Jarrod Bowen to be stripped of captaincy at West Ham after controversy vs Liverpool
Lucas Paqueta’s sending off against Liverpool caught the headlines at the weekend.
Just as it looked like things were improving on the pitch, West Ham fell to a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, ending a three-game unbeaten run.
Alexander Isak’s first goal for Liverpool caught the stories in Merseyside, while Paqueta’s sending off for West Ham caught the attention everywhere else.
The Brazilian was shown a red for dissent, and what Jarrod Bowen did, or rather, failed to do, demonstrates why he isn’t captain material.
Jarrod Bowen failed to protect Lucas Paqueta
Let’s get things straight, Bowen is an incredible footballer, and had it not been for his quality over the last 12 months, West Ham could easily be playing Championship football.
However, his leadership is not his biggest asset, and that was on display against Arne Slot’s side at the weekend.
Paqueta has a tendency not to know where to draw the line, and after his first booking for dissent, it became clear he wasn’t going to stop arguing his case.
Typically, this is where you would expect your captain to step in and de-escalate the situation by taking Paqueta away.
However, Bowen did the opposite, and instead kept talking with the referee, with Alisson Becker actually the one who tried to take Paqueta away.
West Ham need a leader to wear the armband; someone who can take care of these situations on the pitch, and Bowen, as good as he is as a player, isn’t the one.
However, that is an issue that opens up a wider debate, and it is one of the main reasons why the Irons are struggling.
West Ham are lacking leadership
Sunderland have Granit Xhaka, Arsenal have Declan Rice, Man United have Bruno Fernandes, and yet West Ham have no one that you could really consider a leader.
Not only are they lacking quality across various areas of the team, but they are also lacking that one senior figure who can take a step aside and deal with scenarios when needed.
West Ham will recruit for quality in January, but if they are to avoid the drop, they need to address the lack of leadership in the team.
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