Me, Joey and a 11-0 humiliation!

Nigel Beaumont

Peter Davies meets the one and only.

Background: Nigel Beaumont: 6ft 1in and 13st 5lbs. He played 150 times for Wrexham between 1988 and 1992 and scored four goals. He was also something of an anti-hero.

Setting: Nigel's front room in Southsea, Wrexham.

Tell us about your background…
"I was born in Pontefract and started my career at Bradford. I went to Valley Parade straight from school in 1983 when Roy McFarland was boss. I served a two-year apprenticeship, and then signed as a pro. I'd always played for school and district teams when I was a kid - in fact, I loved all sports."

How did your career at Bradford go?
"I played a handful of games - in the league and the Freight Rover competition. People like Stuart McCall, John Hendrie and Peter Jackson were there at the time. McCall, in particular, was a very good player: extremely competitive and he had an amazing will to win. I'm not surprised at all that he went on to have a great career with Everton and Rangers. Terry Dolan eventually took over from McFarland as manager; my face didn't fit, so I decided it was time to move on."

How did you end up at Wrexham?
"Dixie rang me up and invited me down. I immediately took to Wrexham as a town - it was just like Pontefract! Lots of pubs and similar in other ways too. I was really impressed also by the club and the stadium - it was really geared up for success. Dixie was a brilliant bloke. We got on well and I still see him occasionally now. His two sons, Jamie and Richard, were also starting out in football - both were forwards, were quick and had a really good eye for goal."

How did you fit into the squad?
"I was understudy to Mike Williams and Joey. Mike got injured, and that gave me my chance. My debut season was 1988-9, the year we just missed out in the play-offs. Football-wise, it was the worst experience of my life - so close to gaining promotion! But we should put things in perspective. In 1985 I'd witnessed the fire disaster at Valley Parade."

Tell us about that…
"Terry Yorath was in charge at the time. I was watching the game from the side of the pitch, from the stand where the fire started. It was a sunny day in April. I was in the Under-19 side at the time, so I was just spectating at a first-team match. I didn't see anything at first - just the crowd trouble, as people poured onto the pitch. Then everyone saw the flames and smoke. I left the ground and saw everything on TV later. It was horrendous and I remember going to a special church service after the disaster."

How did it affect you, long term?
"Having to play soccer at Valley Parade after that terrible event was awful - there were just so many memories. But obviously, we all had to get on with it. You just had to pretend that nothing had happened."

Tell us about your first game for Wrexham…
"I was Man of the Match! It was away at Exeter, we won 2-0 and Graham Cooper scored after three minutes. Andy Thackeray made his debut in the same game and Joey was my partner at centre-back."

How did you get on with Joey?
"He was a really good influence on me. He was very helpful too. He'd pull me to one side and offer me advice when I needed it. He was also just very funny! As a player he always read the game so well. His tackles were always well timed and his never-say-die attitude was fantastic. He was the old man of the side, but he was still a very big presence."

How would you describe yourself as a player?
"Not the quickest…but I would hope that I made up for this by my ability to read the game. I worked hard and I tackled hard. I don't think I was a dirty player but I think that as a defender you've always got to be able to look after yourself."

Who did you hate marking?
"We played Everton and I had to contend with Tony Cottee and Graeme Sharp. I got nowhere near either of them - and we lost 11-0 to them on aggregate in the League Cup!"

In RP38 Nigel talks about his teammates in the late-'80s and early-'90s and also gives his view on Reds fans…