Author Rob Finch has given TWTD permission to run an extract from The Greatest Footballer England Never Had: The Kevin Beattie Story, which is available for just £9.99 if those purchasing show they have donated at least £5 to The Beat Goes On campaign raising funds for his statue.
Order the book direct from Rob pointing him towards your donation on the Go Fund Me page. Email Rob via robfinch180@gmail.com and pay for the book through Paypal.
Led by the EADT and Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and TWTD, The Beat Goes On was launched on December 18th last year on what would have been the Blues legend’s 65th birthday.
Town season ticket holder Sean Hedges-Quinn, known as Coach, who sculpted the statues of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, is being commissioned for the project with preliminary discussions regarding the design having already taken place.
The statue is likely to be placed on the corner of Portman Road and the entrance to the Cattlemarket car park, diagonal to Sir Alf Ramsey and just along from Sir Bobby Robson.
You can find The Beat Goes On campaign website here.
Winning the ‘World Cup’
I enjoyed a terrific first season, was a virtual ever-present and named Ipswich Town player of the season. I was also picked to represent England in what was termed ‘The Little World Cup’ - which was held in Barcelona. It meant I got to line up alongside the likes of Trevor Francis and my old mate from Liverpool - Phil Thompson.
It was essentially a World Cup style tournament for players under 21 years old and was a lovely experience topped off when we beat West Germany 2-1 in the final.
I don’t know what you get for winning a World Cup these days, but we each received a watch - an illustration of how times have changed. Although I suppose I do have the honour of being able to lay claim to being a World Cup winner of sorts - even if I didn’t get my hands on the big one.
My ongoing success allowed me to keep one thing quiet at this time - namely the fact that my vision was really poor and I needed to wear glasses. For a time I tried wearing contact lenses during games but in those days they were very primitive and I found them uncomfortable to wear.
They also kept popping out - especially when I headed the ball, so in the end I stopped using them. Obviously laser surgery wasn’t an option in those days, so I had no alternative but to play with less than perfect vision.
Things were fine close up, but play at a distance was very blurred - for example I often saw ‘double’ and I sometimes saw what appeared to be two players running with the ball at me.
Fortunately I always tackled the correct one and it was never something that became an issue. In a funny way I actually think it made me a better player; as it improved my awareness and intuition and I developed a sixth sense about where I should be.
That said, I certainly didn’t want it to become public knowledge; it could have given opposition players an advantage, so I kept it quiet and continued with the job in hand - namely playing football. It was around this time that the club also began looking at things like training and diet.
I had up until this point always enjoyed eating a fillet steak for my pre-match meal - as had a few of the other players. However the boss (Bobby Robson) discovered that they took up to eight hours to digest and as a result was keen to put a stop to it all.
I was always mindful of how it had been back home in Carlisle when a meal could be a rarity and so when there was good food on the table I was always first in the queue. The big meals wouldn’t work for everyone, but they were certainly doing me no harm and in my opinion it really is a case of each to their own, so I kept my steak dinners going and the boss turned a blind eye to things.
I also remember once speaking to Ted Phillips - the great Ipswich Town striker from the 1960s and he told me his pre-match meal often consisted of: sausage, eggs, beans and chips…
Not long afterwards, I was told to get hold of a dinner suit and bow-tie - as the function was to be held at the prestigious Hilton Hotel in London. Upon our arrival, we were seated in a large ballroom - which was a very luxurious affair and it was only then that I was told by the boss that I had been nominated for an award and I had a great chance of winning it.
He was correct: later on I was called up onto the stage by Don Revie - who told me that I had won the inaugural PFA Young Footballer of the year trophy.
It was a fantastic accolade to have bestowed upon me and it is one which has subsequently been awarded to some truly magnificent footballers: with the likes of Paul Gascoigne; Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney also winning the award. I was thrilled - not only at the nature of such a terrific prize, but also because I didn’t know anything about it and so it was totally unexpected.
Whilst on stage, Mr Revie again told me how told me how much he rated me as a player and that he thought I would have a long and illustrious career at international level which was also great to hear.
When I returned to my seat, I was also told that I had made the PFA team of the season - as voted for by my fellow professionals. It meant that I was rated by the opposition and not just my teammates - which obviously meant a lot to me.
I was to be subsequently awarded this honour every season for the next three years which should how well and consistent I played during this time. A couple of days later I also won the Rothman Young Footballer of the year award - so all in all, it was a fantastic season for me.
If I thought that things couldn’t get any better - then I was wrong. I had continued to make excellent progress in the England Under-23 team and I was requested by Sir Alf Ramsey to attend training with the full England squad. It was less than three years since I had been arrived from Carlisle with nothing - so my progress had been phenomenal.