How high is the ceiling for Rob Dickie?

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Rob Dickie has started the 2021/22 season with great promise. With three goals already this season, the Queens Park Rangers defender looks set to continue his development into a top player, but how good can the Englishman become?

Dickie has built a career in the English Football League on being a commanding presence across the back, with the ability to control, pass, and dribble the ball to dictate play as if he was a central midfielder.

This has been part of modern league football in England for a few years now, and yet the 25-year-old has managed to do it in a way that is effective and hard to play against in leagues that still express more traditional and physical ‘route one’ styles of play.

League Experience

The defender learned his trade in lower league football, as he was loaned out to Basingstoke Town at the age of 18, just five months after signing his first professional contract for Reading. He also had loan spells at Cheltenham Town and Lincoln City before his departure from the Royals in 2018.

Dickie’s time at Cheltenham was important in his development, the right-footed player made 47 appearances for the Robins, and scored five times, including one hat-trick, an impressive return for a defender by any standards.

He earned himself a two-and-a-half-year contract at Oxford United after a short spell at the Imps as the Wokingham-born defender made a way into the starting 11 which forced captain Luke Waterfall out of the side.

The former England under-19 international quickly became a fans favourite, playing out from the back and winning aerial duels as he helped Oxford climb out of the relegation zone to a 12th place finish. 

The following season, Dickie took the armband in February 2020 following club captain John Mousinho’s season-ending injury. Forming a defensive partnership with a fellow youngster Elliot Moore, the duo kept a clean sheet against Newcastle United in the FA Cup as they earned a replay which they lost 3-2 after extra-time.

Oxford United manager Karl Robinson spoke about how much the defender has grown as a player and rewarding him with the captain’s armband.

“Rob [Dickie] has really grown as a player this season and fully deserves the award [Fans Player of the Season]. He has matured so much over the last couple of years. We made him captain and he accepted that responsibility and is becoming a real leader. If you add that to his outstanding ability, his commitment and his constant desire to improve and become an even better player then you can see why we rate him so highly”.

His fantastic performances earned him the Supporters’ Player of the Season and a move into the Championship with Queens Park Rangers.

Dickie is known for his on-the-ball ability and the most unique part of his play is how he carries the ball. He picks the ball up from the goalkeeper and drives into the midfield and sometimes further to create a chance. A great example of this being executed was against Milwall on the opening day of this season.

The defender picked the ball up inside his own half, took a clever touch past a Milwall player and drove into the midfield.  As space opened up for him, he kept on moving forward until he found himself 30 yards out and slotted the ball into the back of the net to earn QPR a point.

He not only has the courage to try and play this way under pressure but the ability to execute with class and ease.

Physicality

At six-foot-four, Dickie is tall and even for a centre-back, this makes his work on the ball that much more impressive.

He uses his stature to win headers and command with the defender scoring plenty of headed goals for the teams he has played for, including this season with QPR.

Former Cheltenham Town manager Gary Johnson spoke about how the defender became an integral part of the Robins’ setup after his arrival at the Jonny Rocks Stadium.

“Right from day one when he came in he was one of those strong characters that could deal with whatever came his way and he came through that and become one of our players of the season”. 

Prospect

In his first season at QPR, Dickie earned himself the Supporters’ Player of the Year, a year after winning the same award at Oxford.

An impressive achievement from a young defender whose only previous Championship experience was 45 minutes on the final day of the 2015/16 season with Reading.

Dickie has been praised by many who have noticed his improvements over the last season, and many tip him for a top-tier Championship or low-level Premier League move in the near future. 

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