James Beattie (footballer)

For other people named James Beattie, see James Beattie (disambiguation).

James Beattie

Personal information
Full name	James Scott Beattie
Date of birth	27 February 1978 (1978-02-27)
Place of birth	Lancaster, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Sheffield United
Number	10
Youth career
1995–1996	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1998	Blackburn Rovers	4	(0)
1998–2005	Southampton	204	(68)
2005–2007	Everton	76	(13)
2007–2009	Sheffield United	62	(34)
2009–2010	Stoke City	38	(9)
2010–2011	Rangers	7	(0)
2011	→ Blackpool (loan)	9	(0)
2011–	Sheffield United	9	(0)
National team‡
	England U21	9	(4)
2003	England	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 29 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

James Scott Beattie (born 27 February 1978) is an English footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United as a striker.

Born in Lancaster, Lancashire he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers eventually signing professionally for them in 1995. Beattie then went on to have spells at Southampton, Everton, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Rangers and a short spell on loan at Blackpool before eventually returning to Sheffield United for a second term. When signed by Everton and for his first spell at Sheffield United he commanded the highest fee ever paid for a player by each club at that time.

Early life

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 damaging the cartilage tissue on his shoulder.

He went on to represent his school, and play for Blackburn Schools, before joining Blackburn Rovers as a trainee on 7 March 1995.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

He made his professional début for Blackburn Rovers in October 1996, in a 2–0 home defeat against Arsenal. He had made only seven first team appearances, and had yet to score a goal, when in the 1998 close season he was transferred to Southampton.

Southampton

He joined Southampton in July 1998 valued at £1 million, as a make-weight part of the deal that took Kevin Davies to Ewood Park for £7 million. 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 Premier League 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 Premier League games of the next – a run that eventually totalled 17 games. He returned to scoring form at the end of September 2001, and he ended the 2001–02 season with an impressive total of 14 despite a two-month spell on the sidelines, 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. His fine form helped Southampton reach 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.

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

Everton

Beattie found it difficult to settle at Everton and in only his fifth Premier League appearance for the club, he was sent off for a head butt on Chelsea defender William Gallas leading to 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.^{[citation needed]}

2005–06 saw an improvement: Beattie was Everton's top scorer, with ten goals in the Premier League 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, meaning Everton progressed no further.)

During the 2006–07 season, Beattie found himself peripheral to the plans of Everton boss David Moyes. He made 33 Premier League appearances, but 18 of them were from the substitutes' bench, and managed only two goals, the second of those coming in October after which he failed to find the net again.^{[citation needed]} Out of favour it was reported that Blackburn Rovers were interested in signing him for a second spell, followed by news that Sheffield United were interested in securing his services.^{[citation needed]}

Sheffield United

At the start of August 2007 Beattie signed for Sheffield United in a deal worth £4 million., this being the biggest transfer fee ever paid by Sheffield United. In the first game of the new season he scored on his Championship début for the Blades against Colchester United and then continued in fine form, scoring regularly and was named Championship player of the month for September.

Beattie scored a total of 22 goals in the Championship in the 2007–08 season. This made him the joint second highest scorer in the division, alongside former Southampton team mate Kevin Phillips of West Bromwich Albion and one behind Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (who scored 11 for Plymouth Argyle and 12 for Wolverhampton Wanderers). He was named as the Blades' Player of the Year at the end of the season.

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 and continued his goal-scoring form, netting twelve times before the turn of the year.

Stoke City

With the Blades trying to reduce costs Beattie returned to the Premier League in January 2009, after signing for Stoke City on a two-and-a-half-year deal for a fee that could eventually rise to £3.5 million. He made an immediate impact, scoring his first goal for Stoke in a 3–1 defeat at Spurs on 27 January 2009. He went on to score seven goals in all for the Potters that season, helping them retain their place in the Premier League.

Beattie didn't start the 2009–10 season very well; after a number of injuries hampered his pre-season training he left the field of play against Chelsea on a stretcher after only 10 minutes with fears of a suspected broken ankle although x-rays revealed it to be no more than a minor tissue damage. Beattie recovered and won his place back in the side, surprisingly at the expense of a resurgent Dave Kitson and had returned to scoring ways by October. However, a dressing room altercation between Beattie and Pulis in December 2009 resulted in the striker falling out of favour.

Rangers

Out of favour at Stoke, Beattie signed a two-year contract, with the option of a further year, with Scottish Premier League side Rangers for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2010. Taking the number 19 shirt Beattie became the clubs first permanent signing in two years due to financial constraints. Beattie made his début for Rangers immediately after signing for the club, playing in their opening game in the Scottish Premier League against Kilmarnock.

Unfortunately Beattie did not featured much for Rangers and was restricted to only five league starts in the first half of the season due to injuries and loss of form. Unable to hold down a place in the side he was allowed to join Blackpool on loan until the end of the season. He made his full début for the Seasiders on 5 February 2011, in a 5–3 defeat by his old club Everton and went on to play nine times for the club but failed to find the net as they sunk to relegation from the Premier League. At the end of August 2011, Rangers terminated Beattie's contract.

Return to Sheffield United

(He is) great to have around and if his
presence has kept the other strikers on
their toes then great. He gives everyone
a lift and when James comes on the
roar that goes up is brilliant. He’s not
played as much as he’d have liked but he
has made an impact when he’s come on.

“

”

Danny Wilson, Sheffield United Manager

In November 2011 Beattie began training with League One side Bournemouth, with manager Lee Bradbury keen to sign him. However, later that month Beattie moved North to train with old club Sheffield United to allow manager Danny Wilson to assess his fitness. A few days later Beattie duly re-signed for The Blades on a short-term deal until mid-January 2012. He was handed the number 10 shirt and was quoted in an interview with the Yorkshire Post that "if things go well, the gaffer says that he would like to keep me and I would be interested in staying until the end of the season at least" prompting speculation that he could sign a longer term deal. Despite this Beattie had to wait to make a first team appearance due to a calf injury attained during training eventually making his second début for the Blades on at the end of December 2011, coming on as an 89th minute substitute against Notts County at Bramall Lane. By mid-January, with Beattie's deal set to expire, Danny Wilson confirmed that he would be offered an extension, hopefully keeping him at the club until the end of the season. With his future at the Blades still in doubt Beattie was given a straight red card for violent conduct at Charlton Athletic after only coming on as a substitute a few minutes earlier. Despite this disciplinary issue it was agreed to extend his deal until the end of the season.

International career

Beattie earned his first senior England cap in a friendly against Australia, on 12 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 (by the Australian media) as "one of the biggest upsets in soccer history". Beattie played the whole of the first half of the game, and was replaced at half time by Francis Jeffers, who scored England's consolation goal.

Beattie's brief international career seemed to have come to a close when he was not selected for Euro 2004, the England team coach Sven-Göran Eriksson preferring Emile Heskey as the "traditional" centre forward^{[citation needed]} despite his having scored five fewer goals than Beattie in the previous season.

Career statistics

As of 18 January 2011

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		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	1	0	2	0	0	0	7	0
1998–99	Southampton	Premier League	35	5	2	0	2	1	–		39	6
1999–00			17	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			23	12	–		1	0	–		24	12
Total			62	34	2	0	1	0	–		65	34
2008–09	Stoke City	Premier League	16	7	–		–		–		16	7
2009–10			22	2	1	0	1	0	–		24	2
Total			38	9	1	0	1	0	–		40	9
2010–11	Rangers	SPL	7	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	10	0
Total			7	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	10	0
2010–11	Blackpool (loan)	Premier League	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Total			9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
2011–12	Sheffield United	League One	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Total			8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Career total			408	124	25	3	21	6	6	1	461	134

Personal life

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

Beattie married his fiancée Sarah Rendle in Manchester on 20 May 2006. They had a baby son, James Samuel, on 6 September 2006. Sarah gave birth to their second child on 23 April 2010, called George James. His wife Sarah gave birth to their 3rd child on 24 July 2011, called Halle Sarah.^{[citation needed]}

Honours

Southampton

• FA Cup finalist 2003

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League 2010–11 Champions

External links

• James Beattie player profile Stoke City FC
• James Beattie career stats at Soccerbase
• Player stats - James Beattie Everton FC
• Premier League profile
• BBC Sport profile

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