Kenny Beech
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Beech | ||
| Date of birth | 18 March 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975–1976 | Port Vale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1981 | Port Vale | 175 | (18) |
| 1978 | → Cleveland Cobras (loan) | ||
| 1981–1983 | Walsall | 79 | (5) |
| 1983–1985 | Peterborough United | 60 | (5) |
| 1985–1988 | Stafford Rangers | ||
| Total | 314+ | (28+) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Kenneth Beech (born 18 March 1958) is an English former footballer. A midfielder, he played for Port Vale between 1976 and 1981, picking up the club's Player of the Year award in 1980, also playing on loan at American club Cleveland Cobras in 1978. In 1981, he was sold to Walsall, before he moved on to Peterborough United two years later. He dropped into non-league football with Stafford Rangers in 1985, with whom he won the Conference League Cup, before he retired in 1988. He played 314 league games in the Football League, scoring 28 goals.
Beech was signed to Third Division Port Vale as a youngster after impressing coach Reg Berks – this was despite Beech suffering from a broken leg at the time. He made his debut in the 1974–75 season under Roy Sproson. He played seven games in 1975–76, signing professional forms in January 1976, getting his first senior goal at Vale Park in a 1–1 draw with Halifax Town on 17 April. His early arrival at league level brought him England youth trials at Lilleshall and three weeks as a triallist with Manchester United.
Still a teenager, he played 35 games in 1976–77, scoring four goals, as the "Valiants" narrowly avoided relegation. He made another thirty appearances in 1977–78, scoring twice, as Vale suffered relegation under Bobby Smith. Beech went to the United States to play on loan for Cleveland Cobras from May to August in 1978. He returned to Burslem to score 4 goals in 24 games under Dennis Butler in the 1978–79 Fourth Division campaign. He scored four goals and made 49 appearances in 1979–80, keeping his first team place under the management merry-go-round that saw Dennis Butler, Alan Bloor, and then John McGrath take charge. For his performances, fans voted him Player of the Year. He posted another 52 appearances in 1980–81, scoring seven goals, as Vale again struggled near the foot of the Football League.
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