Owen bids to repair damage from Sven gaffe
Instead the England striker finds himself attempting to repair a fracture in his relationship with Newcastle's fans caused by Sven-Goran Eriksson's ill-considered suggestion that he is unhappy at Newcastle and only joined the Magpies for the money. Eriksson's claim was made during an indiscreet discussion with an under-cover reporter posing as a sheikh claiming to be interested in taking over Aston Villa and installing the England manager as boss of the Midlands club. Along with a description of Rio Ferdinand as "lazy", it was the comments about Owen which were most embarassing for Eriksson because they appeared to confirm an impression that was already firmly implanted in the minds of many Newcastle fans. Owen, who has just had the cast on his broken foot removed, insisted however that he was happy on Tyneside following his 16-million-pound move from Real Madrid in August. "I'm enjoying my time here," the 26-year-old claimed. "I enjoyed it out