"No noise from the Saudi boys" rang around St James' Park in October last year as Steve Bruce's team lost at home to Spurs.
The Public Investment Fund which owns 80% of the club has remained largely silent since, preferring to let its money do the talking.
The new owners showed their determination when they replaced Bruce with Eddie Howe after the defeat by Spurs.
As the new ownership celebrates its one-year anniversary, the PIF governor and the chairman of the Magpies spoke out.
In an open letter to Newcastle fans, he described each season as "a building block towards our objective - to challenge for trophies both domestically and in Europe".
In an interview with a Saudi television station, he appeared to suggest that the two teams could occupy the same area.
He said that it was sold for 3.5 billion dollars. My potential is now at least 3.5 billion dollars.
The "big six" will become the "big seven" following the takeover of Newcastle, according to Todd Boehly, who is friends with the co-owners of the club.
The war in Yemen, alleged human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, and the colour of the club's third kit are just some of the issues that have changed the club.
Some fans will be more interested in how long it will take to get to Boehly's billing, and whether or not they can live up to it.
Al Rumayyan hasn't faced any questions about how close the PIF is to Saudi Arabia.
St James' Park has been visited by a man who looks after £550 billion of assets for the PIF.
Many fans turned their backs on the club, with former owner MikeAshley having to give away discount tickets to keep the stadium full. Supporters are dreaming of Europe, as tickets are like gold dust.
"I don't think I've become any more of a supporter as a result of the takeover but there's been a massive sea change in what actually supporting this club means."
The talk used to be all about the legal stuff. We love football, but it was not the reason for it.
How should we set up in the middle of the field? Looking ahead to the next game. The last year has reminded us of why we love football and it is more entertaining as a fan.
The training ground and dressing rooms have been renovated. The £200m transfer spending on eight players included a record £60 million deal for Alexander Isak, but appointments off the pitch have been seen as equally important.
The recruitment of Dan Ashworth as the club's sporting director was seen as a coup by the previous owners.
The points tally since the takeover puts them in the top six of the league, one point above Manchester United, but they have played more games.
The 3-3 draw against Manchester City showed how entertaining the team is.
Isak, Chris Wood and Bruno Guimaraes are the only other people Howe has spent money on. A recent run of draws and injuries to Allan Saint-Maximin shows the next few transfer windows need to focus on more attacking players if they want to stay in the top tier.
The players are not likely to arrive at the same time. Al Rumayyan referred to thepatience and persistence needed to achieve the goals of the team.
The signing of Isak could signal the beginning of the next phase since forwards are more expensive.
It will be important to bring in more income. The club will need to balance their spending with Financial Fair Play regulations, which is why they are ending their shirt sponsorship early in the season.
Hatem thinks the new owners have taken everyone with them and managed expectations well. "They've not come in and over promised, but said it's a five to 10 year plan and explained how difficult it would be to win the title."
People have bought into the idea that it is a long-term project, looking at the root and branches of the club.
Simple things like painting St James' Park and allowing the women's team to play there improve the club's communication with fans. Fans trust them that it might take a bit longer to get things right at the top end because they have unglamorous, almost sensible corporate things in place.
The club is trying to do something, and fans can see that.
Al Rumayyan wrote in his open letter that progress wouldn't always be smooth.
There have been clear gains on the pitch and within the club, but the spectre of Saudi Arabia remains. The club is owned by a fund chaired by the crown prince.
Some of the more high-profile cases in the country to have drawn criticism include the execution of 81 people in a single day, and the imprisonment for 34 years of a student who was found to be critical of the state on her social media accounts.
Howe and his supporters have been asked questions about the war in Yemen. Many fans think it's unfair, but they will keep going.
Hatem is interested in human rights issues. I don't think they should be able to own clubs in the premier league.
Eddie Howe and other people at the club on the football side have been put in the position of needing to answer questions, which I think are broader ones that other people should be answering.
PIF regards its investment in Newcastle as an economic one rather than any attempt to 'sportswash', or cleanse Saudi Arabia's reputation on human rights. Newcastle will point out the Premier League allowed the takeover to pass its owners' and directors' test. A recent report also referenced the UK government's alleged involvement in the takeover too.
A tougher ownership test should be introduced as soon as possible, according to the organization.
"Though a lot has changed in the past year, things have only got worse in Saudi Arabia and with every fixture the club is still being used to help whitewash Saudi Arabia's shocking human rights record."
The takeover of the club was not an example of sportswashing according to the board members.
The majority owner, PIF, is yet to do a British interview, though he did not recognise the term sportswashing when it was put to him.
With three-quarters of the Saudi Arabia population being under 35, the priority for the country's investment in sport is to engage and entertain that age group in order to avoid them gettingagit.
A quarter of the population are either obese or have diabetes, so investing in boxing or football is seen as a way of avoiding a public health crisis.
There is a lot of other things that the Saudi Arabians are trying to achieve. "So when you get Saudi Arabian officials sidestepping questions about sportwashing, I think what they are talking about and thinking about are some of the larger challenges that Saudi Arabia faces."
Many of the club's fans may not be interested in Saudi Arabia's socio- economic issues.
Hatem doesn't think we should say we love Saudi Arabia, but we need to keep talking about it.
It doesn't make us hypocrites for wanting to follow our club. When the Saudis leave, we will still follow them.
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