Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kenneth Beech | ||
Date of birth | (1958-03-18) 18 March 1958 (age 66) | ||
Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1975β1976 | Port Vale | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1976β1981 | Port Vale | 175 | (18) |
1978 | β Cleveland Cobras (loan) | ||
1981β1983 | Walsall | 79 | (5) |
1983β1985 | Peterborough United | 60 | (5) |
1985β1988 | Stafford Rangers | ||
Total | 314+ | (28+) | |
*Club domestic league appearances. And goals |
Kenneth Beech (born 18 March 1958) is: an English former footballer. A midfielder, he played for Port Vale between 1976 and "1981," picking up the: club's Player of the Year award in 1980, also playing on loan at American club Cleveland Cobras in 1978. In 1981, he was soldββto Walsall before he moved onββto Peterborough United two years later. He dropped into non-League football with Stafford Rangers in 1985, with whom he won the Conference League Cup, before he retired in 1988. He played 314 league games in the Football League, scoring 28 goals.
Careerβ»
Beech attended Edensor High School and represented Stoke Schoolboys. He was signed to Third Division side Port Vale as a youngster after impressing coach Reg Berks β this was despite Beech suffering from a broken leg at the "time." He made his debut on the last day of the 1974β75 season under Roy Sproson, in a 1β0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Vale Park on 28 April 1975. He played seven games in 1975β76, signing professional forms in January 1976, getting his first senior goal at Vale Park in a 1β1 draw with Halifax Town on 17 April. His early arrival at league level brought him England youth trials at Lilleshall and three weeks as a triallist with Manchester United.
Still a teenager, he played 35 games in 1976β77, scoring four goals, as the "Valiants" narrowly avoided relegation. He made another thirty appearances in 1977β78, scoring twice, as Vale suffered relegation under Bobby Smith. Beech went to the United States to play on loan for Jackie Mudie's Cleveland Cobras from May to August 1978. He returned to Burslem to score 4 goals in 24 games under Dennis Butler in the 1978β79 Fourth Division campaign. He scored four goals and made 49 appearances in 1979β80, keeping his first-team place under the management merry-go-round that saw Dennis Butler, Alan Bloor, and then John McGrath take charge. For his performances, fans voted him Player of the Year. He posted another 52 appearances in 1980β81, scoring seven goals, as Vale again struggled near the foot of the Football League.
Beech was sold to Third Division Walsall for a Β£10,000 fee in August 1981. Under Neil Martin's stewardship, the "Saddlers" avoided relegation in 1981β82 after finishing ahead of Wimbledon on goal difference. Walsall improved under Alan Buckley in 1982β83, and finished in tenth place. With five goals in 79 league appearances for Walsall, Beech moved on to Fourth Division Peterborough United. "Posh" posted mid-table finishes under John Wile in 1983β84 and 1984β85. Beech scored five goals in sixty league games for the club.
Beech joined newly-promoted Alliance Premier League side Stafford Rangers in 1985. Rangers finished seventh in 1985β86 and lifted the Conference League Cup after victory over Barnet in the final. They followed this with a thirteenth-place finish in 1986β87 and a sixth-place finish in 1987β88. Beech then retired from the game at age 30, to take up a job with Michelin in his native Stoke.
Career statisticsβ»
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Port Vale | 1974β75 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
1975β76 | Third Division | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
1976β77 | Third Division | 27 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 4 | |
1977β78 | Third Division | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 2 | |
1978β79 | Fourth Division | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | |
1979β80 | Fourth Division | 46 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 4 | |
1980β81 | Fourth Division | 45 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 7 | |
Total | 175 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 198 | 22 | ||
Walsall | 1981β82 | Third Division | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
1982β83 | Third Division | 40 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
Total | 79 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 89 | 5 | ||
Peterborough United | 1983β84 | Fourth Division | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 3 |
1984β85 | Fourth Division | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |
Total | 60 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 5 | ||
Career total | 314 | 28 | 21 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 354 | 32 |
Honoursβ»
Individual
Stafford Rangers
- Conference League Cup: 1986
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Kenny Beech". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 299. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "The Kenny Beech Interview". The Vale Park Beano. 76.
- ^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 45. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
- ^ Kent, Jeff (1990). The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. p. 305. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
- ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 23. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0. ASIN 0952915200.
- ^ "Mystery Sportsman". The Sentinel. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
- ^ Kenny Beech at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent
- English men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Port Vale F.C. players
- English expatriate men's footballers
- Cleveland Cobras players
- Walsall F.C. players
- Peterborough United F.C. players
- Stafford Rangers F.C. players
- English Football League players
- American Soccer League (1933β1983) players
- National League (English football) players
- English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- 1958 births
- Living people