Joey Beauchamp

Joey Beauchamp
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Daniel Beauchamp
Date of birth13 March 1971
Place of birthOxford, England
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1989–1994Oxford United124(20)
1991Swansea City (loan)5(2)
1994West Ham United0(0)
1994–1995Swindon Town39(3)
1995–2002Oxford United238(43)
2004–Abingdon Town?(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Joseph "Joey" Beauchamp (/ˈbəm/ BEE-chəm), born 13 March 1971, is an English football player who currently plays for Abingdon Town of the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Beauchamp plays primarily as a left midfielder, and played for most of his career at Oxford United but also had spells with West Ham United and Swindon Town as well as a short loan spell at Swansea City before moving into the lower leagues.

Playing career

Oxford United

Beauchamp was born in Oxford and began his career with Oxford United as a youth-team player, living with his parents and two brothers in North Oxford, near the club's former home at the Manor Ground. Beauchamp would go on to make 124 appearances for the club in his first spell in the yellow shirt, during which time he also made five appearances on loan at Swansea City.

West Ham United

Beauchamp was sold to Premier League side West Ham United in 1994 for a then club-record (sales) fee of £1.2 million. However, he didn't last long; having not played a single competitive game for the Hammers, Beauchamp decided he couldn't stand the traffic travelling from Oxford each day,[1] and a mere 58 days later he was signed by Swindon for a club-record combined fee of £800,000, which included defender Adrian Whitbread going in the opposite direction. Whitbread was valued at £750,000 in the deal.[2]

Swindon Town

Beauchamp made his debut for Town in the second league match of the season, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat at Tranmere on 20 August. He made more than fifty appearances in his first season. For his first goal, he scored the winner against Wolves in October, and ran fifty yards to jump into the arms of John Gorman. At the end of the year, Swindon were relegated for the second successive season.

By now, Steve McMahon had taken over as Town boss, and McMahon's and Beauchamp's footballing philosophies were apparently very different. As a result, Beauchamp hardly played the following season, making just one more start and three substitute appearances, one of them against his former club, Oxford.

Back to Oxford

Before the end of the season, he was back in a yellow shirt for the return game, McMahon having decided to sell him back to Oxford in November 1995. The deal was described as being "worth £300,000"[3] to the club, though Swindon only received £75,000 (the rest was the saving of his wages for the remainder of his contract). Beauchamp scored against Swindon in Oxford's 3–0 victory the following March.

He would make a further 238 appearances in the yellow and blue, making him one of the club's longest-serving players. His goal against Blackpool in March 1996 was voted the greatest Oxford United goal by fans in 1999;[4] he was also voted U's player of the 1990s.[5] Three years after leaving the County Ground, an upturn in form saw a number of clubs again interested in Beauchamp's services, and Oxford agreed £800,000 deals with both Nottingham Forest and Southampton in November 1998. Unfortunately for Swindon, who had a 20% sell-on clause in the terms of his sale, Beauchamp failed to agree personal terms and remained at the Manor Ground, with Swindon missing out on a £145,000 bonus.

Retirement

His professional career came to an end when he sustained several recurring injuries in 2002 that forced him to retire. He scored in his final game for the club, a 2–1 loss to Exeter City.[6][7] He then joined local part-timers Abingdon Town, where he played alongside his brother, Luke. He now plays for Bletchingdon Reserves.[8]

External links

References

  1. Edwards, Mark (16 June 2010). "I was sold to save United says Beauchamp". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  2. Shaw, Phil (18 August 1994). "Coventry ask Babb bidders to raise offers Liverpool made to wait". The Independent. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  3. "Player Profile: Joey Beauchamp". Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. "Joey hits U's 'greatest' goal". Oxford Mail. 19 November 1999. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  5. Howland, Andy. "The Oxford Times » Sport » Oxford United » Club History » Past Players". Oxford Times. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  6. "Games played by Joey Beauchamp in 2001/2002". Soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. "Oxford 1-2 Exeter". BBC. 23 February 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  8. "FOOTBALL: Keeble's in double joy". Bicester Advertiser. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2013.