Harrison Beeden

A look at some of the best players I’ve seen in the past few years at either U18s or U23s level or currently playing in non-league who've either left a really positive impression or whose careers I follow with genuine interest to see how they're doing every week.

Player: Harrison Beeden

Age: 20

Position: Centre-Back

Club: Brighouse Town

It isn't often I'll begin an article with a fun fact about a player but Harrison Beeden was born on the same day the 2002 World Cup began in Japan and South Korea.

 

Even at less than 24 hours old when his dribbling was on a par with Ronaldinho, he'd have quite possibly been able to defend better than how Saudi Arabia's national team did the following day when they got walloped 8-0 by Germany in the game where Miroslav Klose made his mark on the global football scene.

 

There's also a strong likelihood this piece will be the only time where Harrison Beeden, Ronaldinho and Miroslav Klose are all mentioned in the same sentence, but fast-forward 20 years and the centre-back who started out at Thorncliffe is carving out a decent little reputation.

Harrison Beeden (left) holds up a cardboard box;
presumably containing his Manager's Player Of The Year award.
(Photo: Brighouse Town FC).

Currently at Brighouse Town, he's a down to earth and ‘sound lad’ from what I've been told - something which does also come across in a few interviews online.

 

The game in which I realised he was a decent player capable of doing alright was in August 2020 during the pandemic. Doncaster happened to be playing Chesterfield which officially was behind-closed-doors albeit on a 4G pitch adjacent to a public footpath. One snag was there were no team-sheets and it didn't take long for me to realise ‘this defender’ was half-decent. I knew he looked familiar from somewhere but where exactly was a case for Hercules Poirot.

His touch was good, his composure both on the ball and dealing with pressure made him stand out and be noticed, whilst his physique was exactly what you'd want and expect from a centre-back. He didn't have a bad turn of pace either and he was the best player on the pitch. It didn't take very long to figure out.

 

Rovers went on to win the game 1-0 and, still not knowing this lad's full name, the only way of finding it out was to go through the FA full-time website and squad list for Chesterfield’s U19s team afterwards. I'd picked up on the fact he'd been called ‘Harrison’ during the game which was a useful indicator that his name might actually be, err, Harrison!

 

Then it came up: Harrison Beeden and it instantly clicked in my mind.

 

Yep. He was the defender who'd been at the Millers on a scholarship for the previous two years - playing in the FA Youth Cup at Southampton, scoring a late goal once from outside the box (which is still on his Instagram now), and the same lad who'd spent time on loan at Brighouse as a 17-year-old.

Harrison Beeden at Chesterfield (Photo: Chesterfield FC).

If I remember a player by sight it's usually for a very good reason so that's why I remembered him and knew he was familiar, despite the fact I'd had no idea that he'd signed for Chesterfield who he went on to skipper at U19s level for the remainder of the 2020/21 season.

 

It says a lot about Harrison's character that whilst playing midweek games in that one year at Chesterfield, he also continued his development in men's football at Brighouse (before the season got canned at least) and they'd obviously been more than happy to have him back following his initial loan spell.

 

He's just re-signed for Brighouse again after a solid 2021/22 campaign in which he continued to make his mark by racking up 30+ appearances, playing pretty much every week, getting on the score-sheet along the way with a last-gasp strike against Lincoln United, and eventually scooping the Manager's ‘Player Of The Year’ award. His immaculate ‘Barnet FC’ has changed back and forth, plus he's nowadays got a little goatee beard but he’s still clearly making a good impression on people.

 

Sadly, there's many players in similar academies to the one where Harrison came through who might think ‘It’s only Brighouse’ and instantly be dismissive. By and large, they're the same players who I'll never remember anyway and would probably even struggle to make just five appearances, let alone the 55 (and counting) which Harrison has, at the same standard.

 

A good attitude as well as being a decent player are paramount qualities to doing well and that's why I've got respect for what Harrison has achieved in the past few years. It's still just the start of his career, he'll no doubt be looking to get a move higher up the pyramid at some point, and if he keeps making a good impression on so many people there's a good chance it might just happen.

Harrison Beeden in his Rotherham YT days (Photo: Rotherham United FC).