ONE of the sure signs a footballer has made a lasting impact is to hear their nickname ringing out at their home stadium.
In Stuart Beavon’s case, he has become well accustomed to chants of “Beaver, Beaver, Beaver!” throughout his 24-year career.
Some will argue his nickname is iconic, befitting of a player who really got his teeth stuck into a two-year stay at Weymouth.
Beavon’s nickname is rich reward for a player who gave the Terras 30 goals and 19 assists in 97 games wearing claret and blue.
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His stay at what was then the Wessex Stadium is only a small chapter of a remarkable career that is set to stretch into its 25th year in August.
Beavon’s story began at Ardley United as a fresh-faced 16-year-old, turning out in Step 5’s Hellenic League.
Beavon was not part of an academy growing up, meaning the Blues plucked him from the remoteness of Saturday football with his mates.
“I was 16 years old and my dad’s friend was the manager,” he told Echosport.
“I was at school and I was going on trial at places. He said to come and play to get yourself out there.
“So, I was going to play for Ardley but there were times I was off on trial during the week at other clubs.
“Nothing materialised and I had two good seasons at Ardley.”
Beavon’s goal return for a teenager in his first senior spell was stunning, netting 35 times in 37 games in his final campaign with the Blues.
Beavon then switched to AFC Wallingford where he enjoyed his first taste of silverware, winning the league and numerous cups.
“We had some good times there,” he recalls. “We won quite a bit and had a great team.
“There weren’t many teams that were better than us at that point. One of the biggest games we used to play was AFC Wimbledon.
“They reformed and were in our league. They used to get 3,000 or 4,000. They were massive games against them.
“Now, they’re in League Two. When you played in those games, it made it more realistic with your targets and where you wanted to go.
“You wanted to play in front of crowds like that every week.”
Beavon bagged 34 goals in the 2003/04 season, catching the attention of several clubs.
He, along with midfielders James McKinney and Bradley Ward, chose to sign for Didcot Town and were later joined by centre-half Dave Green, winger Paul Hannigan and Danny Campbell.
Moving to Didcot Town proved hugely fulfilling for the young forward as he would go on to lift the FA Vase in his first season with the Railwaymen, beating AFC Sudbury 3-2 in the final.
Guess who scored twice?
However, the venue of White Hart Lane was equally special to Beavon, given his father Stuart made his debut for Spurs there in 1978.
“For me, that’s probably one of the highlights of my career,” he admitted.
“My dad started at Tottenham as an apprentice and got in the first team.
“He was in the team with the likes of Ossie Ardiles and Peter Taylor. With those players in front of him he only managed a few appearances.
“He knew he wasn’t going to break in, so he left and went to Reading.
“It was ironic that the FA Vase final, because Wembley was being rebuilt, was at White Hart Lane.
“But at Didcot we won the league, cup and had a couple of promotions. We literally won everything we possibly could there.
“That year we won the FA Vase was something special and scoring two in the final made it even better.
“I had all my family there, my dad and grandad (Cyril) who played as well for Oxford.
“It was unbelievable. When you watch the FA Cup and see teams win it, get up and hold the trophy, you just look and think: ‘I wish it was me’.
“Then, you do it yourself. We had 8,000 fans there as well.”
Beavon bagged 63 goals in 92 matches for Didcot and his form attracted the attention of Weymouth manager Jason Tindall in 2007.
“I was at Didcot, I had quite a bit of interest but I said if I was going to leave, it would have to be for a National League club or higher.
“I thought any other move wouldn’t be a big enough step, it would be more sideways, because we were such a good team and were winning everything.
“We were beating teams above us. I knew a guy called Ross Weatherstone (current Binfield boss) who was best mates with Jason.
“He gave me a call and said would I be interested? I said: ‘Yeah, definitely, we’ll have a look’.
“I met him, I liked what he had to say. A lot of players were getting released at the time because of money problems.
“The big attraction for me was that I knew I was going to get a chance and I was going to play. That was a big factor.
“I think I scored seven goals in 14, or something like that, so I had a good start and he renewed my contract.
“I really enjoyed it down there. We had a really good team, he was signing lads like Danny Phillips, Chukki Eribenne, Tony James, Steve Tully, Richard Logan and I still bump into Logey now and again.
“We had a fairly decent season but the next was slightly different.”
Beavon had joined Weymouth in a tumultuous period.
Although the tempestuous time had given him a chance to showcase his ruthless touch in front of goal and to create a lasting bond with Weymouth fans, it was also the beginning of the end of his spell at the club.
Beavon was managed by four different Weymouth managers in his two years with the Terras, including two chairmen in Mel Bush and Ian Ridley.
Midway through the 2008/09 season, Weymouth offloaded their senior players and turned out with an inexperienced side for a 9-0 thrashing by Rushden & Diamonds.
At that time, the club harboured debts of around £300,000 and it came as no surprise when their best players, such as Beavon, began to leave.
Luckily for the striker, his performances had turned the head of Wycombe Wanderers and the Chairboys initially took him on loan before making the deal permanent in the summer of 2009.
But that would be to skirt around Beavon’s achievements at Weymouth, many of which were significant.
Arguably his brightest moment in a Terras shirt was the FA Cup first-round hat-trick at Eastbourne Borough as the rampant Weymouth won 4-0.
Beavon won the player-of-the-round award and took home the match ball, which lies hanging in his garage to this day.
“That was amazing,” he said. “I was saying about it just a couple of weeks ago, I’ve got all my match balls in the garage on a little hook.
“To get an FA Cup hat-trick, with it being on TV, it was really good watching it back, I really enjoyed it. And, at the time, I was only 21 as well.”
And Beavon could not reminisce about his time at Weymouth without addressing his nickname.
“That was funny,” he said. “Weymouth started it and then Wycombe carried it on, they even got T-shirts with it on!”
Beavon’s Weymouth highlight, however, had sentimental value.
His grandfather Cyril played more than 400 times for Oxford United between 1959 and 1969.
For the third generation Beavon to then score three goals in two games against The U’s in 2008/09, he created memories for a lifetime.
Beavon’s strikes against Oxford would prove to be among his last for Weymouth before he joined Wycombe.
Now, football has a funny way of going round in circles sometimes.
Beavon’s new manager was none other than former England boss Peter Taylor, the former teammate to Beavon Snr at Tottenham.
Beavon added: “He spoke to us and he said: ‘Stu, I’m delighted to have you on board. Is your dad there?’
“He spoke to my dad and I couldn’t believe he’d remembered my dad. My dad couldn’t believe he’d remembered him either.
“He went and had a conversation with Peter Taylor, ex-England manager, on the phone. It was mad.
“Being ex-England manager, it was brilliant to go and play for someone like that and what you learn, it was a no-brainer to go there.
“The standard, everyone was fitter and sharper but I went in and my first game was on telly against Rotherham. I’ll never forget it.
“I don’t think I was out of place. I just remember they didn’t have any shirts small enough for my size, so I ended up wearing an extra large. It was massive!”
Beavon scored 25 goals for Wycombe in the 2011/12 League One season but could not save them from relegation.
His efforts again garnered interest and Preston North End nipped in to sign the striker on Deadline Day, 2012.
“It was minutes before the window shut,” Beavon explains.
“I was told to get on a train to get up there. Next minute, it’s on. Then, it’s off.
“Then, it finally went through. I didn’t force it but I was on my way without it being agreed.
“I was told if I didn’t make a move, and it all went through, I wouldn’t make it unless I started going.
“Worst-case, it didn’t and I would just have to drive back!
“I thought I did all right, I don’t think we fulfilled what we should’ve done there. We should’ve finished higher than we did.
“We had a few good results but we couldn’t get a good rhythm going, it was a bit up and down.”
The net result for Beavon was only 12 league goals in two seasons, leading to a transformative move to Burton in 2014.
Ten years on, he still calls the Staffordshire town his home.
“What happened was Gary Rowett (manager) rang me up and asked if I would be interested to go on loan,” Beavon said.
“We got that sorted and by the fifth game he said he wanted to make it permanent. I ended up staying for three years.
“Burton was unbelievable. I met my partner, got married and I’ve got three kids now. Going to Burton was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“We had such a good team. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was the manager, we got two promotions on the bounce to the Championship.
“It couldn’t have gone much better.”
And what was it like playing under the former Netherlands, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid star, currently England's assistant coach?
“It was hard, but that was the best I’ve probably played in my career,” he confessed.
“He liked the way I played and he really helped me. He was full of encouragement all the time.
“If I was ever moaning, he’d laugh at me. He used to say: ‘I know what I’m doing is working because you’re moaning again!’”
Beavon would have to tear himself away from Albion, though, as Coventry City tabled an offer.
He said: “It got to halfway through the season, I wasn’t playing much and wasn’t going to.
“I had a chat with Burton. Coventry came in, they were struggling near the bottom of League One.
“I spoke to Russell Slade. It was a bit of a project. He wanted to bring some older lads in because they went down and wanted to bounce straight back.
“I go in there and it was tough but we ended up winning the EFL Trophy at Wembley against Oxford. I think there were 74,000 fans there, it was unbelievable.”
It meant, having missed out in 2005 for the FA Vase final, that Beavon would finally play on the hallowed Wembley turf 12 years later.
Beavon played an integral role in Coventry’s first goal against Oxford in the final, his blocked volley falling kindly for Gael Bigirimana to slot home.
The Sky Blues would go on to win 2-1 but the cup win was tinged with regret after suffering relegation in the league.
“It was a bit sad,” Beavon said. “It wasn’t the best season but in terms of being able to play at Wembley in front of that crowd, it will live with me forever.
“You walked out and couldn’t hear a thing, it was that loud. It’s mad, you can hear each other, just.
“But when you’ve been playing with other, you know where each other is and you don’t need to talk.”
By coincidence, Beavon was at the time of writing on his way to Wembley as a fan, taking his young family to watch England v Iceland.
After possibly the pinnacle of his career, he dropped down to non-League.
Spells at Wrexham, Nuneaton and Mickleover, where he still plays as a 40-year-old, would follow.
Having been at Wrexham before their Hollywood takeover, Beavon still enjoyed himself despite missing out on a return to League Two via the play-offs.
He said: “I suppose it would’ve been nice to be there when they were there, but I went there and had a good time.
“I enjoyed myself. We got beat in the play-offs to get back in the Football League under Sam Ricketts.
“Would I change anything? No.
“The Americans have come in and spent all that money, signed the best players. Would they have wanted me? I don’t know.”
Beavon is about to embark on his fifth season with Mickleover, the longest spell at any club in his 24 years in the game.
When he first joined in 2019, a former Weymouth player John McGrath, was manager.
“I spoke to him and ended up going,” Beavon said.
“We had a good year last year but we got beaten in the play-offs.
“John left and he took over at Buxton, who’ve gone full-time in the league above (National League North) and I’ve been offered a player-coach role at Mickleover.
“The new manager (Gareth Holmes) has come in, he wants to keep me.
“It’s 20 minutes from my house, it’s nice and easy. Especially having three kids, it makes everything so simple.
“Originally I’d never really looked into coaching but I’m really enjoying it. I’m coaching my little boy’s team now, which he started about four months ago.”
Planning his days after playing, what has inspired Beavon to carry on lacing his boots for 24 years?
“It’s pure enjoyment,” he insists.
“The day I get up and I can’t be bothered is the day I’ll quit. I still get butterflies before games and I’m 40 years old.
“The day all that stops is the day I’m finished. Hopefully I can go as long as possible, a few more years.”
So, as Beavon’s incredible career reaches the quarter-of-a-century mark, football fans might still hear the chants of ‘Feed the Beaver’ for a little while longer.
It’s fair to say Beavon is an iconic player at Weymouth, not just because of his nickname.
He was a deadly goalscorer. The non-League Ruud van Nistelrooy, if you will.
He also gave enjoyment to Terras fans in a dismal era for the club and, for that, deserves his legendary status.
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