Ex-West Ham hero Vladimir Coufal puts Jarrod Bowen to shame with rallying cry

At times the forward has carried the Hammers on his back.

But this season – and particularly the last few months when West Ham have had real hope of staying in the Premier League – Bowen has failed to step up.

Coufal shows Bowen what a real West Ham captain looks like

In fact he has been among the Hammers’ worst performers and that continued in the dismal 3-1 defeat to Newcastle which leaves the club all but officially relegated.

Now ex-West Ham hero Vladimir Coufal has put Bowen to shame with a rallying cry.

We are all but relegated — how would you feel about keeping Nuno in the Championship? 🧑‍💼

Or was that performance the last straw? 😡

There have always been question marks over the decision to make Bowen West Ham captain.

A nice guy and quiet character, Bowen would fit into the category of those who lead by example.

Except the example he has been setting with his performances of late has been a bad one.

Bowen does not get his teammates going and is rarely seen barking orders on the pitch.

In fact last week, Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard showed Bowen what leadership looks like when he stepped in to stop Mateus Fernandes talking himself into a possible red card.

Bowen stood by and watched Lucas Paqueta do just that in a game against Liverpool earlier this season.

Coufal issues West Ham survival rallying cry

And at Newcastle, his performance as a player was as bad as it has been all season while his display as captain was nothing short of a disgrace.

Bowen received a 2/10 rating for his efforts in West Ham’s latest defeat, a third on the bounce which puts them on the brink of the drop.

Which West Ham player was the most infuriating against Newcastle United?

The Hammers were shambolic at St. James’ Park…

As skipper he did nothing to try and inspire the Hammers in their hour of need.

Every time Newcastle scored Bowen had his head down and could be seen moaning at other players.

Instead of taking responsibility as captain and encouraging his teammates, Bowen went into his shell.

It puts the spotlight back on Graham Potter’s ludicrous decision to release a host of experienced senior West Ham leaders at the same time last summer.

Over 30 combined years of West Ham experience was allowed to walk out of the door when Potter let Aaron Cresswell, Michail Antonio, Lukasz Fabianski and Coufal go.

Coufal has gone on to make Potter look ridiculous, being statistically the best right-back in the Bundesliga as he helped Hoffenheim finish fifth and qualify for Europe.

The Czech warrior is sorely missed in east London.

After the game, Bowen cut a beaten figure both on camera and in post-match interviews.

But Coufal has shown Bowen what a real captain looks like with a rallying cry on social media.

“It is not over till it is over,” Coufal said on X following West Ham’s defeat at St James’ Park.

Even if Coufal doesn’t actually believe what he is saying, that is the attitude the players should have, especially Bowen as captain.

In reality, as far as most West Ham fans and data experts Opta are concerned, it basically is over.

Opta give the Hammers a six per cent chance of survival from this point.

It would require Spurs to lose against Chelsea and Everton in their last two games and West Ham to beat Leeds on the final day to stay up.

A point for Tottenham unofficially relegates West Ham due to the huge gulf in goal difference.

However, Coufal is right to tell West Ham’s players to fight until the end because Spurs could easily lose at Chelsea, where they have a terrible record, and that brings it down to the final day – where anything could happen.

West Ham would have to take care of business at home to Leeds, which is far from a foregone conclusion given their form.

But Tottenham losing at Stamford Bridge would naturally have the Hammers dreaming of a final day miracle.

That’s what Bowen should be getting his teammates to buy into.

Except he has shown an alarming lack of leadership when it has mattered most.

Bowen will always be remembered for being the hero in Prague but he will now unfortunately be remembered as one of the worst captains the club has had too.