Darren Beckford

Darren Beckford

Personal information
Full name	Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford[1]
Date of birth	12 June 1967 (1967-06-12) (age 44)
Place of birth	Moss Side, Manchester, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1984–1987	Manchester City	11	(0)
1985	→ Bury (loan)	12	(5)
1987–1991	Port Vale	167	(68)
1991–1993	Norwich City	49	(13)
1993–1996	Oldham Athletic	52	(17)
1996–1997	Heart of Midlothian	7	(0)
1997	Preston North End	2	(0)
1997	Fulham	0	(0)
1997	Walsall	8	(0)
1997	Rushden & Diamonds	0	(0)
1997	Southport	1	(0)
1997	Total Network Solutions
1997–1998	Bury	0	(0)
1998	Bacup Borough
Total		309+	(103+)
National team
1983	England U-16s
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford (born 12 June 1967 in Moss Side, Manchester) is a former professional footballer. His younger brother Jason also played professional football. They both played as forwards.

In fourteen years as a professional footballer he scored a total of 103 goals in 309 league games. Advancing through the Manchester City youth team, he also spent a brief time on loan at Bury before joining Port Vale in 1987. He enjoyed the most successful time of his career at Vale, scoring 68 goals in 167 league games, helping the club to promotion via the play-offs in 1989. After four successive seasons as the club's top scorer he earned a £925,000 move to Norwich City in 1991. Unable to find the form he hit at Vale Park, he was sold on to Oldham Athletic for £300,000 in 1993. Three years later he moved on to Scottish side Hearts. He later played for Preston North End, Fulham, Walsall, Rushden & Diamonds, Southport, Total Network Solutions, Bury and Bacup Borough.

Playing career

Man City onto Port Vale

Beckford was a product of the Manchester City youth team he made eleven appearances for the Maine Road side before spending loan periods at Bury and Port Vale, moving to Third Division Vale on a permanent basis for £15,000 (plus 50% of any future transfer fee). This was settled by a Football League tribunal as a compromise between Vale's offer of £5,000 and City's demand of £60,000.^[2] He later admitted that throughout his early career his nerves caused him to vomit before games.^[3]

He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 2 April 1988, during a 5–0 demolition of Doncaster Rovers. Throughout 1987–88 he was the club's top scorer with ten goals, along with David Riley. That season Vale won every game in which Beckford made it onto the score sheet.

He was once again top scorer in 1988–89, this time bagging 23 goals as the club won promotion to the Second Division via the play-offs. He provided the crucial second goal of the 1989 final, flicking on a corner for Robbie Earle to knock into the net. Throughout the season he also managed hat-tricks against Chesterfield, Notts County, and Preston North End. Once again the club won every game in which he scored.

He adapted well to tougher opposition in the 1989–90 season. He managed 21 goals to become the club's top scorer yet again.

With 23 goals in 1990–91, he became the club's top scorer for the fourth consecutive season. He managed to bag a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers, and also found the net against former club Manchester City in the FA Cup.

"Darren Beckford was a brilliant striker for the Vale, but a nightmare to manage. It was like throwing a blancmange at the wall, you just hope that a bit of it sticks!"

—Manager John Rudge.^[4]

In all he played 214 games and scored 81 times for John Rudge's side. He was sold to Norwich City in June 1991.^[5] The fee that Norwich paid for him - £925,000 - was set by a Football League tribunal (Vale had wanted £1.5 million) and was a club record that stood until 1994. Vale signed his brother Jason to replace him, though he could not replicate his elder sibling's success.

Norwich City

Norwich manager Dave Stringer had been looking to sign a regular goalscorer for some time, and when Beckford signed he described him as "the answer to the Norwich supporters prayers". His spell at Carrow Road was inconsistent, however, and he only scored 13 times in 49 appearances. Supporters in particular criticised the fact that many of these goals were scored against weaker opposition in the League Cup. The highlight of his time at Norwich was his hat-trick in a 4–3 win against Everton - a victory which would prove key to the Canaries avoiding the drop in 1991–92. That season he also proved to be a versatile player, taking over in goal when Bryan Gunn sustained a back injury during a game against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. He made a number of fines saves but was finally beaten Ian Bryson in a 1–0 defeat.

The 1992–93 season signalled the beginning of the end for Beckford as a Norwich City player. In the close season Mike Walker signed Mark Robins for £800,000 from Manchester United, and started to push Chris Sutton up from central defence to lead the Norwich attack. A lack of form also meant that he had now fallen behind Lee Power and Rob Newman in the pecking order. However Beckford was still able to make some crucial contributions, including a scoring a vital goal in a 3–2 victory against fellow title chasers Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Oldham and final years

After less than two seasons with Norwich, Beckford was sold to Oldham Athletic in 1993 for £300,000. He played 52 times and scored 17 goals before being released in the summer of 1996. He then spent the next two years unsuccessfully searching for a club to give him first team football, he signed short term deals with Hearts, Fulham, Walsall, Rushden & Diamonds, Southport, Total Network Solutions, Bury, and Bacup Borough before retiring.^[6]

Post-retirement

Beckford also began working for The Prince's Trust working with youngsters in Manchester.^[7] In September 1998 he won a successful tribunal case against the trust for being racially victimised.^[6]

Beckford was featured on the Sky Sports series "Where Are They Now?",^[when?] and he is now working as an attendance officer at Claremont Primary School in Moss Side, Manchester.^[6]

Honours

with Port Vale

• Football League Third Division Play-off winner: 1989

References

1. ^ Sherwin, Phil (2010). The Port Vale Miscellany. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. pp. 32. ISBN 9780752457772. 
2. ^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. pp. 262. ISBN 0950898163. 
3. ^ Sherwin, Phil (9 July 2011). "Underdog has its day as Vale rout Ipswich Town". The Sentinel. 
4. ^ Sherwin, Phil (2010). The Port Vale Miscellany. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. pp. 142. ISBN 9780752457772. 
5. ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 22. ISBN 0952915200. http://www.amazon.ca/Port-Vale-Personalities-Jeff-Kent/dp/0952915200. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Career Information on Flown from the Nest website
7. ^ Sherwin, Phil (28 August 2010). "Memory Match: Bristol Rovers 1 Port Vale 1 May 31, 1989". The Sentinel. http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Memory-Match-Bristol-Rovers-1-Port-Vale-1-31-1989/article-2578985-detail/article.html. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 

External links

• Darren Beckford career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Beckford, Darren
Alternative names	Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	12 June 1967
Place of birth	Moss Side, Manchester, England
Date of death
Place of death