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Barton's Back In Toon
Written by Newcastle Utd
A familiar face returned to St. James' Park this week, as United favourite Warren Barton made his first visit to his old ground in ten years
By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter
A familiar face returned to St. James' Park this week, as former Newcastle United favourite Warren Barton made his first visit to his old ground in ten years.
Full-back Barton made 220 appearances for the Magpies during a seven-year spell on Tyneside, before departing for Derby County in 2002.
Now, though, Barton resides in the United States, working as a television analyst for Fox - a role he combines with coaching his young son's team, the Del Mar Sharks.
And the three-cap England international brought the youngsters - including his youngest son, Tye - to have a look around his old stomping ground on Wednesday morning.
"It's been a long, long journey. I moved out of the country over to San Diego, southern California, with my family in 2008, and soccer is huge over there, so I do some coaching with my kids," he tells nufc.co.uk.
"I've got three boys - Milo, who was once a mascot here in a game against Aston Villa, Kane and Tye, my youngest one - and we've had the opportunity to do tours, to bring the team over. We've been to Charlton, went to Italy with Chievo and Wolverhampton Wanderers, so it was obvious to come to Newcastle.
"I've not been back here for a decade. It was emotional, it was nice, and it was lovely to be home. We had a fantastic tour guide who took us round and I learned a lot about the stadium and the history. What I liked as well was looking at some of the old pictures, of the likes of Sir Bobby, Gary Speed and Rob Lee, that Barcelona night.
"It was just nice to be back home, to see the stadium and to wish them well for next season. It's a great club, with great people, and it's very dear to me and my family as well. It's great to be back."
Having enjoyed their tour of St. James' Park, the Sharks are due to play a friendly at Consett before heading up to the next stop on their tour, Rangers' Ibrox Stadium.
The club is run by director of operations Shannon McMillan, a World Cup and Olympic gold medal winner with the United States' women's national team.
And Barton - whose £4 million transfer from Wimbledon in 1995 made him United's, and English football's, most expensive defender - says he enjoys helping to hone the talents of his son's team alongside his media commitments.
"I've done my badges and my Pro license, but I still work with Fox and that's my main job, being a TV analyst with the likes of Alexi Lalas and Brad Friedel," he says.
"But I also do some coaching, and it gives me a great opportunity to be with my young sons. My oldest son, Milo, has gone off to Seattle Sounders, and hopefully he's going to try and make it as a professional over there."
Barton was part of the famous 'Entertainers' side of the mid-1990s, characterised by their exciting brand of fearless, attacking football.
He says that upon arriving in the city in 1995, he immediately felt the passion of the area.
"When I signed here, I was proud of being part of Newcastle - not only the history, but what the club stands for; the people, the shirt, the town. For some people, the responsibility can crush them, but I thrived on it.
"It was the same walking back in today, showing these people from America who've seen it on TV but never been here. I was proud to show them and say 'this is where I played, these are the fans we had, the stadium, the town'. I was very proud, and emotional… I feel old!" he laughs. "But it's great to say that this is my club.
"I'm just hoping that it bounces back, because I think under Rafa, we've got that same feel good factor that we did under Sir Bobby. Hopefully the players can realise that, we can get success and get back in there and kick on from that."
And, as an active presence on social media, Barton says he's still an avid follower of United, even from the States.
"The first thing I do on my phone is look at Twitter, look at social media and see how Newcastle are doing or see what the latest information is," he says. "I always send a little retweet and say good luck and best wishes to the boys, because I want them to do well.
"I know what it means to the fans, and the people that work here, on matchday and in the city centre, and being part of this club. They're proud of it, and it's about time the players make the fans feel proud of it as well."
Look out for more from Warren Barton on nufc.co.uk later this week.