West Ham talisman and captain Jarrod Bowen is in an awful run of form, he hasn’t been able to help the Hammers when it matters the most.

If there’s one thing I hate doing as a West Ham fan it’s slagging off Jarrod Bowen. After Declan Rice left us for London rivals Arsenal, Bowen immediately became my favourite ever West Ham player, and he’s only become more lovable since then.

With eight, eighteen, thirteen, twenty and fourteen goals in his five full seasons in claret and blue Bowen is undoubtedly a club legend.

However, it’s just not working out for him at the moment. He started this season well, his stats aren’t too bad this season with 6 goals and 2 assists in 22 matches. However, in the last five matches where we’ve really needed him to step up to carry us out of the relegation zone, he hasn’t

Again, it feels harsh to put the blame on him. It’s not his fault, all the other players need to step up too. We’re just so used to him scoring important goals and having clutch moments that it’s strange when he doesn’t.

But it’s not his performances that are coming under the most scrutiny for West Ham fans. It’s his lack of leadership that the Hammers faithful aren’t keen on.

A lot of fans think the captains armband has burdened our Conference League winning hero. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, I think it’s the lack of leadership around him in the squad that’s the problem.

Bowen was made captain because he was our best player, the face of the club and really the only option. A lot of people would say Tomas Soucek, but I really don’t think he would’ve been the right choice. I think we’re lucky Julen Lopetegui didn’t choose Max Kilman, because that would’ve been embarrassing.

Look, I don’t think Bowen is captain material at all, but this must be one of the most difficult moments to lead. When it’s all going well he’d be an excellent captain, but I don’t think he’s quite got the character to lead a squad through this situation.

But that raises the question, who on earth does? And the answer to that is I don’t know. The only one I can think of is Lukasz Fabianski, and he doesn’t even make the bench.