The five key areas Newcastle United’s owners have already invested heavily in - plus future plans

One year ago today, Amanda Staveley, just hours after finally brokering Newcastle United’s game-changing takeover, sat down with the local and national media to discuss her exciting plans for the club.

The Magpies co-owner promised investment across all areas and a vision - one to make this proud club one of the biggest powerhouses in world football.

But importantly, she asked for patience. As we know, the revamp of Newcastle United is far from a quick fix, not least after 14 years of neglect under Mike Ashley.

There is still a long way to go, of course, but investment, not just on new signings but the infrastructure of the club, is already high into the millions.

Here, NewcastleWorld takes a look at the FIVE key physical changes since the takeover:

Eddie Howe and his coaching staff

Every manager requires a strong backroom team behind them, and you won’t find Eddie Howe taking any credit without rattling off his backroom staff.

When first appointed in November, Howe brought with his assistant Jason Tindall, first-team coaches Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone, sports scientist Dan Hodges and also retaining Graham Jones’ services. It was a month later Howe sealed the highly-rated capture of performance analyst Mark Leyland from Liverpool.

Celtic weren’t willing to accommodate Howe’s backroom team, and it was for that exact reason why the 44-year-old turned down the Scottish Premiership champions, six months prior to his Newcastle arrival.

Howe is meticulous and has a high attention to detail to ensure the players “every tool that they need to produce their best performances on a consistent basis”.

The support staff behind Howe is continuing to grow, with United recently employing an in-house nutritionist in Andreas Kasper and Andrew Forrester to strengthen the analyst team, as well as additional fitness coaches.

Training ground improvements

There was no exaggeration in saying Newcastle United’s Benton training ground had nothing more than a lick of paint during Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership.

As their Premier League rivals - and even Championship clubs - progressed with the times, the training ground became, in many ways, a laughing stock and barely fit for purpose. Let’s face it, everybody has seen the wheelie bins for ice-baths image.

The owners plan to build a multi-million-pound state-of-the-art training facility elsewhere, with the new site still under consideration, but in the meantime have moved to upgrade the club’s current base.

In a planning application submitted to North Tyneside, Newcastle explained: “Modern professional football demands the provision of bespoke dedicated training facilities to enable teams to compete successfully at the highest levels nationally and internationally.

“The current training facilities available to NUFC fall significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards.

“As part of the continued efforts of NUFC to improve the facilities and environment for its players, and staff working on-site, in the short term the club is looking to invest in redeveloping the current first team training ground by bringing it in line with other Premier League clubs and standards.”

Following approval in June, work is well underway and should be completed early next year with refurbishment expected to ramp up during the World Cup break.

The training ground building (the side closest to the indoor training pitch) is being extended, which will include a purpose-built changing room and hydrotherapy pool.

St James’ Park refurbishment & the return of Shearer’s Bar

The training ground was left untouched by Mike Ashley and St James’ Park wasn’t much better, with Newcastle’s proud home covered in Sports Direct advertisement. So, there was perhaps no finer sight than seeing the blue and red adverts removed, a symbolic way to signal the end of Ashley.

In truth, the refurbishment at St James’ Park has been far from major - but a bit of TLC has meant the world to Newcastle fans, and understandably so.

Murals of Newcastle’s history and landmarks are displayed proudly on the concourse, while things such as TVs, flooring and toilet areas also have also been replaced and have a far brighter look about them.

Shearer’s Bar, designated at the Gallowgate End, has returned after Ashley changed the name to NINE Bar out of spite. And the statue of Newcastle United’s record goalscorer is finally where it belongs on club ground, instead of bizarrely sitting metres outside.

And let’s not forget Wor Flags either, who have created the most spectacular flag displays that have been seen right across the world.

All of those changes have contributed to the happiness of the supporters, who have helped make St James’ Park a fortress once more.

Academy plans in motion

The owners promised investment into the academy - headed by Steve Harper - on day one and via Dan Ashworth’s appointment in June, the wheels have started to turn in recent months.

The number of coaches has increased - Graeme Carrick, brother of Michael, was recently appointed under-18s coach - and the summer transfer window showcased United’s desire to sign the best young talent following the arrivals of Alex Murphy from Galway United and Scotland youth captain Charlie McArthur from Kilmarnock.

Elliot Anderson’s emergence is a timely reminder of what an academy can do and produce. The challenge, now, is to ensure more and more young players follow in Anderson’s footsteps because under the previous ownership, too many players slipped through the net.

The rise of Newcastle United Women

Newcastle United Women, for the first time in its history, officially came under the ownership of Newcastle United Football Club in August, and it is Amanda Staveley’s vision to help transform Becky Langley’s side into a Super League club.

“We want to be in the Women’s Super League as quickly as we can,” Langley told NewcastleWorld. “Amanda’s ambition for both the men’s and women’s teams is to be winning the Champions League, so there’s really no ceiling on where this club can go for the women’s and the men’s side, so we just want to get there as quickly as possible. We’re working really hard behind the scenes to make that happen.

“It will take a lot of investment but it’s all progressive. We recognise we’re still in tier four at the moment so everything has got to be within context. We want to strive to get there as quickly as possible but it will take that emotional investment and care also.”

Currently, the Lady Magpies sit joint-top of the FA Women’s National League Division One North having narrowly missed out on promotion last season. It was during then the undoubted high point emerged when a 22,134-strong crowd watched the Ladies play at St James’ Park for the first time in May.

Attendances have since been on the rise, with the opening few games of this campaign played at Newcastle Falcons’ Kingston Park.

Newcastle Women’s fixture against Bradford City on Sunday, November 27 is due to be staged at St James’ Park, where the target will be to beat the previous attendance total - or perhaps the domestic record 47,367.