From West Ham''s cult hero, Julian Dicks, a hugely entertaining romp through football and the East End of the Eighties and Nineties.
''Cult figure'' is a term hardly used in football these days: where have they all gone? In the sterile and corporate modern game, is there room for the mercurial midfielder or the tough-tackling defender or the pot-bellied goal poacher? Rewind two or three decades and British professional football was stuffed to the gunnels with these ''one-offs'': players with bags of talent, yes, but also lorryloads of personality and a hugely relatable quality which meant they''d all be playing Sunday morning park football if they hadn''t become professionals. No media training, no filter, no 5% body fat, no cryotherapy chambers, and no quiet nights in with a curly kale salad and a glass of carrot juice.
Meet Julian Dicks. Wonderful name, wonderful player and undoubtedly one of the greatest cult figures to play for West Ham United.
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