Dicks was born in Keynsham Hospital, Bristol to mother, Carol and father Ron who worked as a fork-lift truck driver for Courage Brewery.

At age 11 he was watched by former Tottenham Hotspur manager, Bill Nicholson who was scouting for West Ham United, but was turned down as he "was not quick enough".

[4] In 1988, he was signed by manager John Lyall for West Ham United, for £300,000, giving him the chance of First Division football that Birmingham's relegation in 1986 had denied him.

[4] Although Dicks had been booked 33 times and sent-off once in all competitions, in his four seasons with Birmingham City, Lyall identified potential in the player enthusing "There was a great touch there.

[14] West Ham finished 7th in a season which saw the departure of Lou Macari and the appointment of former player, Billy Bonds as manager.

Against the medical assessment of John Green, who was soon to take over as club physiotherapist, he was told to "crash-on" and in the words of manager Bonds "if the knee goes, it goes".

He was sent off three times and picked up a string of bookings which saw him miss significant periods of the season and he was subsequently stripped of the captaincy by manager Bonds.

In January 1993 after two bad fouls on Derby County midfielder Ted McMinn he was sent-off, having to be escorted from the pitch by teammate Clive Allen.

In a move engineered by West Ham's then-Assistant Manager Harry Redknapp, Dicks was transferred in order to bring in new players.

Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, on the recommendation of Redknapp, watched Dicks play in a West Ham match against Swindon Town on 11 September 1993.

Souness thought Dicks to be "my kind of player" [25] and signed him for Liverpool that week in a swap deal which involved David Burrows and Mike Marsh moving to West Ham.

Extra money received by West Ham from the transfer was used by Redknapp to buy veteran striker, Lee Chapman.

[26] Dicks' signing had been part of an effort by Souness to "toughen up" the Liverpool team as he had planned to pair him with fellow hard man, Neil Ruddock.

[29][30] By now a regular in the Liverpool side, Dicks scored his opening goal, a shot from 25 yards, in a 3–0 away win against Oldham Athletic in January 1994.

He had dropped fan-favourites Ian Rush and John Barnes to the reserve team due to perceived under performance and he had tried to integrate too many young and inexperienced players for many fans' liking.

In February 1994 after a shock FA Cup loss to Bristol City, a game in which Dicks did not play, the fans were calling for him to resign.

[38][39] His Liverpool career lasted only 13 months, a short time considering his former manager Souness had said of Dicks, "if I was to pick the best 11 players I've ever worked with, he'd be one of them".

[41] Dicks played a major part in helping to keep West Ham in the Premier League in 1994–95 scoring five goals.

[44] In 1996–97 he scored twice in a crucial London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on 24 February 1997 at The Boleyn Ground that West Ham won 4–3.

He did return to action in the 1998–99 season and West Ham finished fifth to qualify for the UEFA Cup, but his injury problems failed to go away and he was restricted to just nine Premier League games.

West Ham manager Harry Redknapp was ordered to remove Di Canio for the pitch to defuse the tension.

TV pundit Andy Gray and politician, radio journalist and Chelsea supporter, David Mellor called for FA to get involved.

[71] In 1997 with Glenn Hoddle now manager of England, Dicks met, by chance, his assistant, John Gorman whilst on holiday.

[72] Dicks returned to football on 5 January 2009 when he was appointed manager of Eastern Counties League side Wivenhoe Town,[73] but left the club shortly after the end of that season by mutual consent.

[75] In his first season at Grays, he was relegated from the Conference, whilst the club voluntarily dropped three levels to the Isthmian League Division One North.

[76] Dicks took take charge of the Sealand side at the Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament on the Isle of Man in July 2013.

[80] On 29 June 2015, Dicks was appointed first-team coach for his former team, West Ham United, under new manager and former teammate, Slaven Bilić.

[85] In May 2019, Heybridge Swifts won the 2018–19 Isthmian League Division One North play-off final against rivals Maldon & Tiptree, however were ineligible for promotion due to changes to the non-league pyramid system, leading Dicks to label the decision as "ridiculous".

[92] On 8 December 2022, Dicks was appointed assistant manager of EFL Championship side Watford, returning to England after a stint in the United States working as technical director at Carolina Velocity.

[96] After retiring as a footballer, Dicks took up golf and soon turned professional, but was forced to give this career up due to his knee injury and the realisation that he did not have the ability to win tournaments.