David Moyes says West Ham star Jarrod Bowen simply hasn’t been good enough so far this season and he knows it.
There are a whole host of West Ham players struggling to hit the high standards they have set for themselves.
So no individual should be made a scapegoat for the Hammers malaise, which can be charted back a full year in terms of Premier League results and performances.
But one player who is well down on the levels he is capable of is Bowen.
The former Hull City man was not only one of West Ham’s best players last season but one of the top attackers in the Premier League.
It was Bowen who carried the goalscoring burden on his shoulders for the Hammers when Michail Antonio’s form fell off a cliff.
And it earned him a long overdue England call-up in the summer.
One thing that cannot be questioned when it comes to Bowen is his hard graft for West Ham.
But going forward he has looked a yard off all season – and at the worst possible time for his England World Cup hopes.
West Ham’s once flying forward was left out of the Three Lions squad for Qatar by Gareth Southgate.
And it was no great surprise to fans or indeed Bowen’s manager.
An honest Moyes says West Ham star Bowen simply hasn’t been good enough to make the plane and he knows it.
“I’ve spoken to Jarrod and Kurt (Zouma) too…” Moyes said in his pre-Leicester press conference following the England squad announcement.
“We had big hopes for Jarrod, that he might creep into the team, but he will be the first to admit that his form has got to be up and he has got to play very well, like he did last year.
“We got a great thrill out of Jarrod being an England international. It’s Jarrod who does it not us, but we got a great thrill out of him becoming an international player.”
You can’t fault Moyes for his honesty here. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and the likes of James Maddison have been streets ahead of West Ham’s Bowen this season.
As West Ham fans we championed Bowen’s cause all of last season and he was finally given the recognition he deserved.
But by the same token we must hold our hands up when our players simply aren’t cutting it to be in the conversation for England.