West Ham’s feeble attacking performance had become the norm under Graham Potter: Often sending his side out without a striker, or grafting skipper Jarrod Bowen in as a number nine to offset a weak squad, the Hammers ex-boss eschewed the opportunity of bringing in a proper striker last summer and now the club is paying the price.
Stats people OPTA have revealed some shocking statistics that ram home the weakness of the Irons attack and, but for captain fantastic Jarrod Bowen, the club would surely be a basket case by now. The over reliance on Bowen’s brilliance cannot continue: The guy cannot carry the side on his own, however much he loves the club and the supporters.
As football365.com report: “according to the great guys at Opta [West Ham], have the worst goals vs xG conceded rating in the Premier League, the fourth-lowest shots and the fifth-lowest xG in the attacking half”
But shining brightly in a sea of mediocrity, Skipper Jarrod Bowen’s stats are exactly the opposite, ranking him first in the Premier League:
“Bowen’s unrelenting consistency amid all the surrounding noise is mightily impressive, and he is not only West Ham’s best player but also the leading performer in the Premier League on one key statistical metric this season:
According to Opta, Bowen has the best goals vs xG rating in the Premier League with +2.19, having scored three goals from an xG of just 0.81. Igor Thiago, Jaidon Anthony, Wilson Isidor and Martin Zubimendi are next in the standings with scores ranging from +1.95 to +1.73.
Bowen also has 15 shots (seven on target) in seven games, which is just over 10% of West Ham’s overall tally of 69 (the fourth-lowest in the Premier League).
In truth, West Ham are lucky to have retained Bowen until now, but his exit feels increasingly likely in 2026 as he’s been tipped to leave if their form does not drastically improve. “
Breathtaking. No more excuses. Nuno Espírito Santo absolutely needs to bring in another goal scorer in January to reduce the over-reliance on West Ham’s captain.
No wonder Thomas Tuchel has called Bowen back into the England side again. Quite how long ‘JB20’ sticks around will depend on the rest of the side’s performance: Without new blood to bolster the attacking threat, and with West Ham rooted in 19th, don’t expect the player we all love to be there next season if things don’t change.
It does feel as though the club are exploiting his loyalty, without providing a first rate team around him, young, fit and competent to support Bowen and improve West Ham’s performance. And nobody’s loyalty lasts forever. Bowen leaving would be a catastrophe for the club. However much cash his sale produced.
This SOB story is a bit of a worry. ‘Save Our Bowen’ should be a new campaign aimed at the club’s owners as a matter of urgency. If they fail yet again to bring in a striker or at least a proven goal scorer then the risk of losing Bowen is real. Surely the honourable Chairman, Mr David Sullivan, will finally get his act together and ensure he sorts this grave inadequacy in January. If not then it could cost us more than just our Premiership survival.
Forget stats the attack wasn’t the problem it was the defence.
In Bowen’s case Martin, I don’t think it is a question of loyalty. He has already demonstrated that his professionalism is beyond the norm and if he left it would really be because he didn’t like being taken for an idiot. Paqueta could leave and it would not be unduly harmful to West Ham but if Bowen left, maybe that would bring down the board. It’s almost worth it.