An evening with Julian Dicks

Enjoyed an audience with Hammers legend Julian ‘Biffer’ Dicks at the Stop! Hammer Time live podcast last night. Some 70 Hammers fans gathered in the upstairs bar of The Horse at North Lambeth, where Dicksy was interviewed by Phil Whelans, Sam Delaney and Jim Grant. I found myself sitting with former stadium announcer Jeremy Nicholas, who was waiting for Mr Moon to arrive, and Chris, an Australian Hammer, while supping some rather good Ilkley Black real ale.


Fortified by bottles of Budweiser, Julian is not exactly Alan Shearer, being as uncompromising a pundit as he was a player. Dicks had some very funny tales of always being covered by a fog of smoke in chain-smoker John Lyall’s office and how Lou Macari called him a “fat bastard” and he called him a “f**king midget” back. Macari wanted the side to play long ball but Dicksy and the lads "said bollocks to that!". He had some sympathy for Billy Bonds though, recalling, “I must have been a c**t to manage”. He’s clearly no fan of West Ham’s current “s**t football” and was quick to tell us that “Prozone is bollocks”, and controversially that Trevor Morley was a much better striker than Andy Carroll (he does seem to have a claret and blue-tinted view of the Billy Bonds side that, after all, did got relegated). 

Dicks said that none of the current back four can play football because they can’t pass a ball thirty yards and that Winston Reid is an average defender.He doesn't rate Morrison much either. Dicksy also said that modern players are all muscular clones and reminisced about the time when West Ham players were all mates and went out together and players stayed after training to practice their skills. He ended up by advocating removing Big Sam and getting a West Ham man in as manager. Then it all ended with cries of "Julian Julian Julian!" Next time maybe he’ll say what he really thinks… Click on the link for the Stop! Hammer Time podcast.