Alan Dicks

Not to be confused with Alan Dick.

Alan Dicks

Dicks in 1955
Personal information
Date of birth	(1934-08-29) 29 August 1934 (age 91)
Place of birth	Kennington, London, England
Position	Wing half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1958	Chelsea	33	(1)
1958–1962	Southend United	85	(2)
Managerial career
1967–1980	Bristol City
1982–1983	Ethnikos Piraeus
1984–1985	Apollon Limassol
1989–1990	Al-Rayyan SC
1990–1991	Fulham
1996–1997	Carolina Dynamo
1999–2001	Charleston Battery
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alan Dicks (born 29 August 1934) is an English retired football player and manager. ^[1] He managed Bristol City for thirteen years and managed clubs in four countries on three continents.

Career

Born in London, he signed for Chelsea at the age of 17, though his playing time in the first team was limited to 35 matches in six years, during this time he completed his two years national service with the RAF and so only played one game in Chelsea's 1954–55 championship season. ^[2] In 1958 he moved to Southend United, and in 1962 joined Coventry City as assistant manager and coach under Jimmy Hill.

In 1967 Hill recommended him for the vacant manager's job at Bristol City. He held it for thirteen years. In that time he consolidated City's position in the Second Division, and eventually, in 1976, led them to promotion to the First Division – then English football's top flight. During his spell as manager the club also made the semi-finals of the 1971 League Cup and won the 1978 Anglo-Scottish Cup. ^[3] Dicks remained as manager throughout City's four-year stay in Division 1, but relegation at the end of the 1979–80 season and a poor start to the following season saw him leave on 8 September 1980. ^[4] 20 months later City were in the 4th Division.

Dicks also managed Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece, ^[5] Apollon Limassol in Cyprus and in Qatar (where he won the championship with Al-Rayyan Sports Club).

He managed Fulham for one season in 1990–91 having been initially recruited to help manager Ray Lewington. It was his first job back in English football for over a decade. The team's performance was poor. They finished 21st in the league (a position which normally would have seen them relegated to Division Four, though they were saved from this fate thanks to league restructuring) and were eliminated from the FA Cup by non-league side Hayes. Things appeared to be going better in the following season, but a run of five successive defeats near the end of 1991 saw him sacked. ^[6] After leaving Fulham he moved to the United States and subsequently became head coach of Carolina Dynamo and then Charleston Battery in the A-League. ^[7]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of fellow footballer Ronnie Dicks, who played for Middlesbrough. ^[8]

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Bristol City	1 October 1967	8 September 1980	611	202	174	235	033.1
Fulham	9 July 1990	31 December 1991	75	17	23	35	022.7
Total [9]			686	219	197	270	031.9

References

1. "Alan Dicks". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
2. Henderson, Charlie (30 April 2005). "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
3. "Bristol City". talkfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
4. Daily Mirror – 9 September 1980.
5. "When Saturday Comes – Weekly Howl 11-09-09". wsc.co.uk.
6. "Alan Dicks 1990–1991". fulhamfc.com. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
7. "Battery agrees to terms with Alan Dicks to lead the club into the millenium". ww.charlestonbattery.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
8. "Boro stalwart passes away". Teesside Live. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
9. "Alan Dicks – managerial statistics". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 15 January 2013.