Skip to content

The Most Polarising Parts of Peter Beardsley’s Career (1983-98)

Peter Beardsley Career in the Premier League

We all know of the original Ronaldo’s time with both AC and Inter Milan and how he also crossed the divide between Barcelona and Real Madrid, but there hasn’t been many players who grew to such an infamous stature as Peter Beardsley did throughout his long career in England.

A boyhood Newcastle fan, Peter Beardsley began his career within the Magpies youth ranks before officially kickstarting his career with Carlisle United, where he would play a pivotal role in helping the Cumbrians gain promotion to the Second Division.

Beardsley would later jet off to Canada to join the Vancouver Whitecapsthe same team that would house a certain young talent decades later, before heading back to England to join Manchester United ahead of the 1982/83 season.

Unfortunately, Peter Beardsley would never breakthrough to the United first team and was sold at the end of the season back to Newcastle for £150,000, which proved to be a fatal mistake from the Red Devils.

Back on Tyneside, the youngster flourished and announced himself as a prolific number nine during his four-year spell with Newcastle, that helped the Magpies see off any relegation worries.

Scoring 61 goals in just shy of 150 games in all competitions, his goalscoring form caught the gazing eyes of Merseyside giants Liverpool who were looking to add some much-needed firepower after finishing as league runners-up to Everton the previous campaign.

His first season on Merseyside was incredibly successful as Liverpool once again prevailed over the domestic league with only two losses all season and finished as runners-up in the FA Cup final, losing 1-0 to the ‘Crazy Gang’ of Wimbledon.

Beardsley would later get his hands on the FA Cup the very next season and would claim a second league title a year later, he was also named to the PFA Team of the Year in 1987,1988 and 1990.

He would commonly prove to be a major thorn in the side of rivals Everton as the Geordie would continuously score braces in the Merseyside Derby with his most famous game being his double in the outlandish 4-4 draw in the 1991 FA Cup fifth round replay at Goodison Park, which were his last competitive goals in the red of Liverpool FC.

Ahead of the penultimate 1991/92 First Division season, Peter Beardsley shocked the footballing world by moving across Stanley Park to join Everton where he would finish as the club’s top scorer in his debut campaign.

In the inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season, Beardsley reintroduced himself to his former club when he scored the winner in the first ever Merseyside Derby of the Premier League era, with Everton winning 2-1 at a jubilant Goodison Park.

Despite showing promise in front of the Gwladys Street, Beardsley was soon shipped back out to Newcastle after Everton were dealing with constant financial issues, something that would be replicated later down the line.

Even at age 32, Beardsley still impressed back on the Tyne, scoring double digit goals in the next three seasons alongside his developing striker partner Andy Cole

Beardsley’s last few seasons of his competitive career saw him join Bolton Wanderers in 1997 before heading out on a short-term loan to Manchester City in 1998.

It was a loan that proved unsuccessful as Beardsley was way past his usual goalscoring prowess days, but he became the first player to ever play for both topflight teams in Liverpool and in Manchester, certainly not being shy of displaying loyalty.

After two more brief spells with Fulham and Hartlepool, Beardsley retired in 1999 with Australian side Melbourne Knights.

Overall, Peter Beardsley was an incredible footballer in his heyday and a Newcastle United and Liverpool stalwart, yet he certainly made some questionable decisions on where he wanted to play during the latter stages of his illustrious career.

He will always remain a fan favourite at St. James Park, although the same can’t possibly be said at some other home crowds he played in front of, due to his earlier ties with some of English football’s most bitter rivals.

How would you refer to these decisions by Peter Beardsley? Let us know by tweeting us below!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *