Kevin Beattie
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Kevin Beattie (born Carlisle, Cumbria, December 18, 1953) is an English former footballer, playing at central defence for both Ipswich Town and England in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Beattie came through the ranks at Ipswich and was one of the leading lights of a young talented team raised by Bobby Robson which consistently challenged for the First Division title throughout the decade. Equally comfortable as a central defender or left full back, Beattie made his debut for England at Wembley in 1975. It was against Cyprus in a qualifier for the 1976 European Championships and ended in a 5-0 win. Little more than a month later, he scored with a stunning, looping header as England beat Scotland 5-1, also at Wembley. Beattie played a starring role as Ipswich won the FA Cup in 1978, with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal. He missed their triumph in the 1981 UEFA Cup final though after suffering a broken arm in an FA Cup semi-final defeat weeks earlier to Manchester City.
Robson nicknamed Beattie "The Diamond" on the grounds that he had discovered a gem when his scouts sent him to watch the teenage Beattie play. However, Beattie's career was dogged by persistent knee injuries and accidents - he once missed a number of games through burns suffered when a home bonfire got out of control and after a testimonial in 1982, was forced to retire as his injury problems finally got the better of him. He made short - lived comebacks at Colchester United and Middlesbrough before finally retiring permanently aged 28.
Beattie collected a paltry 9 full caps, which was small return for a man who was dubbed 'The new Bobby Moore' and 'better than Duncan Edwards.' Injuries forced him to pull out of numerous England squads and for a large part of his career he was only able to make sporadic appearences. Admirers included a who's who of English football management. Including Sir Bobby Robson, Bill Shankly - who tried to sign him for his Liverpool side, Don Revie and Sir Alf Ramsey who called him up for England U23 duty after Beattie had played less than 10 games as a professional player.
He was the inaugural winner of the PFA young player of the year award and he was widely expected to win over 100 caps for his country. Beattie had a hard time accepting that his career was over and he has had numerous personal problems since finishing the game, although he has also worked as a coach, scout and on the after-dinner circuit. He suffered a mild stroke in 1998 but made a full recovery.Sir Bobby Robson has since paid Beattie the ultimate accolade as he called him the best English born player that he has ever seen. The new Kevin Beattie book - his 'warts and all' autobiography 'The greatest footballer England never had' is available exclusively through cult figure publishing at: http://www.cultfigurepublishing.com
