James Beattie (footballer)

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James Beattie
Personal information
Full name	James Scott Beattie
Date of birth	27 February 1978 (1978-02-27) (age 30)
Place of birth	Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Sheffield United
Number	9
Youth clubs
1995–1996	Blackburn Rovers
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995–1998 1998–2004 2005–2007 2007–	Blackburn Rovers Southampton Everton Sheffield United	004 0(0) 204 (68) 076 (13) 057 (31)
National team2
2003	England U21 England	005 0(1) 005 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:23, 29 November 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 23 July 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

James Scott Beattie (born 27 February 1978 in Lancaster) is an English football player who currently plays for Sheffield United.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Playing career 2.1 Blackburn Rovers 2.2 Southampton 2.3 Everton 2.4 Sheffield United 2.5 International career 3 Career statistics 4 Personal life 5 Honours 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early career

James Beattie attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, an independent school in Blackburn, Lancashire. He was a gifted swimmer, rated second in the country at the 100 metres freestyle, but he dropped swimming in favour of football after sustaining a shoulder injury.

He went on to represent his school and play for Blackburn Schools, before joining Blackburn Rovers as a trainee in August 1995.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Blackburn Rovers

He made his professional debut for Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996, in a 2-0 home defeat against Arsenal.^[1] He had made only seven first team appearances, and scored no goals, when in the 1998 close season he was transferred to Southampton.

[edit] Southampton

He joined Southampton in July 1998 for a fee of £1 million, as part of the deal that took Kevin Davies to Ewood Park for £7 million. The Saints' manager at the time was Dave Jones. Beattie's initial impact was curtailed by a series of injuries, but in November 2000 he began a long goalscoring run. After 18 months without a goal, he scored ten in ten games, lifting Southampton into a comfortable position and securing their place in the Premiership for the next season. His form then deserted him once again, and he scored only two goals during the remainder of the season.

Beattie was awarded a new four-year contract in March 2001. But he failed to score in the remainder of the 2000-01 season, or in the first five Premiership games of the next - a run that eventually totalled 17 games.

He returned to scoring form with two goals in a 3-1 victory away to Middlesbrough on 29 September 2001, and he ended the 2001-02 season with an impressive total of 14, despite a two-month spell on the sidelines. This was the result of an ankle injury which he sustained in a match against Manchester United in January 2002.

In the 2002-03 season Beattie scored 23 league goals, making him the third highest Premiership goalscorer (and the highest English goalscorer) for that season. Southampton reached the FA Cup final that season, for the first time since their 1976 victory, but this time they lost 1-0 to Arsenal and Beattie had to settle for a runners-up medal.

His time at Southampton was marred by a conviction for drink driving in 2002, which led to a driving ban.^[2]

He left Southampton in January 2005, joining Everton for a fee of £6 million.

[edit] Everton

£6 million was the largest transfer fee that Everton had ever paid for a player at the time, eclipsing the £5.75 million paid for Nick Barmby more than eight years previously (in October 1996).

Beattie found it difficult to settle at Everton. In only his fifth Premiership appearance for the club, he shocked his new fans by perpetrating a head butt on Chelsea defender William Gallas. The resultant red card meant an automatic three-game suspension and this, combined with a series of injuries, severely limited his contribution during what remained of the 2004-05 season.

2005-06 saw an improvement: Beattie was Everton's top scorer, with ten goals in the Premiership and one in a 2-1 home defeat against Villareal in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League. (Villareal also won their own home leg 2-1, and Everton progressed no further.)

During the 2006-07 season, Beattie found himself peripheral to the plans of Everton boss David Moyes. He made 33 Premiership appearances, but 18 of them were from the substitutes' bench; he managed only two goals, the second of those coming in October. Blackburn Rovers were reported to be interested in signing him for a second spell, and in July 2007 it was reported that Sheffield United were prepared to offer a club record £4 million for his services.

Although he wasn't the big hit at Goodison that many had hoped he would be, he did score a number of skillful goals. Probably his best goal was a delightful chip from the edge of the area against Fulham, and his winner against Arsenal where he outmuscled both centre halves gave many an excuse to cheer him.

[edit] Sheffield United

On 4 August 2007, Beattie officially signed for Sheffield United in a deal worth £4 million, potentially rising to £4.5 million^[3]. It was the biggest transfer fee ever paid by Sheffield United.^[4] On 11 August, he scored on his Championship debut for the Blades against Colchester United. His second goal came against West Brom with a long range header. He scored two goals in his fifth game, a 3-1 win over Wolves, and another brace in his sixth, a 2-2 draw against Blackpool.

On 2 October Beattie was named Coca Cola Championship player of the month^[5][6]. By March 2008 there were rumours that Beattie would be moving back to the Premiership, with Aston Villa said to be one of the clubs interested in him.^[7]

On 5 April 2008 Beattie scored all three goals in a 3-0 win against Leicester City, making him the first Sheffield United player to score a hat-trick since Paul Peschisolido in 2004. The three goals came inside 8 minutes, starting in the 12th: the first from close range after missing a penalty, the second a 25-yard free-kick, and the third a header. Three days later, in his first Steel City Derby, he scored a spectacular 85th minute 30-yard free-kick that sailed into the top corner. Another four days later he scored with another stunning free kick in a 2-1 victory at Burnley. This made him the first player ever to score from free kicks in three consecutive games for the Blades.

Beattie scored a total of 22 goals in the Football League Championship in the 2007-08 season. This made him the joint second highest scorer in the division, alongside Kevin Phillips of West Bromwich Albion and one behind Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (who scored 11 for Plymouth Argyle and 12 for Wolverhampton Wanderers). As expected, he was named as the Blades' Player of the Year at the end of the season.^[8]

For the 2008–09 season Beattie was allocated the number 9 shirt, which had been vacated by Rob Hulse on his move to Derby County.

Beattie scored his first goal of the season, scoring the winner with a header in the 2-1 win over Watford. He got his second and third goals of the season in United's next home game, a volley and a header, as the Blades won 3-0 against Bristol City before scoring both goals in The Blades' 2-0 home victory over Plymouth Argyle making him The Blades' top scorer of the season so far.

[edit] International career

Beattie earned his first senior England cap in a friendly against Australia, in February 2003, during his most successful season with Southampton. It was just 15 days before his 25th birthday. Australia won the game 3-1, and the result was described (in the Australian media) as "one of the biggest upsets in soccer history"[1]. Beattie played the whole of the first half of the game, and was replaced at half time by Francis Jeffers who would score England's consolation goal. In the 24th minute of the game, with Australia leading 1-0, a goal scored by Paul Scholes was disallowed as Beattie was judged to have fouled. In the early stages Beattie had appeared to be combining well with Michael Owen[2], but overall his contribution (however limited the opportunity) was felt to be disappointing[3].

Beattie was not selected for Euro 2004, the England team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson preferring Emile Heskey as the "traditional" centre forward despite his having scored far fewer goals than Beattie in the previous season. Beattie has not been selected since then.

[edit] Career statistics

^[9]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
England			League		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Europe		Total
1996-97	Blackburn Rovers	Premier League	1	0	-		1	0	-		2	0
1997-98			3	0	1	0	1	0	-		5	0
Total			4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
1998-99	Southampton	Premier League	35	5	2	0	2	1	-		39	6
1999-00			18	0	1	0	3	0	-		22	0
2000-01			37	11	4	1	2	0	-		43	12
2001-02			28	12	-		3	2	-		31	14
2002-03			38	23	7	1	2	0	-		47	24
2003-04			37	14	1	0	2	3	2	0	42	17
2004-05			11	3	-		-		-		11	3
Total			204	68	15	2	14	6	2	0	235	76
2004-05	Everton	Premier League	11	1	2	1	-		-		13	2
2005-06			32	10	3	0	1	0	2	1	38	11
2006-07			33	2	-		2	0	-		35	2
Total			76	13	5	1	3	0	2	1	86	15
2007-08	Sheffield United	Championship	39	22	2	0	-		-		41	22
2008-09
Total			39	22	2	0	0	0	0	1	41	22
Career Total			323	103	23	3	19	6	4	1	369	113

[edit] Personal life

Beattie married his fiancee Sarah Rendle in Manchester in May 2006. They had a baby son, James Samuel, on 6 September 2006.^[10]

[edit] Honours

Southampton

• FA Cup finalist 2003

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• James Beattie player profile at sufc.co.uk
• Official James Beattie website
• James Beattie Web
• James Beattie career stats at Soccerbase
• Everton career details

Awards
Preceded by Paul Jones	Southampton F.C. player of the season 1998-99	Succeeded by Dean Richards
Preceded by Chris Marsden	Southampton F.C. player of the season 2002-03	Succeeded by Antti Niemi
Preceded by Phil Jagielka	Sheffield United Player of the Year 2007-08	Succeeded by TBA(2009)

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