Billy Bonds says he will always be grateful for the
influence that the late Ron Greenwood had on his legendary career
at Upton Park.
Bonzo, West Ham United's longest-serving player, was brought to
the club by Greenwood in May 1967, signing in a £49,500 deal
from Charlton Athletic and is quick to pay tribute to the impact
Ron made on his playing abilities.
"It's very sad news," says Billy, "and I could
talk all day long about Ron and the influence he had on me as a
player. He signed me as a big, strong 20-year-old right-back in
1967 and turned me into a central midfielder - the position in
which I believe I enjoyed the best years of my career.
"I think Ron had first seen me playing in the old London
five-a-side tournament at Wembley, and he then came to watch me for
Charlton. We were playing against Birmingham and, after the game,
our manager Bob Stokoe told me that Mr Greenwood from West Ham
would like a word.
"As a young, naïve 20-year-old, I wasn't sure what I
should say, but I thought I'd be honest and tell Ron that two
other clubs, Leicester and Sunderland, had also shown an interest
in me. Afterwards, Bob Stokoe went mad and said to me:
"You've said the wrong thing there!"
"At that point, I thought I'd blown it, so I drove over to
Upton Park in the hope that Ron would still be interested. We met
after West Ham had played Manchester City, and there was a little
problem because a couple of players were meant to be going to
Charlton in exchange, but apparently didn't want to move, so
Ron just said he'd pay the full £49,500 instead."
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Billy went on to become one of the greatest players in West Ham
United's history, making a total of 793 league and cup
appearances between 1967 and 1988, and he admits the teachings of
Ron during his early years at the Club were unlike anything he had
experienced before.
"He was a great coach who was years ahead of his time, and I
think any player who worked under him would say that he helped to
make them a better player," says Billy. "Everybody
respected his knowledge and vision of the game.
"As a coach, he was always planting little seeds in your mind,
and using simple little terms like: 'Always be on the
half-turn', 'Have a picture in your head before you receive
the ball' and 'If the space isn't in front of you,
it's behind you.'
"They were only little sayings but, when you thought about
them, you realised how clever and simple they were. His most famous
line, of course, was 'Simplicity is genius' and that summed
up how his teams played the game.
"And to Ron, football was an entertainment. He never once
compromised his beliefs or changed the style of the team. I suppose
you might say that, after the success of the mid-60s, West Ham
slightly under-achieved in the years that followed, but Ron
wouldn't have changed his methods or approach."
Billy, who in 1990 followed in Ron's footsteps by becoming
manager of the Club, always looked upon his former boss as a
father-figure, and insists that his contribution will never be
forgotten by anyone connected to West Ham United.
Billy recalls: "He always called me 'William'. To
everyone else, I was Bill or Bonzo, but Ron was a stickler for
formality and called everyone by their full Christian name. Later
on, when I became manager of the Club, he would come to the games
and pop his head in the dressing-room.
"He'd come into the manager's office with his
grandson, but he never interfered or told me if I was doing
anything wrong. I'm sure he would have loved to got involved,
but it just wasn't his style.
"The traditions and philosophy he put in place back in the
early 60s have remained at the Club ever since. I think even Alan
Pardew now is aware of that tradition, and knows that West Ham
supporters expect their team to play with a certain style.
"It's impossible to over-estimate the impact he had on the
Club and, as someone who played for him over a lengthy period of
time, I'll always be grateful for the influence he had on me.
He was a pleasure to work for, and there was certainly something
very special about Ron Greenwood."