Early career Dickinson began his career at
Blackpool's Centre of Excellence, where he was offered a contract, but he chose instead to sign for
Bolton Wanderers, before joining the
Blackburn Rovers academy, where he was released at sixteen before signing a full-time contract. and playing
Sunday league football, before playing in the
Manchester League with
Irlam FC and then Swinton Town. When he was eighteen he started playing semi-professionally when he signed for
North West Counties League club
Trafford after a short trial in December 2003. He made 43 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals, until a move to
Woodley Sports in 2004 where, despite injury problems, he scored nine goals in 38 appearances. Dickinson later said of his early career, "Playing football on a Saturday was just an activity for me, a hobby, something you do for fun than an actual career prospect."
Stockport County After impressing during a trial in November 2005,
Stockport County signed him for
£2,000 in December. On 21 March 2006 he signed a contract extension with the club until July 2008. His tally of seven goals in the
2005–06 season played a large part in the club's survival in
League Two. He hit seven goals in 37 games for County in the
2006–07 season. He did not score until Boxing Day in a 2–0 win over
Notts County, before adding six more before the end of the season. During the
2007–08 season he had his most prolific term as a Football League player, hitting the net 21 times from 32 starts and winning Stockport's
Player of the year award in the process. He got the decisive goal against
Wycombe Wanderers in the second leg of the play-off
semi-final at Edgeley Park on 17 May. He then scored Stockport's winning goal in the
play-off final against
Rochdale at
Wembley Stadium on 26 May, as Stockport won 3–2 and were promoted into
League One.
Derby County Dickinson signed for
Derby County in July 2008 for a fee of around £750,000, becoming
Paul Jewell's ninth signing of the
2008–09 pre-season. In order for Dickinson to gain more experience, Jewell sent him on an initial one-month loan to
League One club
Huddersfield Town, on 19 August 2008. He made his debut in Town's 3–1 defeat by
Milton Keynes Dons on 23 August. His first goal for the "Terriers" came in their 2–1 defeat by
Millwall on 30 August, in which he fired in a powerful overhead kick. On 13 September, he grabbed his first goal at the
Galpharm Stadium when he scored to give Town the lead against
Tranmere Rovers in what finished as a 2–1 defeat. Dickinson had his loan spell extended twice by manager
Stan Ternent, before returning to
Pride Park on 17 November. He said that the loan move reignited his love for the game. On 27 November 2008, Dickinson signed for
Championship rivals
Blackpool on loan. Two days later he made a scoring debut for Blackpool, netting both of the "Seasiders" goals in their 2–1 victory over
Plymouth Argyle at
Home Park. His first came just three minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow loanee
Steve Kabba. In his full home debut for Blackpool, on 6 December, Dickinson again scored twice in the second half as the "Tangerines" beat
Charlton Athletic 2–0 at
Bloomfield Road. Blackpool manager
Simon Grayson said of Dickinson, "He has character and he's an honest lad. He's had a bit of a rollercoaster career but he might now have earned legend status here." Two days later Dickinson was named by the
Football League in the Championship "Team of the Week". Interviewed by
Sky Sports on 12 December, Dickinson said of his meteoric rise in football, "It's only three years ago, I was paying subs on a Sunday to play football and it's changed dramatically. To be at a massive club like Derby County and on loan to a big club like Blackpool, I have to pinch myself sometimes.". the first move by
caretaker manager Chris Hutchings was to recall Dickinson from his loan spell at Blackpool. On the last day of the January 2009 transfer window Dickinson agreed to a loan move to
Leeds United, where Simon Grayson was now manager, but the papers arrived at
the Football League 14 minutes after the deadline. The transfer was thus void despite appeals to the Football League from Leeds. Negotiations between Leeds United and Derby County for Dickinson to sign on an emergency loan for 93 days continued and he was expected to move at the end of February, however the move was put on hold because he suffered an injury. He joined Leeds on loan for the rest of the season on 13 March 2009. However, he failed to score a goal whilst at
Elland Road as the "Whites" failed to earn promotion out of League One. On his return to Derby, Dickinson was told he was not part of the plans at Derby and that it was likely he would be allowed to move on a season-long loan. On 3 July it was revealed that Dickinson was the subject of two 'small' bids from
Norwich City, both of which were rejected, leaving Dickinson to criticise the club for placing an 'unrealistic' valuation on him.
Brighton & Hove Albion In July 2009, Dickinson transferred to
League One side
Brighton & Hove Albion for £100,000, signing a three-year contract. After finding first-team opportunities difficult to come by, manager
Gus Poyet allowed Dickinson to sign a loan deal with
Championship side
Peterborough United in February 2010, in a deal lasting until the end of the season. This move reunited him with former manager
Jim Gannon. He hit three goals in nine games for the "Posh", whilst hitting six goals in 32 games for the "Seagulls". He left the
Withdean Stadium not long after arriving back from
London Road.
Barnsley In June 2010, Dickinson transferred to
Championship side
Barnsley for an undisclosed fee, (thought to be in the region of £150,000) where he signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year. He was to feature just four times at
Oakwell under manager
Mark Robins. On 2 November 2010, he joined
League One side
Walsall on an emergency one-month loan. He played seven games for
Chris Hutchings's "Saddlers", without finding the net. On 6 January 2011, Liam joined
Rochdale on a loan deal for the remainder of
the season. He went on to play 14 League One games for
Keith Hill's "Dale", again without finding the net. After his loan spell at
Spotland ended, Dickinson was released from his contract at Barnsley.
Plymouth Argyle to Southend United Dickinson agreed a contract with
Plymouth Argyle on 5 July 2011, subject to the takeover of the club being completed. However, he was released from his contract on just eight days later, citing personal reasons. "Regrettably, we have agreed to a request from Liam to be released. We fully understand the reasons why," said acting chairman
Peter Ridsdale, who further stated that "Liam has been a thorough professional in the short time he has been with us, and we hope that things will work out for him." "Liam's a good size and he had a good goalscoring record in this division a few seasons ago with Stockport County," said manager
Paul Sturrock. "That got him a big move to Derby but since then he's been a bit nomadic but we feel he has the attributes to be a success here." Injuries and suspensions caused him to miss the start of the season, and a broken ankle caused him to sit out the rest of the season from March onwards. He was also one of three players internally disciplined by the club for an unspecified incident at a hotel; the other two players were
Ryan Hall and
Kane Ferdinand. Despite these setbacks he still found the net 12 times in 37 games in
2011–12. Dickinson left
Roots Hall at the expiry of his contract on 20 June, after the "Shrimpers" were unwilling renew his contract for a further year. He joined
Port Vale for training in July 2012, with manager
Micky Adams wishing to review the player's fitness before offering a contract. However a permanent move to
Vale Park seemed unlikely after a proposed takeover collapsed, leaving the cash-strapped club to start the upcoming season in
administration. He then found himself unable to play during the
2012–13 season after breaking his ankle and undergoing surgery when the break failed to heal properly. He returned to
Vale Park for pre-season training in summer 2013, but after two friendly appearances Micky Adams stated that "Our interest in Liam is now finished, he has ongoing problems with his ankle. We wish him well."
Later career While on loan at
Bradford Park Avenue, Dickinson played against
Boston United as a goalkeeper since none of the club's goalkeepers were available for the match and club could not make an emergency loan. He rejoined Stalybridge on 1 September 2017. In July 2018 he joined
FC United of Manchester. In October 2018, he joined
Northern Premier League side
Droylsden. ==Style of play==