Between 2001 and 2018, he worked in various coaching roles at Newcastle United, varying from the first team to the youth academy. In 2010, he was briefly appointed as the caretaker manager.
Beardsley eventually began his professional career with Carlisle United in 1978. He managed 22 goals in 104 league games, helping them win promotion to the Second Division at the end of the 1981–82 season.[2]
During 1981–83, he played three seasons in the North American Soccer League at Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps then joined Manchester United, although his period at United was unsuccessful, making only one single appearance in a League Cup tie against AFC Bournemouth,[5] and otherwise failing to break into the first team. Eventually in September 1983, he was signed back to Newcastle United.
Newcastle United
On 23 September 1983, Beardsley signed for Second DivisionNewcastle United for a fee of £150,000. He made his debut for the Magpies a day later in the 1–1 draw with Barnsley at Oakwell. Beardsley was an instant hit with the Newcastle supporters, scoring and setting up spectacular goals. He went on to celebrate promotion with his teammates, who were captained by Kevin Keegan in his final season as a player. They finished in the final promotion spot behind winners Chelsea and runners-up Sheffield Wednesday. He scored 20 league goals that season and formed an exciting strike partnership with former England striker Keegan, who had also won major honours with Liverpool. Beardsley scored his first goal for the Magpies on 19 October 1983 in their 2–0 victory over Cardiff City at Ninian Park. His first goals at St James' Park came in Newcastle's next fixture, against Manchester City. United beat City 5–0 and Beardsley scored his first ever hat-trick.
In his first season in the First Division, Beardsley scored 17 goals in 38 league games as Newcastle finished in 14th position. These included a hat-trick on New Year's Day in a 3–1 home win over local rivals Sunderland, who finished the season relegated.[6] During the following campaign, he played in all of Newcastle's 42 league matches, scoring 19 goals. In one fixture against West Ham United, Beardsley ended the game as a stand-in goalkeeper. The game ended in an 8–1 defeat for Newcastle, with Beardsley conceding the last three goals.[7]
After returning from the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Beardsley helped a struggling Newcastle to avoid relegation in the 1986–87 season, eventually finishing 17th. He scored just five goals in 36 appearances that season, winning a further six caps for his country, before Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish made a national record £1.9million offer to Newcastle for Beardsley's services. Manager Willie McFaul accepted the offer and Beardsley was on his way to Merseyside after four seasons on Tyneside which had brought a total of a 61 goals (all in the league), his transfer completed on 14 July 1987.
12 years later, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson revealed in his autobiography that he had made a £2million bid for Beardsley, but McFaul had rejected the offer and told him that he wouldn't sell the player even if Ferguson offered £3million.[8]
Liverpool
Beardsley joined Liverpool at the same time as John Barnes, the Watford winger. They were added to John Aldridge, who had signed during the previous campaign, with the three playing against Arsenal on Beardsley's debut at Highbury on the opening day of the 1987–88 season, 15 August 1987. Aldridge scored after just nine minutes, Liverpool went on to win 2–1, and this shaped the rest of the season for the Reds. The new-look striker partnership of Beardsley and Aldridge took over from the long-standing partnership of Dalglish and Ian Rush, which was arguably the most successful partnership in English football during the 1980s. Rush had departed to Serie A club Juventus, while player-manager Dalglish had decided only to make occasional first-team appearances from 1987 to 1988 onwards, finally retiring as a player in August 1990.
Beardsley's first goal for his new club came on 29 August 1987 in the 4–1 victory over Coventry City at Highfield Road, with Beardsley scoring in the 83rd minute. He helped Liverpool to a record-equalling 29 league matches undefeated as Liverpool convincingly strolled to the League title with just two defeats to their name. However, there was disappointment at the end when Wimbledon denied them the 'double' with a shock 1–0 win in the 1988 FA Cup final, a game in which Beardsley found the net, only for it to be ruled out by the referee who awarded Liverpool a free-kick for an earlier foul instead of allowing play to continue. Wimbledon scored the only goal of the game from a looping header by Lawrie Sanchez. Aldridge missed a penalty for Liverpool in the second half.[9] Beardsley scored 15 league goals in his first season for Liverpool, level with John Barnes as the club's highest scorer behind Aldridge.
Rush rejoined the club in the 1988 close season and Liverpool returned to Wembley and won the FA Cup the following year, but lost their League championship with virtually the last kick of the last game of the season against Arsenal. Although Rush missed 14 games due to injury, when all three of Liverpool's strikers were fit, Dalglish played with a 4–3–3 formation that allowed Beardsley, Aldridge and Rush to play alongside each other when possible. Beardsley scored 11 league goals that season.
In April 1989, after the Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans, Beardsley was among many Liverpool stars left distraught by the tragedy, attending several funerals and visiting the injured in hospital. He was part of the team that won the FA Cup that season with a 3–2 win over neighbours Everton at Wembley Stadium, though the league title slipped away on the final day of the season when Liverpool conceded a last minute goal to champions Arsenal at Anfield.
With the departure of Aldridge a few weeks into the 1989–90 season, Dalglish reverted to a 4–4–2 formation with Beardsley and Rush as his main strikers, with Beardsley scoring 10 goals in 29 games. Liverpool won the championship again that season, but the arrival of Israeli international striker Ronny Rosenthal saw his first-team opportunities limited in the title run-in, in which Liverpool overcame a strong challenge by Aston Villa to finish champions by a nine-point margin. Despite UEFA lifting the ban on English clubs in European competitions for the 1990–91 season, Liverpool were unable to compete in the European Cup as (being the team present at the Heysel disaster that had sparked the ban in 1985) they had to serve an extra year of the ban before being allowed to play in European competitions again.
Beardsley suffered another blow to his first team chances in January 1991 when Kenny Dalglish signed David Speedie. Dalglish stepped down the following month and was replaced a few weeks later by former Liverpool player Graeme Souness, after Ronnie Moran spent two months in charge on an interim basis. Beardsley managed 27 games that campaign and scored 11 goals – three of them in a 4–0 league win over Manchester United on 16 September 1990, and a further two in the Merseyside derby against Everton a week later.
Beardsley's final league goal for the Reds came on 17 November 1990, when he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at Coventry City. By this relatively early stage of the season he had scored an impressive 11 times in the league, but a failure to add any more goals over the Christmas period may have played a part in Dalglish's decision to sign another striker in the new year. His final competitive goals for Liverpool came in a dramatic fifth round FA Cup first replay against Everton at Goodison Park on 20 February 1991, which ended in a 4–4 draw and was the club's last game before the sudden resignation of manager Dalglish, who by the end of the season had been succeeded by Graeme Souness.[10]
Liverpool were top of the league at this stage, but in the new year were overhauled by Arsenal and the title went to Highbury at the end of the season. And with the arrival of Dean Saunders for a national record fee of £2.9million after the end of the season, Beardsley's days at Anfield were looking even more numbered, despite the sale of Speedie. During Beardsley's Anfield career he played in 175 matches and scored 59 goals, but it was his vision, guile and all action style of play that endeared him to the Anfield faithful, so much so he was voted in 19th position in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, conducted by the Liverpool Football Club web site; over 110,000 supporters worldwide voted for their 10 favourite players of all time.[11]
Everton
Liverpool's derby rivals, Everton succeeded in gaining 30-year-old Beardsley's signature when he joined them on 5 August 1991 for a fee of £1million. He made his debut on 17 August in a 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Beardsley scored 25 goals in 81 appearances for the blue half of Merseyside, though Everton did not achieve anything greater than a mid table finish in the league during his time there, and failed to make an impact in the cup competitions.
While at Everton he became – along with David Johnson – one of only two players to have scored for both sides in Merseyside derbies. He finished as the club's top scorer by the end of his first season at Goodison Park and again showed his dynamic quality during his second season, but off the field Everton were suffering financial difficulties and when former club Newcastle United offered Everton £1.5million for Beardsley, it was a sum they could not turn down for a 32-year-old player. In all competitions, Beardsley scored 32 goals in 95 appearances for Everton.
Return to Newcastle United
On 16 July 1993, Beardsley rejoined Newcastle United for £1.5million, where his old teammate and strike partner Kevin Keegan was now manager. Newcastle had just won promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions, and in 1993–94 they finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup, with Beardsley scoring a total of 25 goals and his strike-partner Andy Cole scoring a club record of 41 goals in all competitions. He played for a further four years at the club, almost captaining them to the Premier League title in 1996, but they were pipped to the title by Manchester United. They finished runners-up a year later as well, although 1996–97 was a trying season for the club as they failed to set the pace at the top of the table as they had the previous season, and halfway through the season Keegan had stunned the club with his resignation, with Kenny Dalglish then succeeding him.
During his second spell at St James' Park, he racked up 157 appearances and scored 56 goals, bringing his overall total after two spells with the club to 321 appearances and 117 goals. This equates to a goal every 2.74 matches, a decent ratio for a player who was seen by many as a provider rather than a goalscorer, particularly in the 1996–97 season when he was switched to midfield following Alan Shearer's arrival. It is this period of his career that Beardsley regards as the time when he peaked.[citation needed]
Later career and retirement
Beardsley left Newcastle for the second time on 18 August 1997 for £450,000, joining Bolton Wanderers, where he made 21 appearances but was unable to save them from being relegated from the Premier League just one season after promotion. He then went on loan to Manchester City, where he played six times in the First Division.[2] This loan spell made Beardsley the only player to play for both top-flight teams in Liverpool and Manchester.[12][13]
He then moved to Fulham who were managed by his former manager Keegan, where he made 28 appearances in two separate loan spells, eventually signing for them permanently. He then went to Hartlepool United on a free transfer, and played 22 times in the Third Division to secure their Football League status.[2] He finally ended his career at the age of 38 when he played twice for the National Soccer League club Melbourne Knights.
In a professional career totalling some 20 years in English football, he managed 659 league games and 210 goals, and a total of 799 games and 238 goals in all competitions. He had collected three major trophies (all of them with Liverpool) and was capped 59 times by England, scoring nine times. He had also played in two promotion winning teams earlier in his career, although he had been sold by Carlisle just before they sealed promotion in 1982.[14]
After reaching the First Division with Newcastle, Beardsley became a regular in the England side in the second half of the 1980s, and teamed up with strikerGary Lineker, who described Beardsley as "the best partner I could ever have".
On 29 January 1986, Beardsley made his debut for his country, coming on as a substitute for Lineker in the 4–0 friendly victory over Egypt in Cairo.[16] His first goal came in his fourth appearance, on 17 May 1986 in the 3–0 friendly win over Mexico in Los Angeles, as England prepared for the forthcoming World Cup in Mexico. England scored seven goals in the tournament, of which Lineker scored six (winning the Golden Boot for doing so); the other goal came from Beardsley in a 3–0 victory over Paraguay in the second round. England had failed to score a goal in the first two matches of the finals, but in the third match – Beardsley's first start in the tournament – they beat Poland 3–0. Beardsley contributed in that match with a spectacular cross to Steve Hodge, which allowed Hodge to make England's second goal for Lineker. The next match was to be the famous Argentina vs. England match, in which Diego Maradona scored twice for the 2–1 victory that saw England eliminated from the tournament. Beardsley played the full game and was one of the five players passed by Maradona for the "Goal of the Century".
He maintained his place in the England team and featured in both Euro 88 and the 1990 World Cup. He was named as England captain on 17 February 1988 when they drew 0–0 in a friendly with Israel.
Beardsley was dropped by England manager Graham Taylor after the end of 1990, around the same time he lost his regular place in the Liverpool line-up, and, controversially, continued to be overlooked by him despite England's disappointing performance at Euro 92 as well as their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Beardsley, meanwhile, was performing very well for his new club Everton, having signed for them in August 1991, although Everton's form as a team was far from impressive.[17]
During his second spell at Newcastle, Beardsley was recalled to the England team by new manager Terry Venables in early 1994 after an absence of three years, and ultimately ended his international career while still at Newcastle in 1996, when he was one of the three players dropped from the provisional squad of 25 for the final squad of 22 for Euro 96, along with Dennis Wise and Jason Wilcox, after gaining 59 caps and scoring nine goals.[2]
Beardsley once scored four goals for England against Aylesbury United. These did not count towards his international tally, however, as this was not an official international match. Aylesbury became the only non-League side to face the full England team, as they hosted the national side in a warm-up match in 1988 in preparation for the European Championships. England won the game 7–0.[18]
Coaching career
Beardsley joined the coaching staff at Newcastle United after his playing career was over. In early 1999, Beardsley also served as assistant manager to Howard Wilkinson during his first caretaker period as manager of England, between the dismissal of Glenn Hoddle and the appointment of Kevin Keegan. England faced – and lost to – world champions France in a friendly at Wembley.[19] In 2003, Beardsley was the subject of a Premier League inquiry, after it was claimed that he had bullied two Newcastle youth players. He was cleared of the charges.[20] Bullying allegations were again raised against Beardsley in January 2018.[21]
Beardsley left Newcastle in 2006, when Glenn Roeder took over as permanent manager of the club. He believed Newcastle should go in a different direction. Beardsley then worked in a media role at the club. In 2007, Howard Kendall, his former boss at Everton stated he was interested in taking over as manager of Republic of Ireland national team, with Beardsley as his assistant manager. Beardsley was also linked with a return to Newcastle in January 2008, when Keegan returned as manager for a second spell.
In March 2009, Beardsley was re-appointed as an academy coach at Newcastle, working primarily with young strikers.[22] On 27 July 2010, he was appointed as reserve team manager, with Steve Stone as his assistant manager.[23] On 6 December, following the dismissal of Chris Hughton, Beardsley was briefly placed in charge of the team on a temporary basis before Alan Pardew was brought in as Hughton's replacement.[24]
In January 2018, Beardsley was placed on leave by Newcastle following allegations of racism.[25] In March 2019, Newcastle confirmed that he had left the club,[26] and the Football Association later confirmed they were investigating him.[27] He was subsequently charged with three counts of using racist language to players.[28] In September 2019, he was suspended from all football-related activity for 32 weeks after being found guilty by the FA of making racist comments to players.[29] Beardsley said he was "surprised and disappointed" at being found guilty. The FA panel said: "Even if he did not intend to do so, he plainly did cause offence." However, the panel said it did not believe Beardsley was racist, stating: "We are satisfied that Mr Beardsley is not a racist in the sense of being ill-disposed to persons on grounds of their race or ethnicity."[30]
Personal life
Born in Hexham, Beardsley grew up in Forest Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Beardsley has been married since 1981 to his wife Sandra.[31] They have a son, Drew (born 1989), and a daughter, Stacey (born 1993).[32]
Fictionalised versions of Beardsley and wife feature regularly in the podcast Athletico Mince, both portrayed by Bob Mortimer. This Beardsley enjoys staring, puffa-puffa jackets, chicken wraps and telling jokes while attempting to satisfy his wife's insatiable appetite for eggs.[42]
Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liverpool's and Britain's greatest ever players. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 caps for the Scotland national team, scoring 30 goals, also a joint record. Dalglish won the Ballon d'Or Silver Award in 1983, the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1983, and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009, FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish the greatest striker in post-war British football, and he has been inducted into both the Scottish and English Football Halls of Fame. He is very highly regarded by Liverpool fans, who still affectionately refer to him as King Kenny, and in 2006 voted him top of the fans' poll "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".
Joseph Kevin Keegan is an English former footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability as well as his finishing and presence in the air. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and then to Hamburger SV in 1977, enjoying great success at both clubs. During this period, he was a regular member of the England national team. After leaving Hamburg, where he was affectionately known as 'Mighty Mouse', Keegan played for Southampton and Newcastle United before retiring. Keegan returned to football in 1992 as manager at Newcastle. He later managed Fulham and Manchester City. All three clubs he managed won promotion as champions in his first full season there. He managed the England national team from 1999 to 2000.
Ian James Rush is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh players in the history of the sport. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. Additionally, he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a total of 346 goals in all competitions at the club. He also holds the records for being the highest goalscorer in the history of the EFL Cup and the finals of the FA Cup. At international level, Rush made 73 appearances for the Wales national football team and remained the record goalscorer with 28 goals between 1980 and 1996, until the record was broken by Gareth Bale in 2018.
John Charles Bryan Barnes is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time, Barnes currently works as an author, as well as a commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to central midfield later in his career. Barnes won two League titles and two FA Cups with Liverpool. He was also an FA Cup runner-up with Watford, Liverpool and Newcastle United. He earned 79 international caps for England.
Paul Anthony Walsh is an English former professional footballer who now works as a television pundit.
Philip Bernard Thompson is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and captained England on six occasions. After retiring as a player, he later served Liverpool as assistant manager and, during the 2001–02 season, acted as caretaker for 6 months while manager Gérard Houllier was ill. He was a pundit on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports for 22 years until August 2020, does on and off work as a pundit for TV 2 (Norway), and is a regular Visiting Fellow at the University of Liverpool where he teaches on the Football Industries MBA.
Terence McDermott is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Nicknamed "Terry Mac", he is best known as a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, where he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. Either side of his time at Anfield, he played for Newcastle United, with his second stint seeing him reunite with former Liverpool teammate Kevin Keegan. Internationally, he was capped 25 times for England, and was part of the of UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup squads.
John William Aldridge is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is the sixth-highest in the history of English football.
David Edward Johnson was an English professional footballer and manager who played as a forward and won major trophies for Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. He also played for Ipswich Town, Everton and other clubs, as well as the England national team.
Barry Venison is an English football coach, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
The 1995–96 season was the 116th season of competitive football in England.
The 1988–89 season was the 97th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and was their 27th consecutive year in the First Division, and covers the period from 20 August 1988 to 26 May 1989.
The 1989 FA Charity Shield was the 67th Charity Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup. It was held at Wembley Stadium on 12 August 1989. The match was contested by Arsenal, champions of the 1988–89 Football League and Liverpool, who beat Everton in the final of the 1988–89 FA Cup. Watched by a crowd of 63,149, Liverpool won the match 1–0.
On 3 April 1996, Liverpool faced Newcastle United in a Premier League fixture at Anfield, during the 1995–96 season. Liverpool won the match, scoring four goals to Newcastle's three. The winning goal was scored by striker Stan Collymore in the second minute of stoppage time. Before the match, both clubs had lost their previous fixtures but still had a chance of winning the league and wanted to close the gap between themselves and leaders Manchester United. Newcastle United, who had been 10 points ahead at Christmas, had suffered a decline during the previous two months, winning one match out of four in March 1996, and surrendering their lead of the league to Manchester United after spending virtually all of the season top of the table. Liverpool had won six of their last nine league games during February and March, scored the most goals and conceded the fewest until this match.
During the 1993–94 season, Newcastle United participated in the FA Premier League for this first time.
The 1996–97 season saw English professional football club Newcastle United participate in the Premier League for the fourth consecutive season since their promotion from the Football League First Division in 1993.
The 1987–88 season was the 96th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, their 26th consecutive year in the top-flight, and covered the period from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988.
On 12 September 1989, Liverpool faced Crystal Palace in a First Division fixture at Anfield, during the 1989–90 season. Crystal Palace were newly promoted to the division, while Liverpool had been narrowly pipped to the League title by Arsenal in the previous season. Liverpool won the match 9–0, recording their biggest ever top-flight win, and inflicting Palace's heaviest ever defeat. Eight different players scored for Liverpool, the first time this has happened for the same club in English football history.
Stephen Joseph McMahon is an English football manager, former professional footballer and current television pundit.
References
1 2 "Soccerbase". Soccerbase. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
1 2 3 4 5 "Peter Beardsley". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
↑ Bruce, Steve (1994). Heading for Victory - An Autobiography. Bloomsbury. p.42. ISBN0-7475-17800.
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