James Scott Beattie (born 27 February 1978) is an English football coach and a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a first-team coach at Reading.
He was previously a part of Garry Monk's backroom staff, working with him at Birmingham City, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Born in Lancaster, Lancashire, he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers, eventually signing professionally for them in 1995. Beattie then went on to have spells at Southampton, Everton, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Rangers, and a short spell on loan at Blackpool, before eventually returning to Sheffield United for a second term. When signed by Everton, and for his first spell at Sheffield United, he commanded the highest fee ever paid for a player by each club at that time.
Born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Beattie was a gifted pupil and attended the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. He was a very good swimmer, rated second in the country at the 100 metres freestyle at 14, but he dropped swimming in favour of football after damaging the cartilage tissue on his shoulder.
He went on to represent his school, and play for Blackburn Schools, before joining Blackburn Rovers as a trainee on 7 March 1995.
He made his first-team debut for Blackburn Rovers in October 1996, in a 2–0 home defeat against Arsenal. He had made only seven first-team appearances, and had yet to score a goal, when, in the 1998 close season, he was transferred to Southampton.
He joined Southampton in July 1998 valued at £1 million, as a make-weight part of the deal that took Kevin Davies to Ewood Park for a £7 million fee. Beattie's initial impact was positive, earning him the club's Player of the Season award as he helped the Saints stave off relegation. His second season was hampered by a series of injuries, but in November 2000 he began a long goalscoring run. After 18 months without a goal, he scored 10 in 10 matches, lifting Southampton into a comfortable position, and securing their place in the Premier League for the next season. His form then deserted him once again, and he scored only two goals during the remainder of the season.
Beattie was awarded a new four-year contract in March 2001. However, he failed to score in the remainder of the 2000–01 season, or in the first five Premier League matches of the next – a run that eventually totalled 17 matches. He returned to scoring form at the end of September 2001, and he ended 2001–02 with an impressive total of 14, despite a two-month spell on the sidelines, the result of an ankle injury which he sustained in a match against Manchester United in January 2002.
In 2002–03, Beattie scored 23 league goals, making him the third-highest Premiership goalscorer (and the highest English goalscorer) for that season. His fine form helped Southampton reach the 2003 FA Cup final, their first since victory in 1976. Southampton lost 1–0 to Arsenal and Beattie had to settle for a runners-up medal.
He eventually left Southampton in January 2005, joining Everton for a £6 million fee.
Beattie found it difficult to settle at Everton, and, in only his fifth Premier League appearance for the club, he was sent off for a headbutt on Chelsea defender William Gallas, leading to an automatic three-match suspension, and this, combined with a series of injuries, severely limited his contribution during what remained of 2004–05.
The 2005–06 season saw an improvement: Beattie was Everton's top scorer, with ten goals in the Premier League and one in a 2–1 home defeat against Villarreal in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League. Villarreal also won their own home leg 2–1, meaning Everton progressed no further.
During 2006–07, Beattie found himself peripheral to the plans of Everton boss David Moyes. He made 33 Premier League appearances, but 18 of them were from the substitutes' bench, and managed only two goals, the second of those coming in October, after which he failed to find the net again. Out of favour, it was reported that Blackburn Rovers were interested in signing him for a second spell, followed by news that Sheffield United were interested in securing his services.
At the start of August 2007, Beattie signed for Sheffield United for a £4 million fee, this being the biggest transfer fee ever paid by Sheffield United. In the first match of the new season, he scored on his Championship debut for United against Colchester United, and then continued in fine form, scoring regularly, and was named Championship Player of the Month for August/September.
Beattie scored a total of 22 goals in the Championship in 2007–08. This made him the joint second-highest scorer in the division, alongside former Southampton teammate Kevin Phillips of West Bromwich Albion, and one behind Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (who scored 11 for Plymouth Argyle and 12 for Wolverhampton Wanderers). He was named as the Blades' Player of the Year at the end of the season.
In 2008–09, Beattie continued his goal-scoring form, scoring 12 goals before the turn of the year.
With Sheffield United trying to reduce costs, Beattie returned to the Premier League in January 2009, after signing for Stoke City on a two-and-a-half-year contract for a fee that could eventually rise to £3.5 million. He made an immediate impact, scoring his first goal for Stoke in a 3–1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 27 January 2009. He went on to score seven goals in all for Stoke that season, helping them retain their place in the Premier League.
Beattie did not start 2009–10 very well: after a number of injuries hampered his pre-season training, he left the field of play against Chelsea on a stretcher after only 10 minutes, with fears of a suspected broken ankle. X-rays revealed ankle ligament damage. Beattie recovered, and won his place back in the team, surprisingly at the expense of a resurgent Dave Kitson, and had returned to scoring ways by October. However, a dressing-room altercation between Beattie and Pulis in December 2009 resulted in the striker falling out of favour.