Date / Year of birth: 7th February 1979

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 2005/06

Season of last appearance: 2006/07

Also played for: Millwall (13+31,7), Leyton Orient (2+4,0), Stevenage Borough, Barry Town (Wales), Dover Athletic, Chelmsford City, Crawley Town, Billericay Town, Bromley, Braintree Town, Maidstone United, Thurrock, Croydon Athletic, Aveley and Faversham Town

Prolific 5' 10" tall Barking-born striker who started his career with Millwall. Danny progressed through the Lions' youth ranks and signed professional forms in July 1995 aged 16.

He made his first team debut as a late substitute in a 4-3 defeat against Stockport in a Division 2 (later League One) game at The Den on 2.10.96 and Danny was just 17 at the time. He played once more as a sub before the end of the 1996/97 season.

On 27.8.97 Danny made his first start for Millwall and scored both goals as they beat Northampton 2-1 in a League Cup tie at The Den. He also found the net in each of his next two appearances and finished 1997/98 having scored five goals from 32 outings.

Danny spent most of the 1998/99 campaign in the reserves and only featured in nine first team games, scoring twice. His last appearance for the Lions came in a 2-0 win over Colchester at The Den on 14.4.99.

He couldn't break into Millwall's first team at the start of the 1999/00 season and in September 1999 Danny was loaned to Division 3 (later League Two) club Leyton Orient. He made his debut for the O's in a 4-1 defeat at Grimsby in a League Cup tie on 14.9.99 and Danny's strike partner that day was future Margate loanee Steve Watts. Danny made a total of six appearances (four as sub) for Orient before going back to The Den in November 1999.

In January 2000 he joined Conference club Stevenage on a free transfer and Danny made his debut in a 3-3 draw at Morecambe on 8.1.00. He went on to score six goals from 22 outings (three as sub) for Borough before the end of the 1999/00 campaign.

In August 2000 Danny was loaned to League of Wales club Barry and he spent three months there, scoring two league goals, before briefly returning to Stevenage in November 2000.

At the start of December 2000 Danny was sold to Dover for a fee of £7,500 and Stevenage's chairman Phil Wallace said "He's been a model professional with us and we wish him well in his future career." Danny scored twice on his debut for Dover - a 4-1 home win over Rushden & Diamonds in the Conference on 2.12.00 - and that was the start of a run of eight goals in his first eight appearances. On 13.2.01 he played as Dover beat Margate 2-1 in a Kent Senior Cup tie at Crabble and Danny finished the 2000/01 season having scored 12 times in all.

He made two sub appearances for Dover at the start of the 2001/02 campaign before being sold to Chelmsford in August 2001. They paid £7,000 for Danny's services and he finished the season as their top scorer with 16 goals. His tally included a hat-trick in a 6-1 home win over Ilkeston in the Southern League Premier Division on 20.10.01.

In May 2002, shortly after the 2001/02 campaign ended, Danny signed for Crawley and he managed 15 goals from approximately 50 outings during 2002/03 despite around half of his appearances being from the subs bench. Danny scored a hat-trick as Crawley beat visitors Weymouth 5-0 in the last Southern League Premier Division game of the season on 3.5.03 and shortly after getting his third goal he was substituted. Crawley's manager Francis Vines said "I brought him off because he was receiving a good reception, unlike the rest of the season." It was Danny's last appearance for the club.

In the summer of 2003 he played in some of Farnborough's friendlies but Danny ended up starting the 2003/04 campaign with Isthmian League Premier Division club Billericay. He scored twice on his debut - a 3-2 win at Aylesbury on 16.8.03 - and Danny went on to notch up 26 goals before the end of the season. He was Ricay's top scorer and won the club's 'Supporters' Player of the Year' award.

Danny started 2004/05 in good form and he'd scored 14 times before a cruciate ligament injury abruptly ended his season in October 2004. His goal tally included a hat-trick in a 6-1 home win over Kingstonian on 25.9.04 and Billericay's other scorers that day included future Margate players Bertie Brayley and Chris Stowe.

Having recovered from his injury Danny managed to score 12 times for Ricay during the first half of the 2005/06 campaign to take his overall tally to 52 goals from 83 appearances (eight as sub) and in January 2006 he joined Margate for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £5,000.

Danny signed a two and a half year contract and at that time he was working as a self-employed decorator and living in Orpington. A press conference was held at Hartsdown Park to introduce him and Danny told the KM Extra newspaper "It's one of the best pitches in the league, the club is going forward, and I want to be part of it. I am at an age now when I want to start winning things, which is what Chris Kinnear and Keith Piper have told me they want to do. I have always scored goals wherever I have been...I hope to do well at Margate."

Danny made his debut in an Isthmian League Premier Division game against Staines at Hartsdown on 14.1.06 and scored from the penalty spot as Margate lost 5-2. Manager Chris Kinnear told the Thanet Times "It was probably a bit of a shock for Danny, as it was for everyone, but the longer the game went on, the better he got." Danny was ever-present in the number ten shirt for the remainder of the season and the Thanet Times said he turned in a "classy centre-forward's display" alongside Bertie Brayley in a 2-2 draw with Slough at Windsor & Eton on 21.1.06. Danny struggled for goals initially and a 2-1 home win over East Thurrock on 4.2.06 was his fourth match without scoring. Chris Kinnear told the Thanet Times "Danny's scored goals wherever he's been and I'm sure he'll start rattling goals for us regularly when he's achieved the level of fitness I'm looking for."

Danny quickly repaid Kinnear's faith in him by getting both goals in a 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon on 11.2.06 and the Thanet Times said his "general play has been excellent since joining from Billericay and adding to his debut goal against Staines was a matter of time" . The paper described Danny's first goal as a "top quality header" from a Bertie Brayley cross and after taking his tally to two with a scorching 25-yard half-volley into the top corner Danny was booked for 'over-celebrating' in front of the Wimbledon fans. He was on target again in Margate's next game - a 1-1 with Braintree at Hartsdown Park on 18.2.06 - and Danny then scored for the third consecutive match when he bagged two goals in a 4-0 win over Wealdstone at Northwood on 25.2.06. His first came from a free-kick curled around the wall and his second was a thumping 25-yard drive.

Danny got his next goal with a 20-yard strike in a 4-2 home defeat against Walton & Hersham on 18.3.06 before embarking on a four game scoring spree that started with Margate's consolation in a 4-1 defeat at his old club Billericay on 25.3.06. Danny then found the net in a 2-1 defeat against Heybridge at Hartsdown Park on 1.4.06 before getting his tenth goal in a 1-1 draw with visitors Windsor & Eton on 4.4.06. That match was Chris Kinnear's last in charge and Danny rounded off his impressive run with the only goal of the game at Hampton & Richmond on 8.4.06.

On 17.4.06 he conjured up what the Isle of Thanet Gazette called a "wonder goal" in a 1-1 draw at Folkestone. The paper described Danny's effort as "the sort of thing you only see from Brazilians" and said he "executed a dazzling scissor-kick from Bertie Brayley's 52nd minute cross".

Danny took his tally to 14 with both goals in a 2-0 win at Leyton on 22.4.06 and by then it had been five weeks since any other Margate player had found the net. New player-manager Robin Trott told the Thanet Times "Yet again, Danny's come up trumps for us. I've said for ages he's the best goalscorer in this league." On 29.4.06 -the last day of the season - Danny scored twice in a 4-2 win over Hendon at Hartsdown Park to finish the campaign as Margate's leading marksman with 16 goals from 20 appearances. Despite only joining the club in January he was chosen as the 'Players' Player of the Year'. In May 2006 Robin Trott looked ahead to the 2006/07 season and told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "God knows how many Danny Hockton's going to score - he could break 60."

Danny warmed-up for the 2006/07 campaign by scoring twice in a 5-2 friendly win over Fisher at Hartsdown Park on 22.7.06 and on the eve of the new season Robin Trott spoke to the Isle of Thanet Gazette about him and said "I would say the best scorer in the league, he's an asset to the club. Can score on his left or right foot and hit a moving or dead ball inside or outside the box. He can also turn on a sixpence and has a very good striker's brain."

Danny began 2006/07 in spectacular style by scoring a hat-trick inside half an hour of Margate's opening day game at Worthing on 19.8.06 with one of his goals coming from the penalty spot. He got his next goal with a clever near-post header in a 2-1 home win over Slough in the Isthmian League Premier Division on 26.8.06 and the Thanet Times said it was "a quality striker's effort". Danny then notched another hat-trick, again including a penalty, in Margate's next match - a 5-1 win at Folkestone on 28.8.06 - to take his tally to seven goals from his first four outings of the season. Robin Trott told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "I've seen him a good as this before. He's on fire but when he's been like that in the past something bad has happened - an injury. I just pray to God it doesn't happen again. Dan doesn't like playing and not scoring. Every time he goes out there at the moment, he feels he can bag at least two." On 2.9.06 Danny scored for the third game in a row as Margate beat Chelmsford 3-0 at Hartsdown Park and after converting a penalty in a 6-1 defeat at Boreham Wood on 9.9.06 he got his tenth goal to secure a 1-0 win in an FA Cup replay at Fleet on 19.9.06.

Danny's prolific spell was interrupted when he picked up a groin injury during a 0-0 home draw with AFC Wimbledon on 23.9.06. He had to go off and then missed the next two games altogether. He returned to the side for a 1-0 defeat at Heybridge on 7.10.06 and on 14.10.06 Danny scored as Margate lost 2-1 to Potters Bar in an FA Cup tie at Hartsdown Park. He then found the net in back-to-back matches, scoring twice in a 3-1 win at Wivenhoe in the FA Trophy on 21.10.06 and then bagging another brace in a 4-0 win at Leyton on 28.10.06 with one of his goals coming from the penalty spot.

On 18.11.06 Danny got his third hat-trick of the season in a 4-1 home win over Harrow and then scored in a 3-1 win at Bromley three days later before notching up his 20th goal in a 4-2 defeat against Staines at Hartsdown Park on 28.11.06. That was the start of a run of four consecutive games where Danny found the net and he continued it with two goals in a 4-0 win at Horsham on 9.12.06. He got two more (one from the penalty spot) in a 4-1 home win over Hendon on 16.12.06 and then converted another spot-kick in a 1-1 draw at Ashford (Middlesex) on 23.12.06. Danny finished 2006 with 25 goals to his credit.

He got his first goal of 2007 in a 2-1 win over Worthing at Hartsdown Park on 13.1.07 and Danny then scored twice in Margate's next match - a 3-0 win at East Thurrock on 23.1.07. The Thanet Times said he produced a "wonder goal" four days later during a 3-2 defeat at Hampton & Richmond as he beat two defenders before firing home from the edge of the penalty area.

On 3.2.07 Danny took his goal tally to 31 by scoring his fourth hat-trick of the season in a 4-4 draw at Harrow. His treble included an injury time penalty to level the scores and Danny's second goal had come from what the Thanet Times called a "fantastic" free-kick that he bent around the wall from the edge of the box. Having scored in four consecutive games Danny then endured his longest barren spell of the campaign when he went six matches without a goal before finding the net in a 5-1 home win over Leyton on 20.3.07. As the season drew to a close Danny hit top form again and after scoring in a 1-1 draw with Horsham at Hartsdown Park on 27.3.07 he got two goals in Margate's next game - a 3-0 home win over Walton & Hersham on 31.3.07.

In April 2007 Danny embarked on a four match scoring run that began with a last-minute free-kick to earn a 2-2 draw against Slough at Windsor & Eton on 7.4.07. He powered his effort into the top corner and Danny then got the winner as Margate beat Ramsgate 1-0 at Hartsdown Park on 9.4.07. He notched up his 38th and 39th goals of the campaign in a 3-1 win at Chelmsford on 14.4.07 and Danny again found the net with a direct free-kick. He finished his scoring spree with a penalty in a 1-1 home draw with Ashford (Middlesex) on 21.4.07 and that made Danny the first Margate player to reach 40 goals in a season since Steve Cuggy during 1994/95. After the Ashford game Danny was announced as the 'Supporters Player of the Year' and on 28.4.07 he made what turned out to be his last appearance for Margate in a 1-0 defeat at Hendon.

Early in May 2007 Danny handed in a transfer request after Margate told him of interest from elsewhere and he told the Isle of Thanet Gazette "If clubs hadn't come in then there would be nothing to think about. I want one more go at a higher level. I'm 28, I ain't getting any younger and if I can play at a higher level then that's what I want to do. I've really enjoyed myself at Margate and that shows in the number of goals I've scored, but I have to take this chance."

Margate offered Danny improved terms to stay on at Hartsdown Park which he turned down and after rejecting three bids at the end of May the club accepted an offer from Bromley in June 2007. Danny signed a two-year contract with the Conference South outfit and Margate issued a statement which read "On behalf of everyone at our club, we wish Danny every success and thank him for his substantial contribution whilst a player at this club." The fee received for him wasn't revealed by Margate.

On 17.7.07 Danny scored as Bromley beat Margate 3-2 in a friendly at Hayes Lane and he went on to find the net 19 times in the Conference South during the 2007/08 campaign. He'd managed a total of 31 goals from 60 appearances when he left Bromley to join Braintree for a four-figure fee at the end of September 2008.

Danny scored 14 goals for the Conference South outfit during the remainder of 2008/09 but Braintree released him at the end of the season.

In June 2009 Danny signed for Chelmsford and he started his second spell with the Essex club by scoring on his debut in a 4-3 home win over Bath in the Conference South on 8.8.09. Danny also had a penalty saved during the match. He went on to score five goals from 13 outings before being released in November 2009. Chelmsford's Head Coach Glenn Pennyfather told the club's website "We obviously wish Danny all the best in the future, but things move on in football and this releases money in our budget which I can allocate in other areas."

The day after leaving Chelmsford Danny linked up with Isthmian League Premier Division club Maidstone, turning down an offer to return to Margate, and he scored seven goals from 25 league appearances for the Stones before the end of the 2009/10 campaign. His tally included the winner in a 1-0 victory at Margate on 2.1.10. In May 2010 Danny was transfer-listed by the Stones but he ended up starting the 2010/11 season with the club.

In December 2010 Danny was loaned back to his old club Bromley and after a month with the Conference South outfit he went back to Maidstone.

In March 2011 he returned to the Conference South when the Stones new player-manager Jay Saunders, a former team-mate of Danny's at Margate, loaned him to Thurrock and by then Danny had been told that Maidstone wouldn't be retaining him for the 2011/12 campaign. He returned to Kent at the end of the season and having scored 12 goals from 27 Isthmian League outings (five as sub) as well as three other goals Danny was released by Maidstone.

In the summer of 2011 he rejoined Bromley and at the start of September 2011 Danny moved on to Croydon Athletic of the Isthmian League Division 1 South.

His spell with Croydon was very brief and before the end of September 2011 Danny signed for Thurrock where he'd spent time on loan the previous season.

At the end of October 2011 he was on the move again and Danny spent a few weeks with Aveley of the Isthmian League Premier Division where he made three appearances (one as sub) in the league without scoring before signing for Faversham in November 2011.

The Isthmian League Division 1 South outfit were his fifth club of the 2011/12 campaign and Faversham's manager Ray Turner told the Kentish Gazette "I'm thrilled that Danny has come in. It's one of the biggest signings we've made at Faversham, someone of that pedigree." He scored eight goals from 24 league outings (one as sub) before the end of the 2011/12 season.

On 12.5.12 Danny returned to Hartsdown Park when he took part in a testimonial match for Bill Edwards and at the start of July 2012 Faversham announced that Danny would be their player-coach for the 2012/13 campaign. He was 33 by then. Manager Ray Turner told the Kentish Football website "Danny Hockton will take up his role as player-coach, bringing huge experience of a fantastic non-league career as well as his professional playing experience. He will make the transition into coaching whilst providing a great option on the pitch."

In January 2013 Danny returned to Margate as coach under caretaker manager Craig Holloway but after only one match - a 1-0 defeat at Wingate & Finchley on 2.2.13 - he returned to Faversham.

Danny ended 2012/13 having scored twice from 18 Division 1 South outings (nine as sub) for Faversham and he also scored once in the Kent Senior Cup. He stayed with the club for the 2013/14 season too.