That’s a different Owen

I was touched to receive the following message through my website yesterday:

i am one of the proud person in the world when in heard that you are going to man utd but please i am applealing to you that gambia are in need of your support because we need a very good accademy in the country

For much of my life my first name has been short but difficult to spell. In England I used to help people to understand it by saying  “as in David Owen”, and many people remembered me as David. But with a much more famous Owen known around the world, now almost everybody understands my name.

Fortunately for them, Manchester United called up a different Owen.

Manchester United and Arsenal are hugely popular here in Addis Ababa, so this should mean that there are no further problems here understanding my name.