Bowen's frustration is justified - West Ham are a broken club

Scattergun recruitment and missteps at the top have caused chaos, raising the prospect of relegation

- Jacob Steinberg

Jarrod Bowen said sorry after losing his cool with a couple of fans at the end of West Ham's defeat by Wolves in the Carabao Cup, but anyone with any sense knows the forward has no need to apologise. The malaise has nothing to do with the player who scored the winner in the Conference League final two years ago. Quite frankly, West Ham are lucky Bowen is not pushing to leave. Nobody could blame the captain were he to move on after years of atrocious recruitment and appointments from the people at the top.

This slump has been a long time coming. Some fans are fuming but a lot have grown apathetic. Mass walkouts feel very particular to the London Stadium. There was another one last Friday, much of the crowd following West Ham's lead by giving up early as Chelsea rained in the goals. Humiliations have become so commonplace that many wonder whether there are better things to do than watch their team get pummelled at a soulless imitation of a football ground.

West Ham are broken and there is no easy fix. The rot is deep and relegation is on the cards unless something drastic happens before the transfer window shuts on Monday. Even then, it would be hard to disagree with the view that substantial change will remain elusive until David Sullivan, the club's most dominant figure over the past 15 years, sells his shares.

None of this absolves Graham Potter and his trusted head of recruitment, Kyle Macaulay, of blame. Potter has lost 12 of his 22 games since replacing Julen Lopetegui as head coach in January. His 3-4-2-1 has left a ponderous midfield exposed. West Ham have conceded 11 goals in their first three games and have no resilience. It was obvious Wolves were going to win once they made it 2-2.