving past someone at 11pm and signing autographs, he gets talking to the fans, he gets being proud to be manager of this football club. Some people say that, and have said it in the past, but he gets what it is.
"For me, that's so important. It's a special football club. People don't understand it, it isn't a football club like anywhere else. You can't put your finger on it, when you're up there, you feel it."
The job is not done yet, but Newcastle's survival prospects look a lot rosier than they did six months ago. The hectic January window was just the first of many significant hurdles for the owners to negotiate, with filling the CEO and director of football vacancies currently on the agenda.
Newcastle already feels a more settled club and a city, and there is a widespread acknowledgement that fans have only seen the first steps of an extensive and time-consuming rebuild. However, Barton sees no reason why the club can not enjoy a rapid revival on the back of an impressive six-month start.
He said: "People say it's a long-term plan, but I'm not always a believer in that. Look at Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson, two teams that were struggling but within a year or 18 months, they totally transformed the face of the club.
"If you've got that finance, your scouting network is good and you understand what you're looking for, you can turn things around pretty quickly. Please don't tell me West Ham, Wolves and even to an extent Leicester have a better plan than we should have.
"There's a lot of things behind the scenes that you maybe don't get the value of straight away. That's what you need for that long-term vision, and when I spoke to the owners, that's what they were talking to about.
"They only have so many pairs of hands, but there's a lot of things that have to happen. The summer time is normally a time to rest, but I think that's going to be the hardest time for everybody in the football club to get to where we want to be."
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