Darren Beckford

Darren Richard Lorenzo Beckford (born 12 May 1967) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. His younger brother Jason also played professional football.

In 14 years as a professional footballer, he scored 96 goals in 302 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 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.

Career

Manchester City Beckford was a product of the Manchester City youth team and made his first-team debut at the age of 16. As a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, he rejected the opportunity to represent England at youth team level as he refused to stand for the national anthem, seeing it as saluting the flag and therefore unchristian behaviour. Vale fans raised £7,500 of the fee with a 'buy a player' fund. He later admitted that throughout his early career his nerves caused him to vomit before games.

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. On 19 September, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Chesterfield. On 25 March, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Notts County.

He played 214 games and scored 81 times for John Rudge's side. He was sold to Norwich City of the First Division (soon to be rebranded as the Premier League) in June 1991. 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. £200,000 of the sum went to Manchester City. His spell at Carrow Road was inconsistent and he only scored 13 times in 49 appearances. Supporters, in particular, criticised 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 several fine saves but was finally beaten Ian Bryson in a 1–0 defeat. He did, though, end the season with a ruptured ankle ligament sustained in the penultimate match of the campaign. and Dundee, he played as a substitute in the final itself. These were, however, the only two goals he scored for Hearts. He then signed short-term deals with Fulham, Walsall, Rushden & Diamonds, Southport, Total Network Solutions, Bury, and Bacup Borough before retiring. In September 1998 he won a successful tribunal case against the trust for being racially victimised. His brother Jason Beckford is a former professional footballer. His nephew Ethan Beckford has also played professional football. Lauren, his daughter from his first marriage, played for Manchester United Women and Everton.

Career statistics

Honours Port Vale Football League Third Division play-offs: 1989

Heart of Midlothian Scottish League Cup runner-up: 1996