Funny how times have changed?
One of the best defenders and players i have ever seen at Portman Road gets ridiculed from some quarters.Yes its a real shame that injury,addiction or whatever has caused Kevin to find himself in this difficult situation.But he was and is a true Ipswich legend who loved the club and deserves some respect.
Dare we mention the club paying off Chopra's gambling debts and Jimmy's alleged drink fuelled antics?
These days clubs support the problems players have aka Chopra and rightly so but it just seems a shame that players from the past who have issues like Beattie don't get help from the FA/Premier league as often its the players from the 70's/80's who didn't enjoy the money that the current player does need the help the most.
I don't agree with irregular earnings but I'd rather have a Beattie any day of the week than some of the clowns Jewell has brought to this club.Good luck for the future Kevin a true ITFC Legend.

The Beat is a legend to all of us that saw him in his prime. Very sad. This is hardly the crime of the century, when you think about bankers like Fred Goodwin who has legally robbed us all of billions. All he was getting was £45 from BBC Suffolk for Saturday games. He cares for his wife full time who has MS, and think about the money that even average Championship players earn today, most of whom are not even fit to clean Kevin's boots. Without doubt the greatest player ever to play for our once proud club, and there's been some great players over the years.

The only player I saw who was really worth 2 players on the field,and I've seen him training alone to recover from the injuries to which he was prone.
Whilst I am always opposed to 'benefit cheats' , Kevin's case is not that of a typical cheat & I don't think it's my itfc bias talking. Having said that he's a crap pundit!

Zebra,, a very good post.... i am not religious person but i always remember one story from childhood, when jesus says to a group of people who want to stone a woman," let him without sin, cast the first stone". Beatie deserved some sort of punishment, of course he does. some of you have been very unfair with your judgement, none of you are perfect!

I have done some silly things in my time and had things gone differently, they could have had such different consequences.

P>S .. how did they reach the figure of 9 grand?

COYB

A great great player. But fraud is fraud.

Nobody's perfect so crack on. On my way to work there im gonna nick my lunch from but what the hey small fry.

... I'm not perfect I have done many things but I accept the consequences. If I dd something serious enough to appear and plead guilty in court I would lose my job, therefore I think before I act or live by the consequences. This is not a holier than thou attitude it is the reality of my life and I imagine most other people's who are in paid employment.

This is getting off topic now but I do t see that someone's legendary status at their job should mean we should all make excuses and offer to get stick our hands in our pockets. If this was going to happen it should have been done prior to fraud not after it as moral arguments are lost. If someone was aware of the situation or raised that support was needed a couple of years ago then you would have my sympathy but not now. Maybe I am being harsh but it's early in the morning and I'm a miserable bastard.

Perhaps today's very well paid players should consider each paying a regular nominal sum of money into a fund to assist ex. players like Kevin, who's careers have ended prematurely through injury and who were paid virtually nothing compared with what they are paid today, please note that I refrained from using the words "earn today" .

unless you are a banker a politician or a wealthy businessman, fraud will not be tolerated in the UK.
his biggest crime is to be an ordinary less well off person living in a council house. the royal family who illegally overthrew our previous monarchy are receiving a vast fortune in taxpayer payments and have never had a job and no one says a word !

He is a legend and it is truly sad but he has commited a crime unfortunately and needs to take whatever punishment that come as a consequence. @Yorksblue I agree with your sentiment and hold The Beat in much higher regard than Chops however the club have not simply paid off Chopra's debt he is paying it off thhrough his (substantial) wages. If KB is so desperate he is illegally claiming a few grand it is unlikely the club lending him some money would help as he would be unable to pay it back.
Whatever we all think, this is still a great shame.

The fact that he drank and smoked his way through all the money he made in the game, (something that I saw at first hand), does not mean that either we or the club should dip into our pockets to help him out now.

And if this keeps his banal comments off the radio then so much the better - if I hear the words "I agree with ya 100% mate" , "or without a doubt" ever again, it'd be too soon !

And for those attempting to compare him with bankers and the like, get real, fraud is fraud !!

KB is my hero... sorry I have no sympathy with him at the mo.. still will be my hero.. hope it gets sorted and KB puts it down to a large mistake...

@dissboy

I guess roughly £9000/100 weeks = £90/week.

Not sure which benefit that could be. DLA? Income based JSA?

It IS sad that this has happened, but the man is a criminal and admitted it, so I really don't understand the outpour of sympathy from some of you.
The man wasted a shedload of money over the years, hence being in a council house.
Some of you here showing sympathy for him were outwardly criticising Chopra for his issues.
Get a grip. The man's stolen £9k off the tax-payer knowingly. He deserves no sympathy.

Have you all gone completely mad?

Was Beattie a legend? - Yes
Does he deserve respect for all he did (and does now) for Town - Yes

He would have been paid as well as most in his era and relative to the time. Someone quoted £45 per week (amazing , what people presume to know) , well that's £2,340 a year, and let me tell you in the early 70's that 1 year's salary would have bought you a 3 bed semi! how many on here can say that 1 years current salary would buy a 3 bed house?

I see myself as a loyal servent to the company I work for and I am good at my job, but if I squander my money over the coming years and end up in a similar predicament can I expect my current employer to help me out?

So in summary, I still (as should every Town fan) have huge respect for the man as a Town legend. I am sad that there was either a)no one to offer sound financial advice when he was a player b)or he was a bit frivolous with his cash. But no fan, member of the public or ITFC is responsible.

Lesson learnt - Move on!

I would happily contribute a tenner towards a whip round
anyone who watched ITFC in the seventies would do the same
he was utterly magnificent, and is only in the state he is now because he was rushed back from injuries to play when his knees weren't up to it
If anyone is organising it..let me know
Can TWTD set up some sort of Beat Fund?

Very sad to see one of our greatest reduced to this, if only England had Kevin Beattie now we wouldn't need louts like Terry at the back and Kevin would be a millionaire!

I can't see why so many people are sticking up for Kevin on this issue. Fraud is Fraud, end of! It doesn't matter if he is an ITFC Legend. He has committed benefit fraud and deserves everything he gets. Too many people think that benefit fraud is a victimless crime but they are wrong. It affects all of us who work for a living and pay taxes. If benefit fraud could be completely cut out it would solve the country's debt deficit in one go. I work in benefits and see what people try to get away with every day and it is disgusting. Kevin Beattie is no better than any of them. Claiming income support (according to another report I have read) for the last 2 years when he was receiving £45 from the BBC for weekend matches and £75 for weekday matches, not to mention the money he must be receiving for the sale of his books! Why are people refering his situation to Chopra's? Football has changed and it is now big money when it wasn't in the past. Thats life and it does not give Kevin an excuse to supplement his income by fraudulently claiming income support. He may be an ITFC legend (although I personally believe John Wark is more of a legend) but he has lost my respect. He is currently the honourary president of the North of England Supporters Club. Time for a change I think. Anyone know John Wark's number??

I hate benefit fraud.......Rant over!

Can't understand that people can't distinguish between two very seperate topics.

Kevin Beattie = Very good footballer. I never saw him play (well other than on my copy of the '78 cup final), but I'll take advice from others more knowledgable than me that he was good - i.e. Bobby Robson.

Kevin Beattie = Guilty of benefit fraud - the facts are as per the case - no sympathy, he did it (he admitted it!) and he now has to stay home in the evenings for 3 months (10pm - 6am? what is the point of that? adult version of the naughty step...!)

If this story related to a player from any other club there would be no sympathy on this board. It's a shame he wasn't better advised, but many others in life have worked harder, earnt much less and still haven't felt the need to commit crimes.

Being a footballer does not excuse how you act in life - if it does then you might as well ring the club up and invite the players (past and present) round to take whatever they want... Only the good ones obviously!

This is so sad. The Beat really was the greatest EVER player to pull on a Town shirt, if anyone is in any doubt. Bobby Robson endorsed that view. The radio job was for peanuts, it wasn't even a wage, more like expenses. He's worth far more in any respect you care to way it up.

Beat - you're a true legend. Nothing will change that. All the best.

Being a magnificent nurse of the 00's in the NHS, aka a nursing legend, wouldn't excuse me from benefit fraud.
Being a magnificent footballer of the 70s/80s doesn't excuse you from benefit fraud.

He knew what he was doing. He broke the law. End of. No sympathy from me here, people are acting as if he has died or something. The Kevin Beattie Memorial fund for the chiselled fraudster.

Get a grip ffs.

I feel sorry for him. He deserves so much more and will always be my all-time favourite player.

Glad to see someone said that if the club can spend so much digging Chopra out of the s..t, surely they can help the beat. He is a true legend and if hes down on his luck just put your hand in your pocket Mr Invisible Evans, if you have any idea what this clubs about.

Somebody I know was on the receiving end of exactly the same issue, "failing to notify a change of circumstances". All I can say is, there doesn't have to be intent in order to be found guilty, nor does entering a plea of guilty mean he was actively intending to commit fraud. No doubt many people will condemn him all the same.

Why on earth should Town financially help out Kevin Beattie?! The people suggesting this are literally incredible! Are ITFC a charity (although I appreciate we are when it comes to giving a year's wages to players like Nathan Ellington and Lee Bowyer, and giving goals and points away)? If I'd done a good job for a company I used to work for 30 years ago, then committed benefit fraud because I couldn't make ends meet (through no one's fault but my own), then that company would tell people exactly where to go if it was suggested to them that they should help me out.

But please don't stop posting, those people who are suggesting this. I love reading your misguided, ill-informed, ignorant, delusional comments! They make me howl with laughter and brighten up my day no end! Many thanks.

I can only conclude suzanna gekkaloys that along with mr evans YOU CLEARLY DONT KNOW WHAT THIS CLUB IS ABOUT