We’re often told of the gilded upbringings that the academy players of the modern era enjoy – the fast cars, the huge wages as soon as they sign their first professional contract and the cosseted lifestyle that comes with it.
Jarrod Bowen though, has taken a very different route to the top. One of the standout players for the high-flying Hammers so far this season, it wasn’t so long ago that Bowen was sat in the Hereford United dressing and told that the youth system designed to nurture him was being scrapped. For the boy from Leominster – a town just a 13-mile trip down the A49 from his boyhood club – it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s the sort of thing that could break you as a player,” says Martin Foyle, who left The Bulls in March 2014 with the club embroiled in an unseemly scrap for survival with a team that hadn’t received a penny in wages for months.
“I would have players coming in to see me, asking me whether they should put petrol in their cars to travel to a match or food on the table for their families.
More from Football
“When we told the youth team that the system was folding because the club couldn’t afford it, there were kids in tears. This was the system that they believed was going to get them into professional football.
“The club had failed them. It was heart-breaking.”
Foyle rightly points out that it’s the kind of situation that can make or break you. In this instance, as Bowen prepares to take on Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday – with West Ham having already breezed through the group and also closing in on a potential shot at next season’s Champions League – it has clearly achieved the former.
Bowen scored the crucial equaliser in a 3-2 win against Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime, a victory which has given David Moyes’ side fresh impetus in the Premier League going into the busiest period of the year. His performances haven’t gone unnoticed by Gareth Southgate either, with the England manager reportedly watching Bowen’s progress with increasing interest as World Cup year approaches.
“Would I have said that Jarrod would breakthrough in the way that he has? I’m not sure, it’s very difficult to tell at that age, but he certainly had all the attributes too.
“He originally had to train with the first team because there was no other team for him to train with after the youth system was shut-down, but he always listened, always worked hard. Now he’s the perfect example for young players outside of the Football League to look up to.”
Bowen made his Hereford debut in a 2-0 defeat to Barnet in March 2014, and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 win over Alfreton in front of 2,445 the first of a two match winning streak that saved their National League status under then caretaker boss, Peter Beadle.
Just weeks later they would be expelled from the Conference. And Bowen would be off on a life changing move to Hull City
Life would never be the same again, but the lessons learned at Edgar Street have stayed with him.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3EGK39Y
Post a Comment