Zavon Hines

West Ham United

Hines was born in Jamaica and grew up in the East End of London. He had been playing youth and regular reserve team football for West Ham United before being spotted by Coventry City manager Chris Coleman, playing in a game for the reserves.

Hines had been on trial with Bury before he signed on loan for Coventry City on 27 March 2008. He was given first-team squad number 9, and made his first appearance in the 3–1 home defeat of Plymouth Argyle on 29 March. He scored his first goal in his second game for Coventry City on 1 April in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Hines made his first team debut for West Ham United against Macclesfield Town in a League Cup second round match on 27 August, scoring a goal. Hines missed much of the 2008–09 season with a knee injury but signed a new contract in March 2009, keeping him at the club until summer 2010. After playing in pre-season for the 2009–10 season, Hines was in the matchday squad for several matches and had played against Liverpool in September. He scored his first league goal for West Ham when he scored a 93rd-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Aston Villa on 4 November 2009. Hines' 2009–10 season came to an end in January 2010 following an injury to his knee which required surgery. He returned to first-team football, after nearly a year out, on 30 November in a 4–0 win in the League Cup against Manchester United, and went on to make 15 league and cup appearances in the 2010–11 season. In the summer of 2011, Hines turned down the offer of a new contract and left the club. He had made a total of 31 league and cup appearances for West Ham, scoring three goals.

Burnley

Hines signed a two-year contract with Burnley in August 2011 with a compensation fee, estimated at about £250,000, to be set by a tribunal owing to his young age. Hines said on joining Burnley: "I'm looking forward to playing for Burnley. It's all about me playing football now. ... Burnley seems like a good club to me so it wasn't really a hard decision to come here. ... I'm not a person who talks too much. I prefer to do it on the pitch, but I think I can do a lot in the Championship for Burnley." However, he did not gain a starting place in the first team and, after 13 appearances as a substitute in the Football League Championship, he joined Football League One side Bournemouth in March 2012 on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season to gain more playing time. Hines said that, "It's been frustrating for me [at Burnley], I've played a few games but not enough." He made eight appearances for Bournemouth, scoring one goal. At the end of the season, Burnley chose not to take up the option of a second year on Hines' contract and he was released by the club. He had made 16 league and cup appearances for Burnley.

Bradford City

After being released by Burnley, Hines had a short trial with Swindon Town before signing a one-year contract with Bradford City along with Irish under-17 international defender Carl McHugh on 18 August. He made his league debut the same day against Gillingham, replacing Garry Thompson in the second half. He made his home debut on 21 August in a 1–0 win against Fleetwood Town. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 October, in a 1–1 draw against York City. On 8 January 2013, Hines was part of the side which beat Aston Villa 3–1 in the League Cup semi-final first leg. Hines featured until the 65th minute where he was substituted by West Ham United loanee Blair Turgott. On 22 January 2013, Hines was part of the side which lost to Aston Villa 2–1 in the League Cup semi-final second leg. Hines featured until the 71st minute where he was substituted by Garry Thompson. Bradford famously went on to win the tie 4–3 on aggregate sending them to League Cup final. Bradford's historic win was only the second time a team from the 4th tier of English football have reached the League Cup final with the other being Rochdale in 1962. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Hines was not offered a new contract and was released by Bradford.

On 27 July 2013, Hines began a trial period with Coventry City starting with an away friendly against Oxford United. Hines also trialled with MK Dons and featured for 73 minutes in their pre season friendly against a Tottenham XI on 31 July 2013.

Dagenham & Redbridge

On 22 August 2013, Hines signed a one-year contract for Dagenham & Redbridge. He scored his first goal for the club on 4 October, in a 2–1 win away to Accrington Stanley. He scored twice in the following game, a 5–2 win away to Southend United in the Football League Trophy. In June 2014, he left Dagenham having failed to agree new terms to his contract after revealing that he wanted to play at a higher level. In August 2014 after failing to find another club, he re-joined the club and signed a new two-year contract. In May 2016 as his contract expired, he was released along with eleven players as Dagenham were relegated to the National League.

Southend United

On 20 December 2016 Hines signed for Southend United until the end of the 2016–2017 season having completed a successful trial.

Maidstone United

On 18 August 2017, Hines joined National League side Maidstone United on a one-year deal.

International career

On 10 February 2009, Hines was called into the Jamaica team for their friendly international against Nigeria on 11 February. The game finished 0–0 and Hines did not play. Despite having been selected in a Jamaican squad, on 1 October, Hines was called up for the England under-21 team for a game against the Macedonia under-21 team on 9 October, played at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Hines came on as a second-half substitute, for Theo Walcott, and scored twice on his under-21 debut, in their 6–3 victory.

Honours

Bradford City

Career statistics

Personal life

Born in Jamaica, Hines has a British passport.