Mark Beard (footballer)

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Mark Beard
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-10-08) 8 October 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Roehampton, London, England[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1993 Millwall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Millwall 52 (3)
1995–1998 Sheffield United 56 (0)
1997 → Southend United (loan) 9 (0)
1998–2000 Southend United 78 (1)
2000–2001 Kingstonian 23 (0)
2001–2003 Southend United 50 (0)
2003–2004 Kingstonian 40 (6)
2004–2006 San Pedro 32 (4)
2006–2007 Stevenage Borough 39 (3)
2007–2008 AFC Wimbledon 17 (1)
2008–2010 Haywards Heath Town 56 (6)
2010–2011 Tooting & Mitcham United 3 (1)
Total 455 (25)
Managerial career
2008–2010 Haywards Heath Town
2010–2011 Tooting & Mitcham United
2015–2017 Loxwood
2023–2024 Eastbourne Borough
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mark Beard (born 8 October 1974) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is a professional development phase coach at Hull City.

Beard began his career in the youth academy at Millwall in 1991, where he made his senior debut. He spent two years in the first team, scoring a goal against Arsenal in an FA Cup victory in January 1995. He signed for Sheffield United ahead of the 1995–96 season. He joined Southend United in 1998, having spent time there on loan in 1997, and later played for Kingstonian.

In 2004, he moved to Spain to establish a youth academy for UD San Pedro, later joining the club's playing squad. He returned to England in 2006, signing for Stevenage Borough, and winning the FA Trophy as part of the first team to win a competitive cup final at the newly built Wembley Stadium in May 2007. He subsequently spent the 2007–08 season at AFC Wimbledon, helping the club achieve promotion to the Conference South via the play-offs.

Following retirement, Beard held managerial roles at Haywards Heath Town, Tooting & Mitcham, and Loxwood. He also worked in Brighton & Hove Albion's academy, taking on the club's under-18 coaching role full-time in May 2017. After four years, he became assistant manager at Stockport County in July 2021, then head of coaching at Dorking Wanderers later that year. Beard was appointed manager of Eastbourne Borough in June 2023, departing in January 2024. He joined Hull City as a professional development phase coach for the club's under-18 team.

Early life

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Beard was born in Roehampton, London.[1] He is a lifelong Millwall supporter.[2]

Playing career

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Millwall

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Beard began his career with boyhood club Millwall, joining the youth academy in 1991 after leaving school.[2] He was captain of the youth team that won the FA Youth Cup, beating Sheffield Wednesday in the final.[2] During his time at youth level, he also helped the team win the Southern Junior Cup, as well as finish runners-up in the South East Counties league.[2] After playing regularly in the youth team, Millwall manager Mick McCarthy offered Beard his first professional contract in 1993, which he signed.[2] He made his debut as an 18-year-old, playing in Millwall's 4–1 victory against Watford.[2] Beard made 18 appearances that season, scoring once. During the 1994–95 season, he scored in Millwall's 2–0 victory against Arsenal in an FA Cup third round replay at Highbury in January 1995.[2]

Sheffield United

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In the summer of 1995, Beard was transferred to Sheffield United for a fee of £117,500, with manager Dave Bassett signing him.[3] He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Tranmere Rovers in August 1995.[4] At the start of the 1997–98 season, Beard was loaned to Southend United for two months, making his debut in a 1–1 draw with Oldham Athletic.[5] He made ten appearances during the loan agreement.[5] He returned to Sheffield United in January 1998, making four appearances during the second half of the season.[5] Beard made 56 appearances during his time at the club.[2]

Southend United

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Ahead of the 1998–99 season, Beard signed for Southend United on a permanent basis. He was a regular during the season, making 40 appearances in all competitions, and was named the club's Player of the Year at the end of the season.[6][7] He remained at Southend for the 1999–2000 season,[8] and made 42 appearances during the season as Southend finished 16th in Division Three,[9] scoring what would prove to be his only goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City in November 1999.[8] During his first spell at Southend, he made 82 appearances.[3]

Beard then signed for Football Conference club Kingstonian on a free transfer on 12 July 2000.[10][11] He debuted for Kingstonian in a 1–0 home victory over Northwich Victoria on 19 August 2000, and made 29 appearances for the club during a season in which Kingstonian were relegated.[12][13] The club reached the fourth round of the FA Cup that season, losing to Bristol City in a replay after the two teams had drawn at Ashton Gate, with Beard playing in both matches.[13][14] He left the club at the end of the season, and rejoined Southend United two months into the 2001–02 season, making 17 appearances that season.[15] Another season at Southend followed, during which he made 42 appearances, before leaving the club at the end of the 2002–03 season.[16][17] He returned to Kingstonian for the following season, with the club playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, scoring six times in 40 league games. At the end of the season, he travelled to Spain to set up a youth academy at Marbella-based club UD San Pedro in the Spanish Third Division, and ended up as part of the playing squad during his time there.[2]

Stevenage Borough

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After spending two years playing and coaching in Spain, Beard signed for Stevenage Borough of the Conference National on 11 September 2006.[18] The move came to fruition after Beard asked his brother, Matt Beard, to call a number of managers in England.[2] Stevenage manager Mark Stimson stated he was in need of "adding some grit into midfield", and subsequently offered Beard a one-week trial to prove his fitness.[2] Beard had previously played alongside Stimson at Southend.[18] Beard initially agreed to play without pay at the beginning of his time at Stevenage,[2] making his debut in a 6–0 home victory over Stafford Rangers on 9 September 2006, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute in the club's first win of the season.[19] He scored his first goal in a 1–0 victory against Weymouth at Broadhall Way on 19 September 2006.[20][21] Beard played regularly during the season, making 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.[22][23][24] This included eight appearances in the FA Trophy,[25] with Beard playing every minute as Stevenage became the first team to win a competitive cup final at the new Wembley Stadium, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in front of a competition record crowd of 53,262.[26][27] He was released at the end of the season;[28] Beard stated he was "gutted to depart",[2] with Stimson wanting to sign John Martin as his replacement.[2]

Later career

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Following his release from Stevenage, Beard joined Conference South club St Albans City in a player-assistant manager role on 20 June 2007.[29] He was assistant to Ritchie Hanlon, who stated: "Mark has all the relevant coaching badges and I'm looking forward to working with him as he is someone I trust. He will bring experience to the team and is someone the other players can look up to".[29] Hanlon was dismissed just ten games into the 2007–08 season, and Beard subsequently departed the club as well.[30] He then signed for AFC Wimbledon of the Isthmian League Premier Division towards the latter stages of 2007, and he helped the team gain promotion to the Conference South, scoring once in 17 league appearances.[2][31] He left Wimbledon at the end of the season,[32] and then spent two years at Haywards Heath Town in the Sussex County League, making 56 appearances and scoring six times, as well as managing the club during the 2009–10 season.[33] Beard briefly returned to playing during the 2010–11 season after a number of injuries to first-team players whilst manager of Tooting and Mitcham United, scoring one goal in three matches.

Coaching career

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Early coaching career

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Beard gained his UEFA coaching badges in 2007 and had prior coaching experience in both Spain and Cyprus.[29] He was appointed director of youth development at Spanish Third Division club UD San Pedro, a role he combined with his playing duties. With the aid of Vinny Samways, Beard watched over seven academy teams before returning to England, when he signed for Stevenage Borough.[29] He was brought in to set up a youth academy at Sussex County League club Haywards Heath Town in 2008, and ultimately ended up managing the side during the 2009–10 season.[2][33]

He was appointed manager of Isthmian Premier Division club Tooting and Mitcham United in July 2010, spending 18 months in charge, describing his tenure as "a great experience which will stand me in good stead for my future as a coach/manager".[2] He left the club in December 2011, stating: "It was on the cards for the last couple of months. It is down to the results, they haven't been good enough and for one reason or another we have not been winning games. It has been a struggle. Last season, we didn't have a lot of money and we worked hard with a whole lot of youngsters and, this year, too many things have been going on behind the scenes and affecting things on the pitch".[34]

Management

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Beard was appointed as youth team coach at League One club Crawley Town in February 2012.[35][36] He spent two years coaching in the youth set-up at Crawley, before starting up his own academy in 2014, creating the Love The Ball (LTB) Sussex Academy.[37] The LTB Sussex Academy partnered with Southern Combination Premier Division club Loxwood ahead of the 2014–15 season, providing a direct route for academy players to play first-team semi-professional football.[37][38] After a year serving as head coach at the LTB Sussex Academy, Beard took over as manager of the Loxwood senior team in 2015,[37] with half of his academy players subsequently being promoted to the first team.[39]

Further coaching spells

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He combined the role as first-team manager at Loxwood with coaching the under-15 and under-16 teams at Brighton & Hove Albion.[37] In March 2017, Beard left his position at Loxwood with immediate effect, due to a change in his coaching responsibilities at Brighton.[37] Two months later, in May 2017, he was promoted to under-18 academy coach at Brighton.[40] Brighton's under-17 team won the under-17 Premier League Cup under Beard's management, winning the final 2–0 against the under-17 team of Middlesbrough on 5 May 2021.[41][42]

After four years in his under-18 academy coach role at Brighton, Beard was appointed assistant manager at National League club Stockport County on 6 July 2021.[43] He left his role at Stockport in October 2021, citing difficulties relocating away from his family.[44] The following month, Beard was appointed as head of coaching at National League South club Dorking Wanderers on 12 November 2021.[45] He combined the role with a return to Brighton as a youth coach.[46]

Eastbourne Borough

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Beard was appointed as manager of National League South club Eastbourne Borough on 8 June 2023.[46] He oversaw the club's transition from part-time to full-time football, but was dismissed on 1 January 2024 following a run of six league wins in 24 matches.[47]

Hull City

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He was appointed professional development phase coach for the Hull City under-18 team on 22 November 2024, working alongside David Meyler.[48]

Personal life

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Beard's son, Sam, is also a footballer, and his younger brother, Matt, is a football manager who has predominantly worked in women's football.[2][49]

Honours

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Millwall

Stevenage Borough

AFC Wimbledon

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mark Beard at Soccerbase
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Mark Beard – SFC History". Stevenage F.C. History. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Mark Beard – Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Mark Beard – Sheffield United". Sporting-Heroes. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "Games played by Mark Beard in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Games played by Mark Beard in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Soccer: Beard hopes to grow on Blues". Gazette News. 21 October 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Games played by Mark Beard in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  9. ^ "English Division Three 1999–2000 : Table". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  10. ^ "K's make double swoop". BBC Sport. 12 July 2000. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Kingstonian keen to sign Simba". BBC Sport. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  12. ^ "English Conference 2000–2001 : Table". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Games played by Mark Beard in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Kingstonian 0–1 Bristol City". Kingstonian F.C. 7 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  15. ^ "Games played by Mark Beard in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  16. ^ "Games played by Mark Beard in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Southend cull continues". BBC Sport. 9 May 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Stevenage swoop to capture Beard". BBC Sport. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Stevenage 6–0 Stafford Rangers". BBC Sport. 9 September 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  20. ^ "Stevenage 1–0 Weymouth". BBC Sport. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  21. ^ "Stimson encouraged by Beard goal". BBC Sport. 20 September 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  22. ^ "Stevenage Player: Mark Beard profile". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Stevenage 4–1 Cambridge Utd". BBC Sport. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  24. ^ "Stevenage 3–1 Southport". BBC Sport. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  25. ^ "Stevenage Borough 2006-7: Results, rollcall and league table". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  26. ^ a b Hughes, Ian (12 May 2007). "Kidderminster 2–3 Stevenage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  27. ^ "Henry the first". The Football Association. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  28. ^ "Stimson commences summer clearout". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  29. ^ a b c d "Beard aiming to make Mark". St Albans & Harpenden Review. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  30. ^ "St Albans dismiss manager Hanlon". BBC Sport. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  31. ^ "Wimbledon chase FA Trophy dream". BBC Sport. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  32. ^ "Gayle quits as Dons rebuild squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  33. ^ a b "Player profile at Haywards Heath Town FC – Mark Beard". The Argus. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  34. ^ "Beard sacked by Tooting & Mitcham". Your Local Guardian. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  35. ^ "Exciting times for Crawley's head of youth". Crawley Observer. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  36. ^ "Under-18's 1–2 Southend United". Crawley Town F.C. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  37. ^ a b c d e "Beard Quits Loxwood After Four Years In Charge". Non-League Pitchero. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  38. ^ "Ex-Crawley Town youth boss Mark Beard sets up Loxwood academy". Crawley Observer. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  39. ^ "Mark Beard – LTB". Love The Ball. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  40. ^ "Beard promoted to under-18 role at Albion and Stygal leaves Loxwood". West Sussex County Times. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  41. ^ "Beard: We're going there to win". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  42. ^ "Albion win Under-17s Premier League Cup!". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  43. ^ "Beard appointed as part of new backroom staff". Stockport County F.C. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  44. ^ "Club statement: Mark Beard". Stockport County F.C. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  45. ^ "Mark Beard joins Wanderers as new head of coaching". Dorking Wanderers F.C. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  46. ^ a b "Eastbourne Borough welcome Mark Beard as the new manager". Eastbourne Borough F.C. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  47. ^ "Club Statement". Eastbourne Borough F.C. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  48. ^ "Beard joins PDP Coaching Staff". Hull City A.F.C. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  49. ^ Phillips, Chris (3 March 2023). "Mark Beard relishing son's clash with Southend United". Echo News. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  50. ^ "Isthmian League 2007–08". FCHD. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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