Billy Bonds obituary: A skilled hardman who won two FA Cups and ruled West Ham’s midfield for two decades

Bonds, who has died aged 79, was West Ham’s former captain, defender, midfielder, coach, manager and record-appearance holder.

With his sinewy frame, long hair, straggly beard and socks rolled down around his ankles, Bonds ruled the centre of the pitch at Upton Park for the best part of 20 years.

The fans whose terrace chant was dedicated to their hardman skipper knew it, and they made sure the opposition knew it as well.

“No one took liberties with Billy Bonds,” recalled Trevor Brooking in his autobiography, My Life In Football.

And no one benefited more from playing alongside Bonds than Brooking, the duo forming the ultimate ‘silk and steel’ midfield partnership throughout the late 70s and early 80s.

Brooking, the elegant England playmaker, could weave his magic safe in the knowledge that should any wannabe enforcer decide to give him a kick or two, Bonds would only be too happy to reciprocate.

To label Bonds merely as Brooking’s minder does the player a huge disservice. A fearless tackler he may have been, but Bonds could also pick a pass, dribble away from trouble and chip in with a goal or two – 61, in fact, including 13 in the 1973-74 season.

But it is the image of a bloodied, bandaged forehead or a bone-crunching midfield challenge – without shinpads, he never wore them “except at Leeds; Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, that lot” – which endures.

Billy Bonds lifted the FA Cup twice with the Hammers (PA Archive/PA)

Dubbed one of the finest players never to have played for England, the closest Bonds came to an international cap was as an unused substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Italy in November 1977.

Four years later he missed out on a Three Lions debut when he broke two ribs colliding with his team-mate, goalkeeper Phil Parkes, and had to withdraw from the team to play Brazil.

Nevertheless, it was at West Ham that Bonds forged a legacy which still resonates around the club and will do for decades to come – and this at a club which produced the World Cup-winning triumvirate of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.

William Arthur Bonds was born in Woolwich on September 17, 1946. As a schoolboy he worked on his father’s window-cleaning round before joining his local club, Charlton, at 16.

Window cleaning’s loss, it turned out, was ultimately West Ham’s gain. ‘Bonzo’, a promising right-back plucked from the Valley for £50,000 in May 1967, made an incredible 799 appearances in claret and blue.

Moved into midfield by manager Ron Greenwood, Bonds succeeded Moore as captain in 1974, led West Ham to the FA Cup twice – in 1975 and, as a Second Division team against Arsenal, in 1980 – and played his last match at the age of 41 years and 226 days.

He was named Hammer of the Year four times, the first in 1971 and the last playing at centre-half in 1987, three years after he had initially decided to retire.

It says everything about Bonds’ ability, as much as his versatility, that he could seamlessly fit into any all-time West Ham XI in any one of the three positions he played.

Sadly, Bonds missed the entirety of the 1985-86 season, in which West Ham went into the final weekend still in with a chance of winning the First Division title, through injury.

They eventually finished third behind Everton and winners Liverpool, but it is hard not to wonder what Bonds’ endless running and bloody-minded determination would have provided over the late-season fixture pile-up that hindered their title bid.

Billy Bonds unveiled as West Ham manager at Upton Park. Photo credit: Malcom Croft/PA Wire.

As manager, Bonds guided the team to promotion to Division One in 1991, and back up again in 1993.

However, his career at West Ham ended acrimoniously a year later when he was replaced at the helm by his best friend and assistant, Harry Redknapp. The pair never spoke again.

Bonds, awarded an MBE in 1988, was belatedly honoured by West Ham in 2019 when the east stand at the London Stadium was renamed the Billy Bonds Stand.

When the stand was unveiled Bonds, still in rude health and looking for all the world like he could probably put in 30 minutes if required, was visibly moved as he took the acclaim of the fans once more. The old warrior must have got something in those famous blue eyes.

Bonds is survived by daughters Claire and Katie and granddaughters Eloise and Elissa.