PROPRIETOR, JULIAN DICKS
It's a close run thing between Frank Lampard (senior) and
Julian Dicks for the honour of being West Ham's finest-ever left back - but
Dicks, who had two separate spells at the club he joined from Birmingham City
for £300,000 in March 1988, certainly had much the better left foot.
Although he quickly earned a fearsome reputation as one of football's
so-called 'hard men' with a poor disciplinary record, the tough-tackling
defender could also play when he had the ball.
With his cultured left foot, he would deliver pinpoint passes and crosses to
teammates and, certainly in his pre-injury first spell with the club, would
start many attacks with typically surging runs down the left flank.
He was an awesome dead ball kicker and scored an impressive tally from
penalties and free kicks.
With his cropped hair, socks rolled down and sleeves rolled up, the
'Terminator' always looked ready for battle and certainly never shirked a
challenge.
It was this inner steel that stood Dicksy in such good stead when, in October
1990, his career suffered a major setback when he badly tore cruciate knee
ligaments at Bristol City..
He was sidelined for 14 months but recovered to again skipper
the side and lead them to promotion to the top flight in 1992-93. It was a
season that summed up Julian - stylish, classy football interspersed with
moments of madness that led to three red cards and 13 matches missed due to
suspension.
It was this reckless side to his nature - off the pitch he was a doting dad to
twin daughters and a big animal-lover who bred dogs - that undoubtedly cost him
a full England cap to add to his two 'B' international appearances under Graham
Taylor (against Czech Republic pictured, and the old CIS in Eastern Europe).
Public outbursts about not caring whether he ever played for England didn't
impress Taylor's successor, Terry Venables, either and it was a tragedy that a
player as talented as Julian did not play at the highest level, especially given
England's chronic shortage of quality left-backs.
Dicks became a more rebellious and disillusioned figure as West Ham struggled
against relegation in 1992 and despite leading them straight back up, his unrest
led to a sudden transfer to Liverpool in September 1993, with David Burrows and
Mike Marsh joining West Ham as part of the swap deal.
Julian Dicks had the honour of being the last Liverpool player to score in
front of the standing Spion Kop, in 1993, when he converted a penalty to give
the Reds a 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town.
It would be fair to say that not all of of Grame Souness' signings for Liverpool
didn't work out and Julian Dicks would be a prime example of that. Souness
wanted steel to his defence and felt the signings of Neil Ruddock and Julian
Dicks would give Liverpool a mean look.
To be fair Dicks fitted that bill. He was a 'legend at West Ham' and arrived at
Anfield in 1993 in a swap deal with David Burrows and Mike Marsh moving to Upton
Park.
He made his Reds debut at Goodison Park but it was to be an unhappy day as
Everton won the derby 2-0. Dicks was a tough competitor and strong in the
tackle, and had a peach of a left foot, but he struggled for fitness at Anfield,
with knee problems.
When Souness left Anfield the writing was on the wall for Dicks and he returned
to West Ham United after being left out of Evans pre-season squad due to poor
attitude and condition.
But after an unhappy season at Anfield, during which he suffered further knee
injuries and saw the man who signed him, Graeme Souness, replaced by Roy Evans,
Dicksy was pleased to rejoin Hammers under Harry Redknapp in October '94.
He returned to a hero's welcome and cemented his place among the most popular
players ever to wear the claret and blue shirt.
Unfortunately, the wear and tear on Julian's knee eventually took its toll and
well before the end of 1998-99 he was forced to rest - rather than train -
between games. His last first team appearance was a forgettable 4-0 home defeat
by Arsenal on February 6, 1999.
Although he returned to Upton Park one more time for his testimonial
matchagainst Athletic Bilbao in August 2000, Julian Dicks had by then left the
club to pursue his ambition to become a professional golfer.
In 2001 Julian joined Canvey Island FC of the Ryman Premeier
League where he helped them to the 5th round of the FA Cup before eventually
hanging up his boots for the last time.
Though he can still be found defending the occasional goal at village fetes as
he did at Goodison Park all those years ago .
PROFESSIONAL CAREER RECORD
LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL
During the time that Julian was recovering from injury he developed a keen
interest in golf. With his natural sporting ability and strong desire to
succeed it wasn't long before he was considering a career outside of football,
but still in the world of professional sport, as a professional golfer.
Playing off scratch he joined one of the junior 'Tours' with the intention of
earning his 'pro-card,. Again his former injuries caught up with him
and he was unable to play in as many tournaments as he needed to achieve his
goal.
Fore!
Now he has embarked on his third professional career, this
time in the hostelry trade. His intention is to give the same 100% as
always...
