A former West Ham Academy striker netted his 32nd goal of the season last weekend for Maldon & Tiptree. Before you start wondering who, it is none other than Freddie Sears, now aged 36 and firmly in the veteran stage of his career. Sears joined the club in 2025 after a productive spell at Chatham Town, where he scored 21 goals in 39 appearances.
Maldon & Tiptree, competing in the Isthmian North Division and managed by former West Ham midfielder Kevin Horlock, currently sit top of the table on 91 points. The club, owned by Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, is affectionately known as the “Jammers” thanks to Tiptree’s long-standing jam-making heritage. They will shortly be appearing on television in a six-part fly-on-the-wall documentary set to air on ITV.
Dream West Ham debut still remembered
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Sears was a prolific goalscorer during his time in West Ham’s Academy and made a dream first-team debut on 15 March 2008 against Blackburn Rovers, a match I attended. Coming on for Nobby Solano in the 75th minute, he scored the winner just five minutes and sixteen seconds into his senior career.
Career path beyond the Premier League
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Despite that explosive start, Sears made only 46 appearances for West Ham, scoring just once more before moving to Colchester United in 2012. He left for Ipswich Town in 2015, spending six years there before returning to Colchester for another two-year stint. He later joined Dagenham & Redbridge and then moved to Braintree Town under Alan Devonshire, before eventually arriving at Maldon & Tiptree via Chatham Town.
Love of the game never fades
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Sears’ journey is a reminder that football careers do not always follow the script fans expect. While he never became a Premier League regular, his passion for the game has kept him scoring goals across the country for nearly two decades.
Now leading the line for the Jammers and heading for national TV exposure, Freddie Sears is proving that love for football and an eye for goal never fade.
Everyone at [Claret & Hugh](https://www.claretandhugh.info/claret-and-hugh-bio/) wishes him well for the future, and hopefully a league medal!