From the eighth tier to the Premiership

By: Bob | March 13th, 2007

When you play for a non-league team in England the best that you can usually hope for is the chance to get a bit of exercise, a free kit and maybe some orange slices at intermission if the budget allows for them. Surely every player playing at that level has dreamed of one day playing in the Premiership, but only a few will even make it to the league level. A 22-year-old Dulwich Hamlet striker is about to get his shot at the big time.

Charlton Athletic have signed Chris Dickson to a two and a half year contract. The move means he will be going from the Ryman Isthmian League Division One South – the eighth tier of English football – to the Premiership, or more likely the Championship if Charlton don’t escape relegation.

In either case it is rare these days for a player makes that big a leap. With the scouting systems of the big clubs so advanced players are usually spotted at an early age and farmed out to lower league clubs. Non-league players are either written off or they are players who have slipped through the cracks and will never be thought of again.

Dickson, who has scored 37 goals in 41 appearances for Dulwich Hamlet, was one who escaped notice early in his career but caught Charlton’s attention in a reserves match.

Talking to the official Charlton Athletic website on the conclusion of the deal, Dickson said “It’s like a dream come true to sign for a Premiership club,”. “It’s a massive step up for me but I’ve always been a confident player. I did my best to impress in the reserve game and thought I grabbed my chance with both hands.”

“When I first moved in I was star struck, I saw Jimmy Floyd [Hasselbaink] and I saw Darren Bent, I just thought gracious, crazy,” Dickson told Sky Sports. “My targets are just to do what I do best, and that is score goals.

It remains to be seen whether he will ever suit up for Charlton’s first team, but I know that I won’t be the only one rooting for him. His story gives hope to all the players toiling in obscurity on crappy pitches on Saturdays hoping that their team van won’t break down on the way home from the match so that they won’t be late for their other job.