Joey Beauchamp


Joseph Beauchamp is an English former footballer.
Beauchamp played primarily as a left midfielder, and played for most of his career at Oxford United but also had spells with West Ham United and Swindon Town as well as a short loan spell at Swansea City before moving into the lower leagues.

Playing career

Oxford United

Beauchamp was born in Oxford and began his career with Oxford United as a youth-team player, living with his parents and two brothers in North Oxford, near the club's former home at the Manor Ground. Beauchamp would go on to make 124 appearances for the club in his first spell in the yellow shirt, during which time he also made five appearances on loan at Swansea City.

West Ham United

Beauchamp was sold to Premier League side West Ham United in 1994 for a then club-record fee of £1.2 million. However, he didn't last long; having not played a single competitive game for the Hammers, Beauchamp decided he couldn't stand the traffic travelling from Oxford each day, and a mere 58 days later he was signed by Swindon for a club-record combined fee of £800,000, which included defender Adrian Whitbread going in the opposite direction. Whitbread was valued at £750,000 in the deal.

Back to Oxford

Before the end of the season, he was back in a yellow shirt for the return game, McMahon having decided to sell him back to Oxford in November 1995. The deal was described as being "worth £300,000" to the club, though Swindon only received £75,000. Beauchamp scored against Swindon in Oxford's 3–0 victory the following March. In September 1999 he scored the goal which knocked Premier League side Everton out of the 1999–2000 Football League Cup 2–1 on aggregate.
He would make a further 238 appearances in the yellow and blue, making him one of the club's longest-serving players. His goal against Blackpool in March 1996 was voted the greatest Oxford United goal by fans in 1999; he was also voted United's player of the 1990s.

Retirement

His professional career came to an end when he sustained several recurring injuries in 2002 that forced him to retire. He scored in his final game for the club, a 2–1 loss to Exeter City. He then joined local part-timers Abingdon Town, where he played alongside his brother, Luke. He later played for Bletchingdon Reserves.