When Newcastle United's Saudi-backed takeover was finally confirmed after 14 months of struggle, heartache and anxiety the explosion of joy on Tyneside was palpable.

In some ways, the sale - which got rid of Mike Ashley after an awful chapter in the club's illustrious history - was more of a relief than anything else. Fans weren't just celebrating the arrival of new owners they were elated at the exit of the man who'd taken the club down twice.

Yet takeovers don't always go to plan and can sometimes be a false dawn. Newcastle fans should know!

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That was the case in 2007 when "ambitious" Ashley, the sports retail tycoon that wanted to win things, turned up and drank with fans on the Bigg Market. Within a year or so, it was obvious that this wasn't going work out well at St James' Park.

The bitter Kevin Keegan affair, Dennis Wise, Andy Carroll's exit, two relegations and two doses of Joe Kinnear is probably only the tip of the iceberg with Ashley. Other clubs like Portsmouth, Sunderland, Everton and Leeds have all suffered at the hands of owners who weren't able to deliver the goods for supporters.

Rewind back to October 7, 2021 though and it was obvious that things were changing for the better at St James' Park. For a start, the takeover hadn't officially been confirmed but the media access gates were unlocked to Press.

Chronicle Live was invited to meet Amanda Staveley and board members at Jesmond Dene House before she'd even been handed the keys. And within a day this publication was handed an open letter from Yasir Al-Rumayyan to relay to supporters telling them to: "Expect ambition".

That has been backed up with the appointment of one of English football's brightest managers in Eddie Howe and a spend of around £400million with more to come. Old transfer policies were ripped up and stars like Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon have been signed.

Impressively, the coaching work of Howe and his backroom team have managed to dovetail big signings with existing talent like Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Fabian Schar and Miguel Almiron. On the field Howe has delivered by keeping Newcastle up in 2022 and turning the club from relegation certs to an 11th place side.

Then last year - in his first full season - Newcastle scooped a Champions League place and a trip to Wembley in the Carabao Cup final for the first major showpiece since 1999. This season already there have been major highlights like battering Paris St-Germain, the 8-0 win over Sheff United and getting past Man City in the Carabao Cup in a tie many had written off.

Toon supremo Al-Rumayyan has made his feelings clear on where the club go next, saying this year: "I think we should have an ambition and aspiration to be number one."

With Howe's team on a six-game unbeaten run and even an injury hit Newcastle side scaling the heights of the Champions League, two years in, it has been about success on the field. The celebrations outside St James' Park that day were not a false dawn.