Dean Hammond

Dean John Hammond (born 7 March 1983) is an English retired footballer and is currently a coach at National League South club Worthing.

He previously played in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Leyton Orient, Colchester United, Leicester City and Southampton.

Born in Hastings, England, Hammond began his career at Brighton & Hove Albion when he was eleven years and then started in 1998 on YTS forms and started to progress at the club's development squad.

Hammond made his Brighton & Hove Albion debut on 6 December 2000, in the first round of the Southern Section of Football League Trophy, in a 2–0 win over Cardiff City.

This turned out to be his only appearance in the 2000–01 season.

Following this, Hammond returned to the club's reserve for the next two seasons before signing his first professional contract on 11 May 2002.

Following this, Hammond was promoted to the first team at the start of the 2002–03 season.

Hammond made his league debut for the club on 14 September 2002, coming on as a late substitute, in a 4–2 loss against Gillingham.

Ten days later, on 24 September 2002, he scored his first Brighton & Hove Albion goal, in a 3–1 loss against Ipswich Town in the second round of League Cup.

After the match, Manager Martin Hinshelwood praised Hammond's performance, including his first goal for the side.

Under the new management of Steve Coppell, Hammond struggled to regain his first team place and never played again for the rest of the 2002–03 season.

In the 2003–04 season, Hammond was loaned out to lower league teams, starting with Aldershot Town during September.

After making seven appearances at Aldershot Town, he returned to his parent club despite intending to extend his loan spell at the club.

Following this, Hammond was loaned out to Leyton Orient shortly after.

After extending his loan spell for another month with Leyton Orient, and went on to make nine appearances for the side.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, Hammond was offered a new contract.

He was given a six-month ultimatum at the start of the 2004–05 season by then manager Mark McGhee.

However, Hammond suffered an injury in the pre–season friendly that saw him sidelined at the start of the 2004–05 season.

After returning to the first team from injury, Hammond was given a handful of first team appearances and making a huge impression, resulting him signing a contract until the end of the next season.

At the end of the 2004–05 season, Hammond finished the season making 30 appearances and scoring 4 times in all competitions.

Despite being on the substitute bench between October and March, he became a first team regular as a midfielder for the rest of the season and then scored his first league goal for the club on 16 March 2005, in a 4–2 loss against Wigan Athletic.

Hammond scored again on 16 April 2005, in a 1–1 draw against Burnley, followed up by scoring twice, in a 2–2 draw against West Ham United on 23 April 2005.

At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Hammond was handed the vacant number 11 shirt at the club, and became a first-team regular, either playing on the left hand side of midfield or in his preferred natural position of central midfield.

He then started the 2005–06 season well when he scored the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Derby County and then scored again a week later, in a 2–2 draw against Crewe.

By the end of 2005, he went on to score two more goals against Ipswich Town and Millwall.

However, Hammond received two red cards this season, with both of them came as a second bookable offence.

Despite suffering setbacks from injury and suspension, Hammond went on to make 41 appearances scoring four times in all competitions.

In the 2006–07 season, Hammond was handed the captain's armband at the club after injuries to both Richard Carpenter and Charlie Oatway.

He started the 2006–07 season well when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Brentford on 12 August 2006.

His second goal then came on 12 September 2006, in a 2–2 draw against AFC Bournemouth.

By the end of 2006, Hammond went on to score four more goals against Bradford City, Cheltenham Town (twice) and Oldham Athletic.

Hammond finished the 2006–07 season making 39 appearances and scoring 11 times, making him the top–scorer both in the league and in all competitions.

For his performance, Hammond was named the club's player of the year this season.

After being sidelined with injury and suspension, Hammond became the new official club captain after Carpenter was released by Brighton at the end of January 2007.

Weeks after being appointed as a new captain, Hammond scored two goals in two matches between 13 February 2007 and 17 February 2007 against Leyton Orient and Nottingham Forest.

However, he suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Hammond also scored three times in cup competitions, with two came from Football League Trophy against Boston United and MK Dons, while the other one came from FA Cup against Stafford Rangers.

Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Hammond returned from injury in the pre–season.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, he started the season well, scoring on his 100th league appearance start on 18 August 2007, in a 2–1 win over Northampton Town.

For his good form at the club led him to sign a contract extension, keeping him until 2008.