I look back on the home defeat to inform Aston Villa and fans remembrance of club legend Sir Billy Bonds, who sadly passed away on 30th November 2025.
Hope everyone is safe and well and you have all had a peaceful Christmas.
Apologies for my absence as I was very busy at work before the holidays and then I had that awful flu bug that was going around and then we went away to Reykjavik for a few days, whilst I was still struggling with a chesty cough.
I wrote most of this article whilst on holiday in Iceland with the family and it’s probably the only time in the history of Iceland that there seems to be absolutely no snow at this time of year! Anywhere! So much for a white Christmas. We were on the cusp of the Artic Circle and it’ rained hard and the wind almost took our breath away.
Both our boys finished off their year with the amazing achievement of completing their respective karate gradings with distinction before the holiday season started.
Our youngest is now a two stripe brown belt and our eldest is a full black belt. Both have worked very hard to reach this point in their karate journey, our youngest totally surprised us with his commitment in the final weeks before his big day and the extra training and dedication he completed reaped huge rewards.
Our eldest had to complete a theory test, do every move and combination he had been taught, go through various pair techniques and show each kata he had learnt throughout his 9 years since starting his karate training in 2017. Then, after all this he had to fight almost everyone in his club for 20mins continuously before a punishing physical exam. He was quite rightly exhausted after this but managed to achieve his black belt to become only the second student to reach the same level at his dojo.
Very proud moment for myself and my wife and we now look forward to our youngest doing the same in December 2026. We are sure he will do himself proud and become the next student to reach such a high level of achievement. We have to remind ourselves they are only 13 and 15 years old! I feel emotional just thinking about it, especially seeing photos of them both when they first started training all those years ago.
It’s emotional watching your children do amazing things and appreciate what hard work and commitment can achieve. They both seem to have that desire to be the best at what they choose to do and I admire them both for staying with the karate. I stepped away after reaching purple stripe, I realised I would not be able to follow the boys in their journey and wanted to support them both, instead of worrying about myself. And I’m glad I did.
Having a sense of pride in what you do, without being arrogant or stroppy about it is a rare quality, and the boys are humble in their achievements. They value what they are able to do and I am envious of the opportunities they have.
Pride and commitment seem to be qualities that are not so easily found in sport these days, although I appreciate I am sounding more like a grumpy old geezer the closer I get to 60! Oh the good old days eh? I wonder what our children will be saying about football when they are reaching 60? Probably the same things we say now.
It was an emotional start to the home match against an in form Aston Villa, who came to the London Stadium on the back of 7 straight wins in the Premier League.
I took myself to Upton Park before the game to join a handful of fans laying a wreath at the foot of the Bonds and Brooking mural at the junction of Priory Road and Barking Road. It’s an area I knew well being the postman who delivered letters along Barking Road and the side roads, including Priory Road, finishing my round at Cassetteria Cafe, whose owners would offer me a free breakfast on Saturdays as I handed their mail over. My round was called ‘Boleyn’ and I was fortunate to be the postie for this round as it was not as heavy as the other rounds and I could finish very close to where I was living at the time above the opticians opposite the pub.
I was disappointed by the lack of numbers who had chosen to make the journey for an 11am meet to show respects to our Legend Sir Billy Bonds. It was quite emotional to hear the few words that were shared with the small gathering of Hammers faithful on a cold but clear morning in East London.
I spoke to a German fan about how much the sport has changed and the modern game seems a shadow of what it once was before money became the idol for which players and owners alike worship above all else. He summed it up like losing both your grandparents and then the developer comes in, buys up their home only to turn it into expensive, bougie flats.
Bonzo represented that period of time when putting on the claret and blue meant something more than the adoration of fans and pleasure of the owners. You had a sense of pride and commitment to your team mates, the fans and the club. You brought everything with you in your kit bag and left it torn and muddied on the pitch at the end of the game.
What does the club and the fans really mean to our owners? I visited the centre spot placed in the estate that now sits where the Boleyn Ground once stood. A field of dreams and passions and sense of togetherness that collapsed when it was demolished for a profit.
The plaque is well hidden on a small mound of muddy grass that fails to honour our home, a spiritual place on which we saw our dreams fly so high and fade as the rubble of the stands were gathered and removed truckload by truckload.
It was with a heavy heart I made my way to Stratford for the match, leaving behind a place that had been so familiar to me but was now somewhere I did not recognise so well.
I wanted to arrive early for the game so I could spend some time with other fans showing their respects to a hero we all looked to up to. From our days as young fans hoping to follow in Bonzo’s footsteps as a West Ham Legend to wanting to just be as he was in life, a strong character, honourable and inspiring both on and off the field.
There was a sense of real loss as fans stood respectfully along the gathering wall of scarfs, flowers, T-shirts and cards and I observed many tying their memories to the railings, stopping to say a few words, have their photo taken pause again just before making way for others to show their respects.
The game itself seemed to pail in comparison to the weight of grief we were all feeling and I just hoped the players would respond with a performance that Bonzo himself would have been proud to be part of.
I walked around the ground and went to meet my youngest at the security check point before going into the stadium for the clubs brief marking of respect to one of our greatest ever players. Listening to Alvin Martin before the game helped to add much needed weight to our sadness.
The banner of Bonzo unfurled with him holding the FA Cup aloft, overshadowing the Billy Bonds stand, I captured Bowen clapping the fans as we counted down to the start of the match.
I wanted something more, something substantial but on reflection I realise it was grief that I was feeling and only time will heal the sense of loss. But it’s not just of a life gone, but what we once had as a club, as fans and in the team and this just amplifies the sense of emptiness.
I wanted to really get into the match and some of my photos are blurred reflecting how I threw myself into celebrating our goals. Fernandez scored an amazing early goal from such a tight angel after some incredible individual skill. I can see him coming into his own in the second half of the season.
At 4 mins the crowd stood and clapped in remembrance of our captain Bonzo, and these moments really are touching as I took a few shots before joining in the clapping myself.
Mavropanos’ ‘one significant error per game’ continues with an own goal to put the visitors on level terms. And it felt as if a familiar script will unfold from here on until the final whistle.
But Bowen timed his run perfectly to slot the ball home putting us 2-1 up going into half time. Even VAR couldn’t spoil the first half party that us fans wanted to enjoy.
Areola was doing well in goal for much of the game, and we were competitive at times, and with the Villains not offering too much up front until Paqueta’s failure to better control the ball that allowed Villa to square the game again. Ugh! I was hoping we could have held out for a much needed win.
It’s frustrating to watch a match and see that Nuno has no intention of trying to do anything to change it. We needed fresh legs at 60mins – I would have put Wilson on and perhaps Soucek earlier to give us a chance to take all three points, but the visitors were able to get more control of the game and it seemed inevitable that they would score, especially given the form they are on.
We were competitive at times, with Summerville and Bowen going close, offering us some hope we could square the game and share the points. Bowen’s goal was ruled out for off side, which seemed cruel at the time.
Another punch in the face that shows we are going to struggle to get out of the relegation zone with the run of games we have coming our way. A 3-0 loss to Man City adds to the gap between ourselves and the teams above us. That gap is getting wider and I fear it may just be too much for us to get out of. We not only need to win games, but the teams above us need to lose their matches as well.
It felt like the match itself was unimportant as I walked slowly out of the stadium and back around to the memorial wall stretching further along the railings outside turnstile J. More and more fans had returned to add their tributes, and more were still coming before heading home.
I cannot answer the big questions as to whether Nuno is the right manager for us now, nor whether we will stay up this season or if the owners will see sense and hand everything over to people who know how to run a club. I don’t know how you are all feeling, but there is a sense of inevitability about our current situation.
Now we are in the period of time that will define our season, with the painful defeat against Fulham after having a few clear chances there are some winnable games ahead and the chance to progress in the FA Cup against Championship side QPR.
Without investment we in January we are definitely ‘cooked’ as my boys say. They keep asking me if we are going to be relegated this season. It feels like it did before when we were relegated, although there are significant differences. My fear is that the owners will not do enough to prevent it and much of the squad will not do enough to prevent it either.
I wish there was a belated Christmas present left somewhere under the tree to salvage our festive spirit, but it seems that the Grinches who run the club have stolen even this from us.
Take care everyone and let’s hope for something to celebrate in the New Year!
Thank you all for reading and commenting on my posts throughout this year, I really appreciate the support I get here for my long reads and many photos. You’re wonderful people to publish my photo diaries for.
Dawud
From the Stands 