It was a summer of change with the David Moyes era ending, which has seen us bring a new manager, a new coaching team, several new faces, and a new captain in Jarrod Bowen. Julen Lopetegui quickly identified that current leader Kurt Zouma had knees made of glass as the Frenchmen had to heavily iced his knees following just 45 minutes of action against non-league Dagenham.
That left the Spaniard with his first major decision as manager: to stick with Zouma or twist and get a new right-hand man. Further defensive struggles during the early stages of pre-season meant the former Seville manager decided he needed to rebrand his defensive unit, and that left Zouma out in the cold and eventually looking for a new club.
Several options were presented to Lopetegui. The former Wolves manager had already signed his former skipper, Max Kilman, so it seemed like he would be the obvious choice. But Prague hero Bowen was the obvious fans’ choice. The new Hammers poster boy following Declan Rice’s departure is adored by the Claret and Blue army, and it would be a quick win for the new manager, who was initially greeted with scepticism by the Irons faithful.
So when news began to break that the England man was to be appointed as the new skipper, it was greeted with delight, the first tick of approval for Lopetegui. Bowen’s desire to become captain surprised me when I first read the article following the signing of his new long-term contract at the club last season.
He doesn’t come across as particularly vocal on the pitch; he is more of a quiet but respected individual. The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea. He has an evident affection with the club, thanks in part to his future father-in-law Danny Dyer and the fact that he seemed to immediately fall in love with the club when he joined from Hull.
The fans gravitated to him quickly and adopted him as one of our own early on because he seemed to understand what it meant to be ‘West Ham’. He is a grafter. He runs all day and plays with that burning desire to win, and it helps that he has improved exponentially during his years in E20.
Those attributes made me realise he is the perfect captaincy candidate. While he may be a quiet leader, he will lead from the front and set the tone, and his teammates will follow his example. He reminds me in many ways of a combination of Declan Rice and Mark Noble, arguably two of the best captains in recent memory.
Rice was the poster boy of the club in the same way Bowen is now. Noble, meanwhile, was the stalwart of the club, the leader, the one-club man. Bowen isn’t a one-club man, but you feel he wants to retire and become a legend at West Ham United.
I’m sure Bowen has looked at those two and will want to utilise the attributes he will have learned under their stewardship. Of course, Bowen still has lots to learn, and I am sure Noble will offer help and assistance whenever possible.
So, whilst the short term may present him with some challenges, you suspect his leadership style will develop with that guidance and experience. With six years left on his deal at the London Stadium, his appointment as captain will offer vital stability to the club.
Captaincy is an interesting role; you feel it has changed over the years. You look around the league now; many different personalities lead teams. I often thought that Noble was the outlier. It was usually the team’s best player who would be captain.
In my head, Noble was never the best player at West Ham, but his leadership and personality would mean he was always the best candidate to lead the boys out week in and week out. It was also typically defenders who would wear the armband as you could always see what was ahead of you.
Still, looking around the league now, some of the best captains are moving forward, such as Harry Kane with England, Martin Odegaard at Arsenal, and John McGinn at Villa. It fascinates me how the role is developing, and hopefully, Jarrod Bowen is the next name on the list of ‘great captains’.
The armband has clearly inspired Bowen as well in the early goings of the season. The forward has been on fire early on, leading from the front with two goals in league and cup and an assist in the defeat against Manchester City.
While Bowen hopes to go down in history as a West Ham United legend, and is already halfway there with his goal in Prague, lifting a trophy or two as captain will further cement his place in Hammers’ folklore.
Be the first to comment