Many opinion pieces and tributes will be written in the days and weeks to come after the tragic news of the death of Billy Bonds.
These will be more in-depth articles that will delve into the life and career of who I consider to be West Ham United's greatest ever player, but I felt compelled to commit something down upon reflection of what Billy meant to so many and what his passing represents to myself in the bigger picture.I was born whilst Billy Bonds was still a West Ham United player, but I was never old enough to be able to watch and fully comprehend the West Ham team of the mid-to-late 80s. My admiration for Billy does not come from first hand memories of his performances in the claret and blue, nor from the simple facts of he was a two-time FA Cup-winning captain and made the most appearances for the Hammers alone, but from the studying of our history and the conversations with those who had the honour and privilege of watching Billy play.
The highest of esteem that Billy was held in is evident when just evoking his name would bring out such a visceral reaction in whoever I would talk to. You could see the memories flooding back of the commitment, the leadership and the all-round embodiment of what it meant to be like us. Players put on the shirt and step out onto the pitch and we as fans support them and cheer them on, but few if any feel like they are one of us in the stands. Billy was and will always remain one of us and he carried himself every day in that way, never changing.
There are so many anecdotal stories of the man and how he would make time for someone whilst a player, manager and in retirement because as he himself acknowledged, he was incredibly appreciative of the outpouring of love and respect from West Ham fans. That high standing that he is held in by the fanbase is deserved and simply comes from his achievements, character and the way he never forgot who he was and how he got to where he was in life. Consistently humble, approachable and respectful, Billy was the best of us.
Like in most walks of life, when a tragic passing becomes public news, there is an outpouring of grief, and this usually physically manifests itself in some way. The laying of flowers and tributes at a public monument or place of representation/significance to that person is the common form of what occurs. With the situation West Ham United finds itself in, this is not so evident. When Bobby Moore died, the gates that once stood on Green Street were awash with scarves and other items, as well as more recently when Dylan Tombides passed. This acted as a clear focal point for people to gather and comfort one another and reminisce.
The Boleyn Ground however is no more and all that remains is a small plaque where the centre circle use to be. The statues to other players' achievements, the champions trophy on the junction of Green Street and Barking Road as well as the Cup Winners Cup trophy are not Billy’s achievements and to be honest, in the case of the statue at the London Stadium, it is significantly out of the way for most.
The Boleyn stood on the junction of a busy road and a short, straight walk from a London Underground station. The London Stadium is not in the middle of nowhere, but a concerted effort needs to be made to travel from any direction via train and with no realistic road to be able to park on without having to pay a charge of some description, it does not carry the same convenience to visit as the football stadium we use to play in.
There is also the case of where to pay tribute. There is a wrap on the outside of the London Stadium with a picture of Billy and some of his achievements at West Ham is on display where some people laid flowers in the short notice of his passing before the kick off against Liverpool on Sunday. Part of the gates that sat outside the Boleyn Ground are inside the club shop and you have the stone outside turnstile J.
Now, someone can very easily make the point that I have just listed a few places so why am I highlighting this? My point is, we are several years removed from leaving a football stadium for the London Stadium and we are no closer to establishing the identity of a home football stadium and Billy’s passing made me contemplate this, among thinking of his own personal legacy.
We do not have a known, established focal point for commemoration and reflection, nor do the fan base have an affinity for where we currently play. As a fan base, I sense there is still an overriding discombobulation when it comes to the London Stadium. Pre-match pub rituals and walks from stations are known but beyond visiting and leaving the stadium island, there is not the affection that the Boleyn Ground held and known locations for gathering that hold fond memories.
It’s OK to visit for a one-off match in the knowledge that you do not have to return, but that is not the case for West Ham United. Time has passed since the move in 2016 and the match day experience among other metrics is reported to have declined and decreased among the wider fan base. The stadium itself is not your traditional football stadium, nor is it the best in its field, as evident by the FA choosing to overlook the stadium for its long list of potential Women’s World Cup 2035 locations in favour of some stadiums that do not currently exist and Selhurst Park.
Positive results do help some people’s rational of the stadium as it does paper over cracks, but more successful seasons than last season and this have not grown the affection nor positive feel for the London Stadium and the cracks remain, regardless. At the Boleyn Ground we had terrible seasons and relegations, but that did not then make people think that the stadium is not home or the stadium itself is an issue as to why the results were bad. The London Stadium cannot shake those feelings off and I don ‘t think it ever will. Every decision made in relation to that stadium just feels like lipstick on a pig.
Questions always remain around if we can play a designated home fixture on Boxing Day without major negotiations with the local shopping centre, the police and the Newham Safety Advisory Group. We cannot make money as other football clubs do from hosting pitch events for hire in close seasons or concerts and sporting events. We agreed to move to a stadium that only has hospitality on one side whilst others play in new build, football-designated stadiums that make money hand over fist with various hospitality options all round their stadiums. We reap no discernible profit from hiring out spaces in hospitality suites on non-match days.
I could go on, but to tie everything back into the loss of Billy Bonds, his loss is heavy and to me it represents not just the end of an era and the passing of a great, but also further evidence of the negative impact leaving the Boleyn Ground has had on the football club. It is not for me to speculate on Billy’s thoughts and feelings regarding the London Stadium, nor would it be appropriate. However, Billy was visibly moved when in 2019 a stand at the London Stadium was named in his honour. For what he will forever mean to the club, it’s the least West Ham United could have done.
However, I cannot shake the feeling that to some at West Ham, like our current vice chair, the past is an inconvenience, where clumsy throw-away comments about culture is made and then rowed back upon after backlash. Bonds and what he epitomises to me is the culture of West Ham United, not West Ham United *London* and is something to cherish and promote and I feel we should not be waiting for the current owners of the football club to make their attempts at tributes or try to begin to understand what it is like to be one of us.
There will never be another like him, standing at 6ft 2 and with eyes of blue. It's down to us as the fans how we chose to commemorate and celebrate his life. RIP, Billy Bonds.
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