Dean Stuart Beckwith (born 18 September 1983) is an English semi-professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Chatham Town.

Career

Early career

Beckwith was born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, 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 Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

where he scored his first senior goal against his future club Hereford in a televised 1–1 draw at

Edgar Street Edgar Street is a football stadium in Hereford and was the home of Hereford United Football Club from the club's formation in 1924 until December 2014, when the club was wound up. It is now the home of Hereford FC, a phoenix club formed to rep ...

. He captained Gillingham reserves in the 2004–05 season and made his debut for the first team in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

defeat to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He also had a loan spell at Margate of the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

, making five appearances. After making his Football League debut on 5 March 2005 against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, he was released at the end of the season.

Hereford United

He signed for Hereford on 12 July 2005 and scored on his league debut in the 4–0 win over

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. 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 Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

, preserving Hereford's then unbeaten run in the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

. 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 Philip Stephen Gulliver (born 12 September 1982) is an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Carlisle United, AFC Bournemouth, Bury, Scunthorpe United, Rushden & Diamonds and Hereford United. Since 2008 he ha ...

competing for places alongside captain

Tamika Mkandawire Tamika Paul Mkandawire (born 28 May 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. Born in Malawi, he made two appearances for the England C national team. Early life Born in Mzuzu, Mkandawire came to Engla ...

, 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 Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is third behind only Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games managed. After a ...

. 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 Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. 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 Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

, 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 Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in a 2–1 defeat. At the end of the season newly appointed Hereford manager

John Trewick John Trewick (born 3 June 1957) is an English association football, football coach and former midfielder. He was first team coach at Hereford United F.C., Hereford United from 2004 to 2009. After the relegation of Hereford United to League Two, T ...

chose not to offer Beckwith a new contract, stating that Beckwith was in need of a change of club. 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

On 29 June 2009, Beckwith joined

and was released in 2011 after he made 75 appearances and 3 goals for the Cobblers.

Luton Town

On 14 June 2011, Beckwith became the second signing of the summer for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

after

Gary Brabin Gary Brabin (born 9 December 1970) is an English former professional footballer, coach and manager who is the Sporting Director at Cymru Premier team The New Saints. A midfielder with a 12-year career in the English Football League, he repres ...

took over as full-time manager of the ''Hatters''. He made his Luton debut on 17 August 2011 against

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

, scoring the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw. 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 Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

in September 2012.

Eastleigh

On 8 January 2013, the day of his contract termination with

Beckwith signed for

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

. He made his Eastleigh debut that day against

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

, 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

in 2013–14.

Sutton United

Beckwith moved to

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

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. 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 The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

title and ending the season with a goal difference of +51. 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 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in the opening day 3–1 home defeat to

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...

on 6 August 2016. On 25 February 2017, Beckwith scored his second in a 3–2 away victory over

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

. 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 The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side and local rivals

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

in the 3rd round on 17 January 2017 and a 0–2 defeat to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

team

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the 5th round on 20 February. He scored his first goal in Sutton's 2017-18 campaign in their opening match, a 2–0 win against

Maidstone United

On Thursday 8 February 2018 it was announced that Beckwith would join Maidstone united on a 1-month loan.

Havant & Waterlooville

In May 2019 it was confirmed, that Beckwith would join

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the 20 ...

ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Further non-league

In May 2021, Beckwith joined

Isthmian Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

side

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Sidcup, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cr ...

. On 31 December 2021, Beckwith, along with former-Cray Wanderers player-manager Danny Kedwell, joined Southern Counties East Premier Division side Chatham Town.

Honours

Eastleigh *

: 2013–14 Sutton United *

: 2015–16

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Dean 1983 births Living people Footballers from Southwark English footballers Gillingham F.C. players Margate F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Cray Wanderers F.C. players Chatham Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Association football central defenders