Blackburn Rovers He made his first-team debut for Blackburn Rovers in October 1996, in a 2–0 home defeat against
Arsenal. He had made only seven first-team appearances, and had yet to score a goal, when, in the 1998
close season, he was transferred to Southampton.
Southampton He joined
Southampton in July 1998 valued at £1 million, as a make-weight part of the deal that took
Kevin Davies to
Ewood Park for a £7 million fee. Beattie's initial impact was positive, earning him the club's Player of the Season award as he helped the Saints stave off relegation. His second season was hampered by a series of injuries, but in November 2000 he began a long goalscoring run. After 18 months without a goal, he scored 10 in 10 matches, lifting Southampton into a comfortable position, and securing their place in the
Premier League for the next season. His form then deserted him once again, and he scored only two goals during the remainder of the season. Beattie was awarded a new four-year contract in March 2001. However, he failed to score in the remainder of the
2000–01 season, or in the first five Premier League matches of the next – a run that eventually totalled 17 matches. He returned to scoring form at the end of September 2001, and he ended
2001–02 with an impressive total of 14, despite a two-month spell on the sidelines, the result of an ankle injury which he sustained in a match against
Manchester United in January 2002. In
2002–03, Beattie scored 23 league goals, making him the third-highest Premiership goalscorer (and the highest English goalscorer) for that season. His fine form helped Southampton reach the
2003 FA Cup final, their first since victory in
1976. Southampton lost 1–0 to Arsenal and Beattie had to settle for a runners-up medal. He eventually left Southampton in January 2005, joining
Everton for a £6 million fee.
Everton Beattie found it difficult to settle at Everton, and, in only his fifth Premier League appearance for the club, he was sent off for a
headbutt on
Chelsea defender
William Gallas, leading to an automatic three-match suspension, and this, combined with a series of injuries, severely limited his contribution during what remained of
2004–05. The
2005–06 season saw an improvement: Beattie was Everton's top scorer, with ten goals in the Premier League and one in a 2–1 home defeat against
Villarreal in the qualifying stages of the
UEFA Champions League. Villarreal also won their own home leg 2–1, meaning Everton progressed no further. During
2006–07, Beattie found himself peripheral to the plans of Everton boss
David Moyes. He made 33 Premier League appearances, but 18 of them were from the substitutes' bench, and managed only two goals, the second of those coming in October, after which he failed to find the net again. Out of favour, it was reported that Blackburn Rovers were interested in signing him for a second spell, followed by news that
Sheffield United were interested in securing his services.
Sheffield United At the start of August 2007, Beattie signed for Sheffield United for a £4 million fee, this being the biggest transfer fee ever paid by Sheffield United. In the first match of the new season, he scored on his Championship debut for United against
Colchester United, and then continued in fine form, scoring regularly, and was named
Championship Player of the Month for August/September. Beattie scored a total of 22 goals in the
Championship in
2007–08. This made him the joint second-highest scorer in the division, alongside former Southampton teammate
Kevin Phillips of
West Bromwich Albion, and one behind
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (who scored 11 for
Plymouth Argyle and 12 for
Wolverhampton Wanderers). He was named as the Blades'
Player of the Year at the end of the season. In
2008–09, Beattie continued his goal-scoring form, scoring 12 goals before the turn of the year.
Stoke City With Sheffield United trying to reduce costs, Beattie returned to the Premier League in January 2009, after signing for
Stoke City on a two-and-a-half-year contract for a fee that could eventually rise to £3.5 million. He made an immediate impact, scoring his first goal for Stoke in a 3–1 defeat at
Tottenham Hotspur on 27 January 2009. He went on to score seven goals in all for Stoke that season, helping them retain their place in the Premier League. Beattie did not start
2009–10 very well: after a number of injuries hampered his pre-season training, he left the field of play against Chelsea on a stretcher after only 10 minutes, with fears of a suspected broken ankle. X-rays revealed ankle ligament damage. Beattie recovered, and won his place back in the team, surprisingly at the expense of a resurgent
Dave Kitson, and had returned to scoring ways by October. However, a dressing-room altercation between Beattie and Pulis in December 2009 resulted in the striker falling out of favour.
Rangers Out of favour at Stoke, Beattie signed a two-year contract, with the option of a further year, with
Scottish Premier League club
Rangers on 13 August 2010 for £1.4 million in the summer of 2010. became the club's first permanent signing in two years due to financial constraints. Beattie made his debut for Rangers immediately after signing for the club, playing in their opening match in the Scottish Premier League against
Kilmarnock. Beattie did not feature much for Rangers, and was restricted to only five league starts in the first half of the season, due to injuries and loss of form. Unable to hold down a place in the team, he was allowed to join
Blackpool on loan until the end of the season. He made his full debut on 5 February 2011, in a 5–3 defeat by his old club Everton, and went on to play nine times for the club, but failed to find the net as they sunk to relegation from the Premier League. At the end of August 2011, Rangers terminated Beattie's contract.
Return to Sheffield United In November 2011, Beattie began training with
League One club
AFC Bournemouth, with manager
Lee Bradbury keen to sign him. However, later that month, Beattie moved north to train with old club Sheffield United to allow manager
Danny Wilson to assess his fitness. A few days later, Beattie duly re-signed for Sheffield United on a short-term contract until mid-January 2012. He was quoted in an interview with the
Yorkshire Post as saying that, "if things go well, the gaffer says that he would like to keep me, and I would be interested in staying until the end of the season at least", prompting speculation that he could sign a longer-term contract. Despite this, Beattie had to wait to make a first-team appearance due to a calf injury sustained during training, eventually making his second “debut” for the Blades at the end of December 2011, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute against
Notts County at Bramall Lane. By mid-January 2012, with Beattie's contract set to expire, Danny Wilson confirmed that he would be offered an extension, hopefully keeping him at the club until the end of the season. With his future with Sheffield United still in doubt, Beattie was given a straight red card for violent conduct at
Charlton Athletic, after only coming on as a substitute a few minutes earlier. Despite this disciplinary issue, it was agreed to extend his contract until the end of the season. Beattie was largely used as a substitute for the rest of his stay until he was released in May 2012 as Sheffield United failed to clinch promotion.
Accrington Stanley Beattie joined
League Two club
Accrington Stanley on 9 November 2012 in a player/coach role. He made his debut on 16 November, when he came on as a 79th-minute substitute for
Will Hatfield in a 1–1 draw at
Barnet. On 20 November 2012, he scored a 9th-minute penalty in Stanley's 3–1 win away at
Fleetwood Town, ending a 1130-day run of not having scored in a first-team match. He scored another penalty in Stanley's next match against
Gillingham. Following the departure of manager
Leam Richardson, Beattie expressed an interest in taking the position. On 13 May 2013, Beattie was appointed Stanley's new manager. He left Accrington by mutual consent on 12 September 2014. ==International career==