Mark Beard (born 8 October 1974) is an English former 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 played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He is head of coaching at club
Dorking Wanderers.
Beard began his career in the youth academy at
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
in 1991. He signed his first professional contract in 1993, and made his first-team debut later that year. He spent two years at the club; scoring a goal against
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 an
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 ...
victory in January 1995. He was transferred to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
ahead of the
1995–96 season. In 1998, he joined
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
, who he had also spent time on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
at in 1997. He played regularly for the
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
club over two spells, as well as spending time at
Kingstonian
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...
.
He moved to Spain to set up a youth academy for Spanish team
UD San Pedro
Unión Deportiva San Pedro is a Spanish football team based in San Pedro Alcántara, Marbella, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1974, it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 9, holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal ...
in 2004, eventually ending up as part of the playing squad. After two years in Spain, he returned to England to sign for
Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...
, spending one year with the club and winning the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
as part of the
first team to win a competitive cup final at the new
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in May 2007. Beard went on to spend time at
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 ...
during the
2007–08 season, and the club were promoted to 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 ...
via the play-offs during his time there.
After retiring from playing, Beard made the transition into coaching and management; taking on the role of first-team manager at
Haywards Heath Town,
Tooting & Mitcham and
Loxwood
Loxwood is a small village and civil parish with several outlying settlements, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, within the Low Weald. The Wey and Arun Canal passes to the East and South of the village. This Civil Parish is at t ...
respectively. He combined his role at Loxwood alongside working in the academy at
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, before he left the Surrey club in order to take up the under-18 academy coach role at Brighton on a full-time basis in May 2017. He remained in the academy role at Brighton for four years before being appointed assistant manager at
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...
in July 2021. Beard was appointed head of coaching at Dorking Wanderers in November 2021.
Playing career
Millwall
Beard started his career with
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
, joining the club's youth academy in 1991 "straight from school".
He was captain of the youth team that won the
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
, beating
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
in the final.
During his time at youth level, he also helped the team win the Southern Junior Cup, as well as finishing runners-up in the South East Counties league.
After playing regularly in the youth team, Millwall manager
Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City.
McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...
gave Beard his first professional contract in 1993.
He made his debut as an 18-year-old, playing in Millwall's 4–1 victory against
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
.
Beard went on to make 18 appearances that season, scoring one goal. During the
1994–95 season, he was a regular in the first-team, with the highlight of his campaign coming when he scored in Millwall's 2–0 win over
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 an
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 ...
third round replay at
Highbury
Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington
in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads.
The manor house was situ ...
in January 1995.
Sheffield United
In the summer of 1995, Beard was transferred to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
for a fee of £117,500, with
Dave Bassett
David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City and ...
signing him.
He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–0 loss to
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
in August 1995,
and went on to make 56 appearances during his time at the club.
At the start of the
1997–98 season, Beard was loaned out to
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
for two months, making his debut in a 1–1 draw against
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
.
He went on to make ten appearances during the brief loan agreement.
He returned to his parent club in January 1998, making four appearances during the second half of the campaign.
Southend United
Ahead of the
1998–99 season, Beard signed for Southend on a permanent basis. He was a regular during the season, making 40 appearances in all competitions, and earning the Player of the Year award at the end of the season.
He remained at Southend for the
1999–2000 campaign, starting in the club's first game of the season, a 2–1 home win over
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
.
He made 42 appearances during the season as Southend finished in 16th position in Division Three,
scoring what turned out to be his only goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat to
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
in November 1999.
During his first spell at Southend, he made 82 appearances for the
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
club.
He then signed for
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
club
Kingstonian
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...
on a free transfer in July 2000.
He debuted for Kingtsonian in a 1–0 home victory over
Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
on 19 August 2000, and made 29 appearances for the club during a season in which Kingstonian were relegated.
The club did reach the
Fourth round of the FA Cup that season, losing to
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in a replay after the two teams had drawn at
Ashton Gate, with Beard playing in both matches.
He left the club at the end of the season, and subsequently rejoined Southend United two months into the
2001–02 season, making 17 appearances that season.
Another season at Southend followed, during which he made 42 appearances, before leaving the club at the end of the
2002–03 season.
He returned to Kingstonian for the following season, with the club playing in the
Isthmian League 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 teams ...
, scoring six times in 40 league games. At the end of the season, he travelled to Spain to set up a youth academy at
Marbella
Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...
based club U.D San Pedro in the Spanish Third Division, and ended up as part of the playing squad during his time there.
Stevenage Borough
After a two-year spell both playing and coaching in Spain, Beard signed for
Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...
of the
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
on 11 September 2006.
The move came about after Beard asked his brother,
Matt Beard
Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who is currently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool FC Women. He has managed the side previously, as well as the women's teams of Bristol City ...
, to call a number of a managers in England.
Stevenage manager
Mark Stimson
Mark Nicholas Stimson (born 27 December 1967) is an English former footballer and is currently manager of Hornchurch. He signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team. I ...
stated he was in need of "adding some grit into midfield", and subsequently offered Beard a one-week trial period to prove his fitness.
Beard had previously played alongside Stimson at Southend.
Beard agreed to play for nothing at the beginning of his time at Stevenage,
making his debut in a 6–0 home victory over
Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...
on 9 September 2006, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute in the club's first win of the season.
He scored his first goal in a 1–0 victory against
Weymouth at
Broadhall Way
Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, an ...
on 19 September 2006.
Beard played regularly during the campaign, making 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.
This appearance tally included eight appearances in the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
,
with Beard playing every minute as Stevenage became the first team
to win a competitive cup final at the new
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, beating
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
3–2 in-front of a competition record crowd of 53,262.
He was released at the end of the season;
Beard stated he was "gutted to leave",
with Stimson wanting to bring in
John Martin as his replacement.
Later career
Following his release from Stevenage, Beard joined
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 ...
club
St Albans City in a player-assistant manager role on 20 June 2007.
He was assistant to
Ritchie Hanlon, who stated – "Mark has all the relevant coaching badges and I'm looking forward to working with him as he is someone I trust. He will bring experience to the team and is someone the other players can look up to".
Hanlon was sacked just ten games into the
2007–08 season, and Beard subsequently departed too.
He then signed for
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 ...
of the
Isthmian League
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 ...
Premier Division towards the latter stages of 2007, and he helped the team gain promotion to the Conference South, scoring once in 17 league appearances.
He left Wimbledon at the end of the season,
and then spent two years at
Haywards Heath Town in the
Sussex County League
The Macron Southern Combination Football League is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and South West London, England. The league consists of eight divisions – three for first teams (Premier Div ...
, making 56 appearances and scoring six times, as well as managing the club during the
2009–10 campaign.
Following an injury crisis as manager of
Tooting and Mitcham United, he briefly returned to playing during the
2010–11 season, scoring one goal in three games.
Managerial career
Early coaching career
Beard gained his UEFA coaching badges in 2007, and already had previous experience of coaching in both Spain and Cyprus.
He was appointed Director of Youth at Spanish Third Division club UD San Pedro, combining the position with his playing duties. With the aid of
Vinny Samways
Vincent Samways (born 27 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager who played as a central midfielder from 1986 until 2006.
He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. He also play ...
, Beard watched over seven academy teams before returning to the England when he signed for Stevenage Borough.
He was brought in to set up a youth academy at Sussex County League club Haywards Heath Town in 2008, and ultimately ended up managing the side during the 2009–10 season.
He was appointed manager of
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 teams ...
team
Tooting and Mitcham United in July 2010, spending 18-months in-charge, describing his tenure as "a great experience which will stand me in good stead for my future as a coach/manager".
He left the club in December 2011, stating – "It was on the cards for the last couple of months. It is down to the results, they haven't been good enough and for one reason or another we have not been winning games. It has been a struggle. Last season, we didn't have a lot of money and we worked hard with a whole lot of youngsters and, this year, too many things have been going on behind the scenes and affecting things on the pitch".
Management
Beard was appointed as youth team coach at
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 ...
club
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...
in February 2012.
He spent two years coaching in the youth set-up at Crawley, before starting up his own academy in 2014, creating the Love The Ball (LTB) Sussex Academy.
The LTB Sussex Academy joined together with
Southern Combination Premier Division club
Loxwood
Loxwood is a small village and civil parish with several outlying settlements, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, within the Low Weald. The Wey and Arun Canal passes to the East and South of the village. This Civil Parish is at t ...
ahead of the
2014–15 season, providing a direct route for academy players to play first-team semi-professional football.
After a year serving as head coach at the LTB Sussex Academy, Beard took over as manager of the Loxwood first-team in 2015.
Half of his academy players were subsequently promoted to the Loxwood first-team.
Brighton & Hove Albion
He combined the role of first-team manager at Loxwood alongside coaching the under-15 and under-16 teams at
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
.
In March 2017, Beard left his role at Loxwood with immediate effect, due to a change in coaching responsibilities at Brighton.
Two months later, in May 2017, he was promoted to under-18 academy coach at Brighton.
Brighton's under-17 team won the under-17 Premier League Cup under Beard's management, winning the final 2–0 against the under-17 team of
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on 5 May 2021.
Stockport County
After four years in his under-18 academy coach role at Brighton, Beard was appointed assistant manager at
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 ...
club
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...
on 6 July 2021.
He left his role at Stockport in October 2021, having struggled to relocate away from his family.
Dorking Wanderers
Beard was appointed as head of coaching at
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 ...
club
Dorking Wanderers on 12 November 2021.
Personal life
Beard was born in
Roehampton
Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...
.
He is a
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
supporter.
His son Sam Beard is currently playing for Barnet FC.
Honours
Millwall
*
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
:
1990–91
Stevenage Borough
*
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
:
2006–07
AFC Wimbledon
*
Isthmian League 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 teams ...
play-offs:
2007–08
Individual
*
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
Player of the Year:
1998–99
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Mark
1974 births
Living people
Footballers from Roehampton
English footballers
Association football defenders
Millwall F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Kingstonian F.C. players
UD San Pedro players
Stevenage F.C. players
AFC Wimbledon players
Haywards Heath Town F.C. players
Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Isthmian League players
English football managers
Haywards Heath Town F.C. managers
Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. managers
Loxwood F.C. managers
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. non-playing staff