by Next week marks ten years since Jarrod Bowen started for non-League Hereford, and the starter’s inspirational rise to the top of the English game would probably not have been possible without David Moyes.
The West Ham boss took Bowen out of the Championship four years ago and turned the 27-year-old into an England international – likely to feature in Gareth Southgate’s squad today – and one of the Premier League’s leading goalscorers.
As the Hammers prepare for another big European night under Moyes, Bowen is heartbroken to criticize his manager, a poor result or two permanently removed from the fresh speculation about his future that is ripping off sections of the fans.
“There’s always going to be people you can’t please, people who think they want this or that,” Bowen said. Standard Sports ahead of this evening’s Europa League last-16 match against Freiburg at the London Stadium.
“I can only speak when I was here. When I came (from Hull), we were in a relegation battle. We stayed up and the two years after that we finished sixth and seventh.
“Okay, we finished badly last year in the Premiership, but we won the European trophy, so nobody will remember the league position. This year, we are in the mix for European places again with our win from the European quarter finals.
“You can’t please everyone – and if you try, you’ll be trying for a long time. But I think what we’ve achieved in four years, you can’t argue with that. I don’t see how anyone else sees it.”
Some fans take a different view, and the pressure will surely mount on Moyes if the Hammers cannot overturn a 1-0 deficit against a side they beat twice in the group this evening following their conservative approach go back to Germany last week.
“We’re ready,” said Bowen. “There’s a game plan and everything that goes with it, but it’s a quarter-final and we have to show how much we want to be there. I know all the lads want another run at a European trophy. Not much else to say. It’s up to us.”
There are no mixed feelings among supporters about Bowen, who may not have been West Ham born and raised but is now one of the club’s favorite sons, taking the mantle of Mark Noble and Declan Rice as a reflection of the connection between the dressing room and the terraces. .
He wrote himself into West Ham folklore with the winner in the Conference League final last season and said he would be happy to finish his career at the club.
“I’ve only been here four years and there are fans who have supported this club longer than I’ve been alive, but I think I have an understanding of what this club has to play for and what it needs to be. . success,” said Bowen.
I will always follow this club, even when I finish playing
Jarrod Bowen
“I’ve always been pretty open about how I feel and what the fans want, and I think they appreciate that. I feel like a bit of a talisman. They are different from any other fans, I think. They are so loyal and passionate about what they want from a squad.
“Nobes and Dec were two big figures in terms of West Ham’s history and what they represent on the pitch. If I can try to follow – and they are both huge shoes to fill – I will do what I can. I’m half married into the West Ham family, too. So I’m surrounded by West Ham. I’m a West Ham fan without being born in London.
“I feel part of the fans, I will always follow this club even when I finish playing. It’s a great club to represent and be a part of. It’s only been four years, it feels like much longer. If I can stay here for 10 plus years, then happy days.
“You just want to write yourself into history as much as possible,” he continued. That’s what I want to do, keep my feet on the ground, keep giving the fans those great moments and when I retire I can look back on them.”
Bowen is playing with the added motivation of fighting for a place at a major international tournament for the second successive season, having missed out on the winter World Cup midway through last term. He admits to feeling the pressure in the run-up to Qatar, but believes he is now a more consistent player ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
“I was probably overthinking it [before the World Cup],” he said. “You think there’s a different pressure from your own fans, that they expect you to come off the back playing for England … and that’s on me. I’ve had no pressure, no I had nothing going on.
“It was down to me thinking I had to do more to show why I was an England international. So I tried to do too much when what I should have done was just getting into the squad in the first place.
“This season I think I’m doing it more on a consistent level, and to be a great player that’s what you have to do.”
Play your part in West Ham’s biggest game of the season so far as they take on Freiburg in a crucial European clash at the London Stadium tonight at 5.45pm. Secure your seat on eticketing.co.uk/whufcwith junior tickets available from £10.
