Sir Trevor Brooking talks Billy Bonds MBE with Evening Standard correspondent, his long-time friend and one-time Sunday League manager Ken Dyer...
I was fortunate enough to watch Sir Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds, in total harmony, over many years.
So to see those names in harness once again, spelt out at the back of two of the London Stadium stands, will give me and every West Ham supporter enormous pleasure today.
Sir Trevor and William Arthur Bonds MBE were two very different individuals, both on and off the pitch but they do have one thing in common – they are both human beings of the highest quality.
Whilst Sir Trevor was always generous with his time to journalists though, you had to be quick on your feet if you wanted to interview Billy after a game.
If you look back over fifty years, his appearances and the way he conducted himself, it’s great he will now receive this honour
Sir Trevor Brooking
As Sir Trevor recalls: “Matches back then finished just after 4.40pm and Bill would be in the bath, changed and on his way out before five o’clock while I would still be undoing my laces!”
Bill liked to do his talking out on the pitch. As a captain he led by superb example, whether at full-back in his early days after signing from Charlton Athletic in 1967, midfield where he was even top scorer one season, or in the centre of defence where he finished his marathon career.
Bill, aged 41, and still leading the cross-country pre-season runs, played his last match for West Ham in 1988 after more than two decades at the club he loved.
On the pitch he was a fierce, sometimes fiery, always totally committed competitor. Off it, he was a multi-layered individual who liked a bet on the dogs, enjoyed a game of cards but also loved reading Thomas Hardy and was an enthusiastic bird-watcher.
“Bonzo was fantastic for the club and great for me,” says Sir Trevor. “I joined West Ham during the World Cup in 1966 and he was one of our first big signings after that, for just under £50,000 which was a massive bargain.
“He came as a right-back and luckily for me, the manager, Ron Greenwood thought he would be wasted playing there all the time so he moved Bill into midfield for quite a few years before later switching to the back four.”
Bill went on to make a record 799 senior appearances for West Ham, an exercise of endurance and tenacity which impresses even his team-mate and good friend, Sir Trevor.
“I can’t even imagine playing almost 800 games,” he says, “and the way he played every game – full on – was a credit to him.
“I was supposed to be the creative midfield player and often, in the first 15 minutes, my marker would kick me up in the air two or three times to see whether I fancied joining in for the remainder of the game.
“I would look across and say: ‘Bill, do you see what he’s doing to me?’ In the next few minutes the player would be on the receiving end of a couple of Bonzo tackles and suddenly I would get a bit more space.
“He did teach me that, now and again you needed to look after yourself and a tackle was needed.
“We’re such different individuals but we got on great. We ‘roomed’ together on away trips and there was such mutual respect, we still stay in touch now.
“He was a leader. He led by example, he wore his heart on his sleeve and you couldn’t help but respond to the way he played the game.”
Bill could and should have played for England, too.
“He actually scored a hat-trick in one game. I had scored a hat-trick against Burnley in 1968 and thought ‘that’s good’ but for Bonzo to get one as well, during his midfield days, was a real choker for me and he never let me forget it,” laughs Sir Trevor.
“Later he went into the back four and would have got an England cap had he not got injured. It was the 1980/81 season where we went up with a record points’ total. We played Sheffield Wednesday in the last game of the season on a Friday night. The following Wednesday, Liverpool were playing in the European Cup so a number of their players weren’t available for the England game, on the previous evening.
“Ron Greenwood had already told both Bill and Alvin Martin they would be in the centre of the England defence for that game.
“Midway through the second half at Sheffield Wednesday though, they sent a cross over, Bonzo wasn’t sure whether Phil Parkes was coming to collect it. He did, in the end but came late, got to the ball and punched it but Bonzo was sandwiched between the Sheffield Wednesday striker and Phil and ended up cracking a couple of ribs.
“It was a great shame because I always felt that if Bill had played for England in that game, he would have stayed in for a couple of years.
“He did get in the squad a couple of times and it would have been nice if he had got a cap, especially for his Mum and Dad who came to the games.”
For anyone who witnessed Billy’s buccaneering style or his fearsome tackling, that could be the enduring memory of this true West Ham legend but Sir Trevor says: “It almost does him a disservice that we highlight his tackles because he was a talented footballer. He could lose his rag at times, especially if an opposing player was guilty of a naughty tackle when he would take it on himself as captain to hit back.
“These days, because of his talent and versatility, he probably wouldn’t have stayed at the club so we’re lucky that we played in an era where he stayed for over 20 years.”
The two Hammers’ heroes will no doubt swap a few stories today, when they meet up for this special occasion but we’ll leave the last word to his good friend, Sir Trevor.
“If you look back over fifty years, his appearances and the way he conducted himself, it’s great he will now receive this honour,” he says.
“He will be massively proud. His family will be here to see it and the team from 1980. Most of the fans, as well, know what Bill is like – a very humble individual.
“He was the opposite of what you saw on the pitch. Off it he was a quiet, shy, top-quality individual.
“I would trust him with my life."
