Beadle Backs Bowen For A Chance In The Premiership

 

Former Hereford FC manager Peter Beadle has said that he thinks Jarrod Bown will get a chance to play in the Premiership.

Bowen is currently with Hull and scoring goals for fun but, as yet, no bids have been made for the former Hereford player in this transfer window.

"I am certain Jarrod’s chance in the Premier League will arrive,"Beadle told The Athletic. “He is just too hard to ignore.
 

"He got 22 goals last season and looks like scoring even more this time. That chance will come and, from my experience of working with Jarrod, when it does he will be ready to take it. No question about that.

"Jarrod’s first goal for Hereford United was (on) Easter Monday and we were playing Alfreton Town at home.

“The previous manager (Martin Foyle) had left and I had stepped up to take charge. The club was in real financial trouble and no one was getting paid. We were in the relegation zone and needed to win. Jarrod scored (what proved to be the winner) and I can see him now diving straight into the Meadow End."

Bowen had been with Cardiff City before he came to Hereford.

"We were looking to recruit players for the youth set-up," he recalls. "We had just come into the club, which was struggling financially, and there were only six full-time scholars. Clearly, we needed a few more. As we were putting things together, mention was made of a boy who was training with Cardiff. It was Jarrod and we heard some good things.

"It turned out Jarrod was halfway through a six-week trial and was doing okay but no decision had yet been made. We spoke to his dad. He had concerns about how the Hereford youth set-up had been run previously, which we understood. These concerns were basically why Jarrod was training down at Cardiff.
 

"But I said if it doesn’t work out there then we would love to have him come in to train with us at Hereford. Fortunately for us, they didn’t take him and he came in for a couple of sessions. It didn’t take us long to realise we had to sign him.”

A good run in the FA Youth Cup included losing narrowly to Manchester City, six years ago today, proved to Beadle that Bowen was worthy of a place in the first team.

And with the departure of first team manager Martin Foyle, Beadle was put in charge.

 

"We had no hesitation in selecting Jarrod straight away, he played 70 minutes at Barnet and did okay.

"Soon, though, he looked right at home. Over the next few games, he became a key part of a team battling relegation. It was a pressure environment but one he coped with brilliantly.”

 

Bowen score his first senior goal against Alfreton.

"The biggest shame for Hereford is we didn’t have him for longer due to the financial problems, not even a full season. But he did brilliantly."

Beadle thinks Bowen can do much more than just score goals.

"You can’t tell me any manager doesn’t want what Jarrod brings: goals. In fact, he guarantees goals. Plus, he does a lot more than just score goals. He has always been all about the team, right back to those days at Hereford. We played three up front. Jarrod and another lad called Ben Miller were on either side. Both were left-footed.
 

"Jarrod and Ben would swap quite a bit. I wanted them both to have freedom. That flexibility can be seen in Jarrod’s game now. He is equally dangerous on each side. He’s always a good finisher but now he is much better at tracking back, maybe a bit too much for his managers at times because they want him causing damage at the other end. But that is him, a team player who has never lost that willingness to defend.
 

"But he has what every team needs. A real eye for goal. Good things come to those who wait and I am certain that will apply in Jarrod’s case."