What does Billy Bonds think of the current crop?

Our writer Henry Lowe caught up with one the West Ham greats, Billy Bonds at a memorabilia show in London to get his thoughts on everything West Ham.

Back in the glory days of the 1970’s and 80’s West Ham were one of the best teams around. We had our share of World Cup winners and Irons legends with the likes of Brooking, Moore and Hurst once gracing the turf of Upton Park.

Billy Bonds was a legend of his time playing alongside Moore and co; He was a no nonsense, passionate player that always put 100 percent into the game. So now time has gone by what does the former player and manager think about the Irons now?

The former number 4 has many thoughts on the West Ham team of today. He said that the style of play is not really his “cuppa tea” however if it gets us the results and ensures our passage back into the Premier League then anyone will have it. The Hammers legend also doesn’t think very much of our current owners. “They are in it for the money, but I’d hope they are in it for the fans too”. Bonds remembered back to the days when “footballers were in it for the enjoyment”, and said that the West Ham team then is a lot different to now. We have a lot of good players but not many with the real passion to win games for the Irons as the lads back then did.

The West Ham legend also said of how he has declined invitations to watch us play from the various lounges and he hasn’t seen one of the televised games. “West Ham are not what they were, they are lacking that real togetherness that we had when we won the cup, and the team needs a real leader”. However he wasn’t full of negativity, he still follows the results and as he said “West Ham will always be my team and I will always support the Irons but times change and I want too spend more time away from football”. Which is surprising as after all he is the man that brought in both Neil Harris and Tim Cahill at Millwall and his experience of bringing through youth would surely be valued.

It was an interesting insight into the Irons legends thoughts about the team. And as a former player and lifelong fan his opinions will be valued. I was surprised to hear what Billy Bonds said but after all the football we are currently playing isn’t everyone’s ‘cuppa tea’.