Dean Stuart Beckwith (born 18 September 1983) is an English former semi-professional footballer who played as a central defender. He is currently assistant manager of Ashford United.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dean Stuart Beckwith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 September 1983[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Southwark, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ashford United (assistant manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | Gillingham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 | Tonbridge Angels | 7 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | Gillingham | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2004 | → Margate (loan) | ||
| 2005–2009 | Hereford United | 127 | (5) |
| 2009–2011 | Northampton Town | 75 | (3) |
| 2011–2013 | Luton Town | 16 | (2) |
| 2013–2015 | Eastleigh | 79 | (3) |
| 2015–2019 | Sutton United | 108 | (7) |
| 2018 | → Maidstone United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Havant & Waterlooville | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Hythe Town | ||
| 2021 | Cray Wanderers | 7 | (1) |
| 2021–2024 | Chatham Town | 46 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:53, 3 May 2024 (UTC) | |||
Career
editEarly career
editBeckwith was born in Southwark, London and came through the youth system at Gillingham. He turned professional in July 2003 but was to make only two first team appearances for the Gills. He went out on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge where he scored his first senior goal against his future club Hereford in a televised 1–1 draw at Edgar Street.[3] He captained Gillingham reserves in the 2004–05 season and made his debut for the first team in the FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth. He also had a loan spell at Margate of the Conference South, making five appearances. After making his Football League debut on 5 March 2005 against Rotherham United, he was released at the end of the season.
Hereford United
editHe signed for Hereford on 12 July 2005 and scored on his league debut in the 4–0 win over Scarborough. As the season progressed he became a first team regular at centre-back and scored the equaliser in the 2–2 draw at Grays Athletic, preserving Hereford's then unbeaten run in the Conference. Promotion to the Football League followed at the end of the season, and Beckwith signed a new contract shortly after Hereford's playoff triumph.
With both Richard Rose and Phil Gulliver competing for places alongside captain Tamika Mkandawire, Beckwith made less appearances than in the previous season. He was also sent off twice in the season, his second red at Walsall was extremely questionable and prompted rare criticism of the referee by Graham Turner.[4]
He was the first choice centre back in the 2007–08 season, starting 46 out of a possible 55 first team matches. A broken jaw sustained against Chester City sidelined him for six matches, and he made his 100th league appearance for Hereford in the 2–0 win over Wrexham. Third place and promotion was secured with a match to spare, and Beckwith remained with Hereford during their solitary season in League One. He got the Bulls off to an initial good start, scoring the opening goal of the season against Leyton Orient,[5] but this was a rare highlight in a season that saw Hereford finish bottom.
Beckwith's last match for the Bulls saw him come on as a substitute against Northampton Town in a 2–1 defeat. At the end of the season newly appointed Hereford manager John Trewick chose not to offer Beckwith a new contract, stating that Beckwith was in need of a change of club.[6]
Beckwith made a total of 153 appearances for Hereford United in the Conference, Football League, FA Cup, League Cup, FA Trophy, Football League Trophy and play-off matches. He scored five goals and was the final player of the 2006 play-off winning team to depart.
Northampton Town
editOn 29 June 2009, Beckwith joined Northampton Town and was released in 2011 after he made 75 appearances and 3 goals for the Cobblers.[7]
Luton Town
editOn 14 June 2011, Beckwith became the second signing of the summer for Luton Town after Gary Brabin took over as full-time manager of the Hatters.[8] He made his Luton debut on 17 August 2011 against Forest Green Rovers, scoring the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw.[9] On 8 January 2013 Beckwith left Luton by mutual consent after 18 months with the Hatters. In total Beckwith, made 21 appearances in Luton colours, scoring two goals – including one in a 3–2 victory over Cambridge United in September 2012.
Eastleigh
editOn 8 January 2013, the day of his contract termination with Luton Town Beckwith signed for Eastleigh.[10] He made his Eastleigh debut that day against Billericay Town, scoring the opening goal on his debut after just 8 minutes. He made a total of 79 appearances for Eastleigh and was part of the team which won the Conference South in 2013–14.
Sutton United
editBeckwith moved to Sutton United at the start of the 2015–16 season. He made his debut on 8 August 2015 on the opening day defeat to Maidstone United, which Sutton lost 2–0. He scored his first league goal for the U's after heading in a cross from Ross Stearn in a 3–0 away victory against St Albans City on 5 March 2016.[11] He made 36 full and one substitute league appearances and formed an important defensive partnership with fellow centre-back and captain Jamie Collins which helped the U's to only concede 32 league goals across the season, winning the National League South title and ending the season with a goal difference of +51.[12] Beckwith was named in the National League South team of the season.
He scored his first goal with the newly promoted side in the National League in the opening day 3–1 home defeat to Solihull Moors on 6 August 2016.[13] On 25 February 2017, Beckwith scored his second in a 3–2 away victory over Torquay United at Plainmoor.[14]
Beckwith appeared in Sutton's historic run to the 5th round of the FA Cup for the first time ever, including a 3–1 victory over League One side and local rivals AFC Wimbledon in the 3rd round on 17 January 2017[15] and a 0–2 defeat to Premier League team Arsenal in the 5th round on 20 February.[16]
He scored his first goal in Sutton's 2017-18 campaign in their opening match, a 2–0 win against Leyton Orient.[17]
Maidstone United
editOn Thursday 8 February 2018 it was announced that Beckwith would join Maidstone united on a 1-month loan.[18]
Havant & Waterlooville
editIn May 2019 it was confirmed, that Beckwith would join Havant & Waterlooville ahead of the 2019/20 season.[19]
Further non-league
editIn May 2021, Beckwith joined Isthmian Premier Division side Cray Wanderers.[20]
On 31 December 2021, Beckwith, along with former-Cray Wanderers player-manager Danny Kedwell, joined Southern Counties East Premier Division side Chatham Town.[21]
Coaching career
editIn May 2024, Beckwith was appointed assistant manager of Ashford United, once again assisting Danny Kedwell.[22]
Honours
editEastleigh
- Conference South: 2013–14
Sutton United
Chatham Town
References
edit- ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
- ^ "'A great motivator and all-round nice guy' joins Kedwell at Ashford". Kent Online. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ Dean Beckwith Hereford Times, 11 August 2005. Retrieved on 9 July 2008.
- ^ Turner's frustration at bizarre decisions BBC Hereford & Worcester, 13 April 2007. Retrieved on 5 May 2008.
- ^ Leyton Orient 2–1 Hereford BBC Sport, 9 August 2008, retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ JT "I Want People To Give Everything They've Got" Archived 29 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Hereford United Official Website, 23 May 2009, retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ Cobblers sign defender Beckwith[permanent dead link] Northampton Chron
- ^ [1] Luton Town F.C
- ^ "Luton 1–1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ [2] Eastleigh Town F.C
- ^ "SuttonUnited.net – the official website of Sutton United Football Club". Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "SuttonUnited.net – the official website of Sutton United Football Club". Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "SuttonUnited.net – the official website of Sutton United Football Club". Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "Torquay United 2-3 Sutton United". BBC Sport. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "AFC Wimbledon 1-3 Sutton United". BBC. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Sutton United 0-2 Arsenal". BBC. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Sutton United 2-0 Leyton Orient". BBC. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Maidstone Make Third Loan Signing Of The Week - The Vanarama National League". www.thenationalleague.org.uk. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ Dean Beckwith: I have had lots of success playing for Paul Doswell ..., portsmouth.co.uk, 8 May 2019
- ^ "Dean Beckwith – Welcome to the Wands". Cray Wanderers F.C. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Cawdell, Luke (31 December 2021). "Chatham Town sign former Gillingham players Danny Kedwell and Dean Beckwith". Kent Online. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ "DEAN BECKWITH JOINS THE NUTS & BOLTS". www.ashfordunitedfc.com. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
External links
edit- Dean Beckwith at Soccerbase
- Dean Beckwith at Soccerway
