West Ham’s performances and results have dropped off a cliff in the Premier League and key players have either been injured or below par.
There are not many West Ham players who can say they’ve been performing in the Premier League over the last couple of months.
There have been some mitigating circumstances for David Moyes.
He lost Michail Antonio for three months to injury, Mohammed Kudus to AFCON and both Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen to injuries.
All four are key players for West Ham. And they were out of the team at the same time.
All clubs get injuries of course. But this Hammers squad simply does not have the quality in depth to cope with those absences.
It was the injury to Bowen that rocked West Ham the most, though. The team’s top scorer makes West Ham tick.
His energy, desire, workrate and leadership – not to mention goals and assists – are fundamental to Moyes’ team.
After an ankle injury against Bristol City, he was expected to be out for a month. But Bowen made a speedy return just two weeks later to face Sheffield United.
Many fans feel Bowen has not been the same since, though.
And now we know why.
Because the key West Ham star admits he’s been playing through injury for last month.
Bowen has told the club’s official website he rushed back to help the team. But he concedes he has not been “at it” since the injury.
And he says it has taken him until now to feel back to his best ahead of the clash with Brentford.
“It’s been difficult, but football comes with its good and bad moments, and we just have to work our way through it,” Bowen said.
“I’ve looked at myself as well – I had a little niggle in January, but I’m back to it now and it’s up to me as an attacking player to help us win games.
“I believe in the quality of this squad, and I know that when we’re at our best we can go on unbeaten runs. There are no easy games in the Premier League, but you have to have belief and sometimes that one result is what it takes to turn things around.”
Let’s hope a pain-free Bowen makes up for lost time when our bogey-side Brentford come to the London Stadium on Monday night.
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