AFC Totton
NEW MAN IN THE MIDDLE: AFC Totton's new Director of Football James Beattie is flanked by Manager Jimmy Ball (left) and Chairman Stephen Snow (right).
AFC TOTTON HAVE APPOINTED the former Southampton and England striker James Beattie as their new Director of Football.
Having achieved their highest league finish in the entire 138-year history of the club by claiming the Runners-Up spot in the Southern League Premier Division South, The Stags came within a whisker of reaching Step 2 of the English non-league football pyramid when they were beaten on home soil in a penalty shoot-out by Salisbury on Monday, after the two sides reached the end of extra-time level at 2-2 in the play-off final with promotion to the National League South at stake.
James Beattie’s appointment as Director of Football on Thursday marks his first involvement in the game since leaving the role of assistant manager at Wigan Athletic in November 2022. Having racked up a total of 443 league appearances for Blackburn Rovers, Southampton, Everton, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Rangers, Blackpool (on loan) and Accrington Stanley, via a second spell with The Blades, the five-times capped former England striker took on his first, and as yet only, managerial role with Accrington in 2013, remaining in the job for 16 months before leaving the Crown Ground by mutual consent in September 2014.
Since then, Beattie has been a regular member of Garry Monk’s coaching entourage, initially becoming a first team coach at Swansea City in June 2015, while The Swans were in the Premier League, subsequently following Monk to Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, before joining The Latics at the end of June 2021, under Leam Richardson.
Beattie has been a regular visitor to the Snows Stadium over the last two years as a spectator, and he was present on Monday when Salisbury’s ex-Sholing goalkeeper Ryan Gosney broke Stag hearts by making two saves in the decisive penalty shoot-out to take The Whites up to the National League South at Totton’s expense.
Despite the setback, there is a strong sense among fans, players and management alike that the club remains in a strong position to continue marching towards the Board’s stated objective of climbing into the EFL, and Beattie is confident that he can bring plenty to the table to strengthen Totton’s hand.
“I’ve known the club’s CEO and owner Steve Brookwell since my time at Southampton, when he was one of the larger characters among the club’s regular sponsors, and he’s become a firm family friend over the years,” explained the 46-year-old, on a rare sunny morning ahead of Friday’s Hampshire Senior Cup Final against AFC Portchester.
“I’ve watched the team play many times and the performances on the pitch are indicative of a club that’s moving in the right direction. But when you put that together with everything else they’re doing off the pitch, in terms of the alternative provision education, the Academy, the increasingly influential role the club is playing in the local community, and the plans to install a 3G pitch, build a hotel and a gym, etc., there is a big project here, and now is an ideal time for me to become part of it.”
Although he has known Steve Brookwell for a while, discussions regarding the possibility of bringing the Lancaster-born Beattie on board only began in earnest three weeks ago, but an agreement was quickly reached regarding the scope of his role and how we will work in collaboration with The Stags’ popular former Forest Green Rovers boss, Jimmy Ball.
“Jimmy’s done a fantastic job in a relatively short time. He’s football mad and a fierce competitor, like myself, and a significant part of my role day-to-day will be to act as an ally and a sounding board for different ideas. We’re both experienced in the game but having worked at different clubs and alongside other managers and coaches, we can draw on a vast range of different ideas, as well as a long list of contacts in terms of identifying and recruiting new players.
“The Chairman, Stephen Snow, and the Board are certainly ambitious but they are also sensible about the steps they are taking at each stage to progress the club to where they want it to be. They’re not taking huge leaps into the unknown; they’re doing things in a progressive and sustainable way. Although the job titles I have held at various clubs since I hung up my boots wouldn’t necessarily suggest it, I do have experience of working with football club boards and operating within set budgets to improve specific areas.”
Beattie has already taken a small number of training sessions with the players over the last few months to work on individual areas of the team’s game, and coaching will play some part in his new official role at the Snows Stadium.
“The players at this level are all physically fit; the strength and conditioning team have done a tremendous job, and the detail they go into with each player is excellent. The whole realm of sports science has come on massively since I was a player but the insight the team here have is second to none, even among many lower league professional clubs.”
The Stags’ sponsorship agreement with technology giant Garmin, whose European headquarters are located on the outskirts of the Hampshire town, has enabled AFC Totton to utilise lightweight products – such as the Forerunner® 965 smartwatch and the HRM-ProTM Plus chest strap heartrate monitor – to gather and analyse data about an individual player’s training and matchday performance, as well as their non-footballing downtime, to work out highly-detailed, personalised training schedules tailored to their individual needs.
“But the main difference between players at this level and the professional game is in the decisions they make. The higher up the divisions you go, the better the decisions that players make. That’s true from the lower non-leagues all the way up to the Premier League.
“Among the Totton players, you have to admire the likes of Scott Rendell and Sam Magri, who are both still producing the goods at a high level and bring so much valuable experience to the team. I admire Adam Tomasso’s grit and determination to win the ball, and I think Luke Hallett and Ethan Taylor are real prospects. But the whole squad is impressive in the professional way they approach the game, and that comes from the standards that Jimmy has installed throughout the club. It’s not just about how players act when they are on the premises, it’s also about having good habits and behaviours when they’re at home, living their day-to-day lives away from football.”
DYNAMIC DUO: AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball welcomes James Beattie to the Snows Stadium.
Manager Jimmy Ball is enthusiastic about James Beattie’s appointment, which he regards as further evidence of the club’s continued improvement.
“Bringing James into the club is another huge step in the right direction. Over the course of my two years here, we’ve tried to improve certain aspects of the club one-by-one, and to bring in somebody of James’s vast knowledge and experience in the game will undoubtedly help to continue raising standards, allowing us to achieve that greater attention to detail that will result in us becoming even more professional in our overall approach.
“James and I get on well and I’m very confident that he and I can work positively together, in an open-minded, collaborative way. As far as I’m concerned, strength plus strength equals even more strength; you can’t have too many knowledgeable people around you, and it’s now the right time and the right environment to welcome James on board.”
Chairman Stephen Snow echoed Ball’s sentiments:
“I’m delighted to be welcoming James Beattie to the club. We’ve had the pleasure of his company during match days over the last couple of years, and it’s clear just from talking to him that he is going to be a great addition to help AFC Totton progress up the English football pyramid and into the EFL.
“This is not just a cameo signing; James will be a real asset to the team both on and off the pitch, providing support to Jimmy Ball with the first team, as well as working in our Academy, in the AFC Totton Development Programme alternative provision education, and on our other community-based projects. He’ll also be involved in bringing in new sponsors, and helping with the recruitment of new players.
“It’s a full, demanding role, but James Beattie is the right man for the job and we look forward to working with him for years to come.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Jon Ashworth
