As the ever-dreaded international break becomes a distant dot on the horizon, we see a return to domestic football as well as another instalment in the GRM Premier League.
Last time out Mr Bigz managed to secure an 8-5 victory against myself to put himself level at the top of the leaderboard with Joe Black.
This week we have one of the hottest artists out right now in the shape of Bonkaz, who is also a big West Ham fan.
I linked up with him at Sony Music to talk to him about football, his beloved club, and to get this predictions for this weekend’s fixtures.
How do you think West Ham are doing so far this season?
Amazingly, Payet has been great for us since his arrival. I’m super excited about Reece Oxford though, I feel he could be a future England captain – he shows amazing leadership skills for a man of his age.
What are your expectations for West Ham this season?
I’ve got high expectations, so I think we can pinch a Europa League spot. Top four would be pushing it a bit, but we can start heading in that direction. Depending on where we finish this season, with the potential money that comes with European qualification, we should start to buy a few more players and continue to nurture the younger players that we’ve got right now – West Ham’s always had a great academy setup.
Why did you choose West Ham?
There are many aspects. The culture, the vibe, the history behind the team itself sat well with me both on and off the pitch. The negative firm aspect always stood out for me, not that I promote that sort of behaviour, but it stands out – it adds a different feeling and energy to it.
In your history of watching football, what’s the one game that sticks out for you?
England vs Argentina, France 1998 World Cup – when Owen scored that wonder goal and Beckham got sent off. England got knocked out and I ended up crying… I used to cry over football! I don’t know why, but I remember watching that game so well. Back then I used to watch it religiously. My mum even said that I learnt how to read properly from watching the back pages of the newspaper, these times I was too young to be reading and they thought I was just looking at the pictures.
Messi or Ronaldo?
Messi – there’s no one like him, he’s the best player in the world. But the weird thing is, Ronaldo can do things Messi can’t do, but it’s not always the case the other way round. Messi doesn’t bang in 40-yard screamers or score headers, but he’s still the best, he’s just unstoppable.
Did you ever play football? If so, were you ever any good?
I did up until the age of 11. All I ever wanted to be was a footballer, but then one day I was watching Match of the Day, and it hit me that I actually would never be a footballer. I started staring at the screen thinking “what am I gonna do then?” because all I ever thought I’d be was a footballer. I clocked that I hadn’t put in the work that others had done, such as training etc. Wilfried Zaha is from my area, but I never used to see him around – he had a brother who I always saw in the bits. It’s only recently we became friends, but I realised that he was probably putting work in to be where he is now.
If you could choose one footballer to collab with on a tune, who would it be?
I’d probably have someone like Thierry Henry just talking on the tune with the smooth Va Va Voom vibes. I could have someone like Wilfried Zaha talking about the area, progressing etc. on positive vibes. To talk crud on a tune, it would have to be Vinnie Jones or someone like that, that guy is a nutter.
Make sure you go and grab Bonkaz’s latest single ‘You Don’t Know (Bonkaz)’ which is available on iTunes.
Words by @JaikBFenton