Consternation has been growing amongst West Ham fans that their skipper Jarrod Bowen is way off the pace. Perhaps he is carrying an injury without complaining – which would not be surprising for one of West Ham’s most unassuming, greatest modern servants.
Viewers of Liverpool’s travails against Nottingham Forest yesterday might have noticed a similar affliction for Reds’ Mo Salah.
The pair just look jaded.
Perhaps Bowen is simply cream-crackered: He’s hardly missed a game in the six seasons he’s been at London Stadium and the added burden of captaining a failing side would be enough to make anyone to struggle at the moment – add to that the pressure of trying to maintain an International career at the same time – the guy pretty much never gets break.
Jarrod Bowen: Overworked or underperforming
Today’s footballinsider247.com’s makes it clear where they see the reason for the drop-off in form of West Ham’s long-serving skipper. Quoting former Hammers’ scout Mick Brown, ‘footballinsider’ claim in their article:
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‘This is the real reason for Jarrod Bowen’s West Ham problem after questions asked:
“Bowen’s problem at the moment is there’s a demand on him to contribute in all parts of their game, because they’re lacking quality elsewhere.
“They want him to come deep to get the ball, drag everybody forward with his running, and also get on the end of chances to score goals.
“That takes away his focus on the things he’s good at and puts too much focus on the things he maybe isn’t as good at, and then his whole performance dips.”
Quite what the answer is this season – with the finale approaching, club and supporters alike will be hoping he gets back to his best. As the report concludes:
“They will be hoping he can step up again in the next few weeks because if he’s at the top of his game it will be a huge boost to everybody involved.”
Amen to that. Bowen on target at Anfield? Sounds like the perfect way for West Ham’s favourite son to silence his critics.