Jermaine Beckford

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Jermaine Beckford
Image:Jermaine Beckford celebration.png
Personal information
Full name Jermaine Beckford
Date of birth 9 December 1983 (1983-12-09) (age 24)
Place of birth    London, England
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Leeds United
Number 9
Youth clubs
Chelsea
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2001–2006
2003–2004
2006–
2006
2007		 Wealdstone
→ Uxbridge (loan)
Leeds United
→ Carlisle United (loan)
→ Scunthorpe United (loan)		 98 (51)
07 0(2)
49 (20)
04 0(1)
18 0(8)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 14:36, 7 April 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Jermaine Beckford (born 9 December 1983 in London) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Leeds United in League One of the English Football League.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Beckford began his career at Chelsea, where he was part of the youth set-up until he was released in 2003.[1] He later joined Isthmian Premier League side Wealdstone, where he scored 35 goals in 40 games. This form attracted a lot of attention from league sides and there were reportedly over thirty clubs showing an interest in the prolific striker, with many sending scouts to see him play both at home and away.[2] He had a trial with Championship side Crystal Palace and on 9 March 2006, he appeared in a reserve team fixture against Premier League side Arsenal.[3] The multitude of interested parties from other clubs in attendance included Sunderland, Charlton Athletic, Southampton, Watford, Bristol City, Swindon Town and even Chelsea. However, on 13 March, Leeds came in for Beckford and confirmed their interest with a bid the following day. This was soon accepted by the Wealdstone board, with some modifications, and he joined the club on 15 March for £45,000.[4]

[edit] Leeds United

He first featured the following week at Elland Road, when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 home defeat to Crystal Palace on 21 March. He scored his first goal for the club in his second reserve match, helping the side beat Birmingham City reserves 2–0. He now plays an important key role in Leeds's ambitious promotion. In the 2005–06 season Leeds were chasing promotion, so his appearances were limited and he only played on four more occasions that season. Following his lack of opportunities, he joined Carlisle United on a month's loan on 5 October.[5] It was an eventful first match for Beckford, as he was booked and also found himself on the score sheet inside the first half of the game.[6] After completing his loan spell, he returned to Leeds, where he was awarded with a place in the starting line-up against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. However, he was soon loaned out again, this time to League One promotion challengers Scunthorpe United until the end of the season.[7] He played in every single game after his arrival, scoring eight goals, and Scunthorpe were ultimately promoted with three games to spare, before going on to finish as champions.[8]

Due to the major role he played in guiding them to promotion, he was linked with a permanent move to Glanford Park in the close season, but Leeds manager Dennis Wise rejected the approach and kept him at the club to add to Leeds' attack. Beckford scored his first goal for the senior side in a pre-season fixture against League Two side Darlington on 31 July. He followed this up with another goal against Premiership outfit Wigan Athletic four days later. This form continued into the 2007–08 season and Beckford netted his first league goal for the club in a 4–1 victory against Southend United on 18 August. His goalscoring exploits continued when he bagged a late winner at the City Ground as Leeds beat Nottingham Forest 2–1 to continue their 100% winning record in the league, following their 15-point deduction. He gambled at the back post to tap in the winner after some great work from Seb Carole. Beckford was also instrumental in Leeds' opener, laying the ball into the path of fellow striker Tresor Kandol to net stylishly. In Leeds' fifth successive league win, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory over Hartlepool United with a pacey run and an exquisite chip into the net. In the next game, he scored a further two goals against Bristol Rovers, the second with a wonderful overhead kick. By this time he and Kandol had already scored over 10 goals between them and they developed a trademark celebration that they share, in which the pair raise to their tiptoes and demonstrate a basketball shooting action in each other's direction.

On 11 October, Beckford signed a new three-year deal with Leeds, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.[9] After continuing to impress over the course of the month, he was awarded Coca-Cola League One Fans' Player of the Month.[10] In addition to his performances, this media coverage naturally led to growing speculation surrounding suggested interest in the striker in the January transfer window, with Premiership side Derby County supposedly the club looking for his signature. However, a Leeds United spokesman confirmed that "Jermaine Beckford is not for sale" on 8 January 2008.[11] Dennis Wise also moved to quash the rumours, stating four days later, among other things, that "Derby haven't put in any enquiries".[12] On 14 January, Leeds' match against Crewe Alexandra was shown live on Sky and they ultimately won the tie 1–0, once again Beckford scoring the decisive goal.[13] Derby manager Paul Jewell was spotted in the crowd, leading to even more speculation. This time both Wise and Leeds chairman Ken Bates reinforced the fact that they had no intention of letting Beckford leave, with wise verifying "I've no intentions of selling the kid".[14] Jewell himself stated "I've got no interest in Jermaine" after the game, thereby putting an end to the uncertainty.[15]

In his post-match interview, Beckford won the hearts of Leeds fans by declaring that he had no intentions of leaving the club. When posed the question "Where do you see your own future?", he replied "What shirt am I wearing, bruv? You bein' serious?".[16] The phrase has since been well publicised and T-shirts bearing the quotation can be purchased in the official club store.[17]

On March 2, 2008, Beckford won two awards at the third annual Football League Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel in London. He received the award for League One Player of the Year[18] and the Football League Goal of the Year for his strike against Rotherham United during his loan spell with Scunthorpe United.[19]

[edit] Career stats

Club Performance
Club Years League FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Leeds United 2006– 40 (9) 20 2 (0) 0 1 (2) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 43 (11) 20
Carlisle (loan) 2006 4 (0) 1 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0 5 (0) 1
Scunthorpe United (loan) 2007 17 (1) 8 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 17 (1) 8
Total 61(10) 29 2(0) 0 1(2) 0 0(0) 0 1(0) 0 65(12) 29

[edit] Honours

  • Football League Awards 2008: League One Player of the Year, Goal of the Year
  • Leeds United A.F.C. Player of the Year Awards 2008: Fan's Player of the Year, Player's Player of the Year, Goal of the Year

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beckford wipes off Chelsea's grin. Glory Glory Leeds United (23rd November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  2. ^ Latest Club News. Wealdstone FC (15th March 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  3. ^ Palace trial for Wealdstone star. BBC Sport (10th March 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  4. ^ Leeds win race to sign Beckford. BBC Sport (15th March 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  5. ^ Carlisle snap up Beckford on loan. BBC Sport (5th October 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  6. ^ Carlisle 1-2 Millwall. BBC Sport (7th October 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  7. ^ Scunthorpe land striker Beckford. BBC Sport (19th January 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  8. ^ Scunthorpe 2-0 Huddersfield. BBC Sport (14th April 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  9. ^ Beckford pens new Leeds contract. BBC Sport (11th October 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  10. ^ More Awards. Leeds United (2nd November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  11. ^ Jermaine Beckford. Leeds United (8th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  12. ^ The Future's Bright. Leeds United (12th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  13. ^ Crewe 0-1 Leeds. BBC Sport (14th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  14. ^ He's Staying Put. Leeds United (15th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  15. ^ Jewell denies move for Beckford. BBC Sport (16th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  16. ^ He Aint Heavy, He's My Bruv.... Rivals.net (15th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  17. ^ Wot's New Becks?. Leeds United (24th January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  18. ^ Jermaine Beckford Named Top Coca-Cola League 1 Player At 2008 Football League Awards. The Football League (2nd March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  19. ^ Jermaine Beckford Wins Goal Of The Year Award At 2008 Football League Awards. The Football League (2nd March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-03.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Leeds United A.F.C. – current squad

1 Ankergren • 2 Richardson • 3 Huntington • 4 Douglas • 5 Rui Marques • 7 Prutton • 9 Beckford • 10 Constantine • 11 Westlake • 12 Martin • 14 Howson • 16 Johnson • 17 Carole • 18 Bayly • 20 Kandol • 22 Hughes • 23 Weston • 24 Sweeney • 25 Lucas • 26 Parker • 27 Gardner • 28 Delph • 29 Elliott • 31 Ameobi • 33 Michalík • 36 Sorsa • 37 Kilkenny • 39 Elding • TBD Robinson • Manager: McAllister
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Beckford"
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