Bowen’s England omission a disgrace

Can anyone out there tell me why was benched Jarrod Bowen was unused  for England against Malta last night? The Premier League’s third leading goal scorer was allowed to sit on the bench in what was one of the dullest games of football anyone could set eyes on writes Hughie Southon.

Maybe Gareth Southgate hadn’t realised that, with Son Heung-min, Jarrod’s eight goals this season put him in third place among the leading PL goal scorers behind only Erling Haaland who has 13 and Mohammed Salah, 10. Bowen’s total England omission was a disgrace

Maybe, just maybe, Jarrod will get his chance against the mighty North Macedonia on Monday night but I am not holding my breath after the series of team selections we have seen from Gareth Southgate over recent months. Who can forget seeing our man involved in the match against Australia and virtually ignored through the second half?

Did that encourage Southgate to give him another chance against another mighty international team – Malta? Not on your life. His explanation for last night’s shabby display was not that he didn’t pick in form players but that the squad had faced a gruelling schedule. Pardon, isn’t that what these guys get paid for! Such nonsense.

It’s listening to this sort of stuff which makes the dreadful international breaks so much worse – a near impossible feat in itself. I don’t give a toss about international football to be honest but I believe I know the difference between right and wrong and not playing Jarrod is entirely wrong!