Derek Hales is pictured playing for West Ham United during the 1-0
win against Newcastle.
|
| Luton Town: |
1972-1973 |
Played |
7 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 2) |
| |
1973-1974 |
Played |
0 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
| Transferred in October 1973 |
| |
| Charlton Athletic: |
1973-1974 |
Played |
29 |
Scored |
9 |
goals |
(Division 3) |
| |
1974-1975 |
Played |
44 |
Scored |
20 |
goals |
(Division 3) |
| |
1975-1976 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
28 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
1976-1977 |
Played |
16 |
Scored |
16 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
| Transferred in December 1976 |
| |
| Derby County: |
1976-1977 |
Played |
23 |
Scored |
4 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
| Transferred in September 1977 |
| |
| West Ham Utd.: |
1977-1978 |
Played |
24 |
Scored |
10 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
| Transferred to Charlton Athletic in July 1978 |
| |
|
Hales, who had been a prolific scorer for Charlton Athletic earlier in his career, was signed
by West Ham from Derby County in September 1977 for a £100,000 fee.
The twenty-five-year-old
striker from Kent made his West Ham debut in October 1977, in a 2-0 defeat by Middlesbrough
at Upton Park. His first goal came in the Hammers next home game, a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
He also scored a further two goals in the following game, a 2-0 win against Ipswich Town at
Portman Road.
Hales best goalscoring spell for West Ham came between December 1977 and
March 1978 when, playing in a forward line together with David Cross and Bryan “Pop” Robson,
he scored six goals in ten games. But after being sent off for striking Wolves defender Derek Parkin
in a game at Upton Park in March 1978, he was to make only four further appearances for the Hammers,
scoring just one more goal.
West Ham were relegated to the Second Division at the end of Hales’s one and only season at Upton Park,
one in which he had made twenty-seven first team appearances, with a respectable return of ten goals,
finishing the season as the club’s top scorer.
Hales however found it hard to settle at Upton Park, failing
to win over the Hammers fans and with the club needing to reduce their wage bill following relegation,
he was sold back to Charlton in July 1978 for £85,000. He played for a further eight years with both
Charlton and Gillingham, becoming the Valiants all-time leading goal scorer. (Mark Matthews)