National treasure to Beardsley the ‘bully’
PETER Beardsley is a Newcastle United legend still worshipped by supporters in the city. Even beyond his home town, the 56-year-old is considered one of the greatest players England has produced.
His image is that of a respected and popular former international who won 59 caps and played at two World Cups, won two league titles with Liverpool and transcended Merseyside rivalries when he joined Everton before returning to Newcastle for a second spell as one of Kevin Keegan’s Entertainers.
When his England career came to an end before Euro 96, a room of journalists gave him a standing ovation and he has remained feted in the press.
Today, however, Beardsley is fighting for his job as coach of Newcastle’s Under 23s after several of his players made allegations of racism and bullying. News of yesterday’s suspension pending the outcome of the club’s investigation was met with relief by academy players and even some staff.
To those who know Beardsley and the goings-on inside the club, this investigation has been a long time coming.
There are, of course, those who speak very well of him and there are scores of players who are honoured to have been coached by one of their idols. However, in light of this week’s allegations, Sportsmail has spoken to and been contacted by several former players and coaches who portray Beardsley in a different light.
One former academy hopeful said: ‘ His bullying is like a tap — drip, drip, every day. The worst thing you can do is play for the first team or go away with your country.
‘When you come back to the academy it’s things like, “You’re big-time now” and “You think you’ve made it”. It’s not said in a nice way, it’s nasty and belittling in front of everyone.
‘ It’s as if he doesn’t want you to do well. You lose confidence and hate going in to training. He won’t speak to you or you’ll find you’ve been dropped or made to play in games beneath your age level. It humiliates you.’
It is understood that this sort of treatment was one of the reasons why highly rated England Under 17 defender Lewis Gibson decided to quit the club last year in a £6million move to Everton.
It is said Gibson was even advised by one of Beardsley’s coaching colleagues that he should leave for the good of his career.
His parents wrote to the FA expressing concern about the treatment of players at Newcastle, although Beardsley was not named. It is thought they did not want to make a direct allegation because their other son, Liam, is also on the books at the club.
And it is that climate of fear which is said to have prevented other players from coming forward sooner. Yasin Ben ElMhanni, and some of the other players who
have brought the allegations against Beardsley, have been applauded by their team-mates and have their full support.
Sportsmail can reveal that the Fa, PFa and Newcastle have received an email from another former player alleging he was bullied by Beardsley, who was cleared by the Premier league in 2003 following bullying accusations from three academy players.
But it is not just among the club’s youth teams where he appears to be unpopular. a former coach said: ‘He just does not see the good in people. It’s such a shame, he’s a club legend. Why does he have to behave like that? He’s not confrontational, he’s slippery. He’s great to your face, but behind your back he’ll be calling you. He’s always battering people.
‘With the players it’s never “well done”. Every day it’s just little comments belittling lads. Kids need encouragement, they are fragile enough at that age without someone of his standing making them feel small.’
It is said that Beardsley the player was often an outsider in the dressing room. He did not drink and many team-mates suspected that he reported back to manager Keegan during the mid-Nineties.
When Rafa Benitez arrived as boss in 2016, one of his first instructions was that Beardsley and the Under 23s be relocated to the academy. The reason given was that he wanted the first-team headquarters to be less crowded and exclusive to his squad.
However, Sportsmail has been told that Benitez was advised to distance Beardsley from the senior set-up.
Prior to Benitez, alan Pardew arranged for Beardsley to have a separate office at the training ground away from the main coaches’ room.
But it was Glenn Roeder who confronted Beardsley when he got the manager’s job in 2006, letting it be known he did not want him at the club.
Beardsley moved into a marketing and PR role before returning to the academy in 2009. He was later promoted to reserveteam boss.
Beardsley was once confronted by Joey Barton in the treatment room at the training ground and the midfielder let it be known in choice language that they did not want him around.
That squad, which also included strong characters such as Kevin Nolan and andy Carroll, were sceptical of his presence and guarded in his company.
Beardsley categorically denies all of the allegations made against him by the club’s academy players. But it would appear that the allegations — whether proven or dismissed — have encouraged others to speak out against him.
‘He’s slippery — great to your face but then he batters you behind your back’