Alan Dickens is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who played as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. He played the majority of his football at West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 and Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

.

Dickens was born in Plaistow

Plaistow, Newham

Plaistow is a place in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965.Plaistow is a mainly residential area, including several council estates; the main road is the A112 - Plaistow Road, High Street, Broadway, Greengate Street and...

, east London, and played for West Ham United as a youth, winning the FA Youth Cup

FA Youth Cup

The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...

 with his local club in 1981. For England, he gained four caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 at Youth level and later played for the Under 21

England national under-21 football team

England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

 team.

He signed for the Hammers as an apprentice on 14 July 1981 and as a pro on 2 August 1982. He scored on his debut, a 2-1 win at Notts County

Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 on 18 December 1982. Although a central midfielder, Dicko had to play most of the 1987-88

West Ham United F.C. 1987-1988

Again John Lyall waited until three quarters of the season had passed before bringing any new signings to the club. Even so, the two players he did eventually bring in, Julian Dicks and Leroy Rosenior, would play a major part in helping the club to just avoid relegation for the second season...

 season partnering Tony Cottee

Tony Cottee

Anthony Richard "Tony" Cottee is a former football player who now works as a television football commentator...

 as a striker following the departure of Frank McAvennie

Frank McAvennie

Francis "Frank" McAvennie is a former Scottish football striker best known as a player with West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with both of these clubs.-Early life:...

. He made a total of 231 league and cup appearances for the Hammers, scoring 29 goals, playing his last game for them on 23 May 1989 against Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

.

Dickens made the move to Chelsea for £635,000, a fee set by a Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 tribunal that included his former manager John Lyall

John Lyall

John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...

. He made 22 league appearances for the West London

West (London sub region)

The West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...

 club during the 1989-90

1989-90 in English football

-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...

 season under Bobby Campbell, with his debut coming in a 1-0 away win against Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 on 19 August 1989, the opening day of the 1989-90 season. He was regularly substituted during the first half of the campaign. He scored his first league goal in a 4-2 defeat at QPR

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 on 9 December 1989, but made just one appearance between January and the end of the season (as a late replacement for Peter Nicholas

Peter Nicholas (footballer)

Peter Nicholas is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international, now football manager.He was capped 73 times at senior level for Wales between 1979 and 1991.-Crystal Palace:...

 in the last game of the season away to Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

).

During his second season at Chelsea, Dickens failed to make a league start until mid-February. He did, however, keep his place in the side for the remainder of that campaign. Campbell's replacement at the end of the 1990-91

1990-91 in English football

The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...

 season, Ian Porterfield, signed Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones

Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...

 and Dickens added just three games to his 1991-92

1991-92 in English football

- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...

 tally upon Jones' arrival on 30 August 1991. He played his last first-team game in February 1992, a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

, after which he appeared only for the reserve team

Reserve team

Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

.

After periods on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 during the 1992-93

1992-93 in English football

The 1992–1993 season was the 113th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....

 season, Dickens moved to Colchester United

Colchester United F.C.

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

 where he made 32 league appearances. He later played non-league football with Chesham United

Chesham United F.C.

Chesham United is an English football club based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the Southern League. They are nicknamed "The Generals" because they were once the football team of the General Baptist Church in Chesham. Chesham Generals merged with Chesham Town to form United...

, Collier Row, Billericay Town

Billericay Town F.C.

Billericay Town Football Club are an English football club based in Billericay, Essex, who currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division....

 and Purfleet.

After retirement from football, Dickens went on to live in Barking

Barking

Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...

 and work as a black cab (hackney carriage

Hackney carriage

A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...

) driver.