How Southampton setbacks and the National League are shaping Chelsea's unlikely goalkeeper
By Adam Newson, Chief Chelsea correspondent - UPDATED 13:41, 7 FEB 2023
Eddie Beach was 15 years old when he first pulled on a pair of goalkeeper gloves. “They were £10 off eBay, nothing special,” he recalls with a chuckle. “I just needed something to wear for this open trial…”
Beach had played exclusively as an outfield player until that point. He was good, even represented Southampton Schoolboys at county level, but a career in the professional game was unlikely. So when his father, James, sent over a Twitter link about an open trial for goalkeepers at Bournemouth, the teenager opted to take a chance. And it was a decision that set him on the path to Chelsea.
Beach now speaks with authority on goalkeeping. It wasn’t always this way – and we’ll get to his backstory shortly. But let’s focus on the present day and his decision to leave the comfortable surroundings of Chelsea last month and join Chelmsford City on loan.
“At under-21s level, all the players are nice and tidy – and Chelsea are obviously very dominant – so as a goalkeeper, there aren’t a huge amount of actions for you,” he says. “In the National League South, there will be hundreds of crosses in a game to deal with. Or at least if feels like that.
“I’ve got more chances to make saves because there are more shots on goal. So it will help me become the goalkeeper I want to be and make sure every single part of my game is strong. It is a stepping stone to the next level, up through the leagues, and hopefully the Premier League.”
Beach is currently a world away from the glitz and glamour of the English top flight. Non-League football is more humble, more raw. The protection received in academy football is removed.
“Rather than playing for development, you’re playing for points and that means there is no margin for error,” he says. “That is good because it puts the real-life pressures of football onto you. And if you can cope with those pressures, your talent then does the talking. I feel that I thrive off that and I don’t tend to get too nervous. I just look forward to every game.”
What has helped Beach settle instantly at Chelmsford is his journey. He wasn’t drafted into an academy at an early age. Nor was he viewed as a precious talent. Instead, he experienced what so many other teenagers do in the Sunday league world: uneven pitches, no changing rooms, and pure enjoyment of the game.
So the obvious question: how did Beach end up in the professional game? Well, it all started with those gloves and that trial.
“There were 150 goalkeepers at the first trial,” he recalls. “I’d never really thought about being a goalkeeper – I usually only did it when we would play headers and volleys down the park with my mates. I gave it my best and kept get inviting back. That was a shock as I didn’t really know what I was doing. Eventually, it got down to just two of us; that was the first time I really thought about how close I was.
“The other guy was a big lad, looked very good, I thought that might be it. But I did the session and must have done well because Bournemouth then invited me back for an eight-week trial.”
Beach – now 19 years old and capped at youth level by Wales – is able to reflect on that trial with the same good humour that underpins our entire interview. He is relaxed, confident, and unafraid to speak honestly about his early challenges.
“It was such a contrast to Sunday League; it felt really serious, professional,” he says. “I’d gone in goal a couple of times for Southampton Schoolboys but that was it, that was my experience of being a goalkeeper in eleven-a-side matches.
“I was at Bournemouth for about three weeks and I really didn’t enjoy it. I still had no real idea what I was doing in goal when I was turning up for training. I could stop the ball from going into the net no problem, but technically and with all the goalkeeping terms, I was entirely lost.
“The coaches would tell me the most simple instruction – like a pick-up which every goalkeeper knows – and I was just looking at them clueless.”
Beach decided to cut the trial short after just three weeks. Goalkeeping wasn’t for him, at least not at that stage. “I went back to Sunday League playing for my local team and scored a hat-trick. So that was it for me.”
Word of mouth remains a powerful tool in what is a surprisingly small football world – and it wasn’t too long until scouts from Southampton heard about Beach and wanted to take a look at the talented but raw goalkeeper firsthand.
So they came along to a Hampshire Cup clash in which Beach would feature. There was just one problem. “I was playing in midfield," Beach laughs. “They asked my dad why I wasn’t in goal and he just said that I wasn’t a goalkeeper.
“For whatever reason, they still invited me for a trial – just a little one-hour session with the coach I worked with up until I left for Chelsea – and again I was nervous because it hadn’t gone well at Bournemouth. But it was a big opportunity and after that session, they turned around and offered me an eight-week trial.
“They understood I had no background knowledge in terms of goalkeeping and that I had to learn the basics, almost as if I was an eight-year-old being introduced to it. That was really important. It felt comfortable there, enjoyed it, and I came on really well in that trial. They cut it short this time as they decided to sign me and from that point, it was all I wanted to do. I signed midway through under-15s and it’s gone up and up since.”
The last part of that sentence does Beach something of an injustice. His route to Chelsea – and on loan to non-league Chelmsford – was far from straightforward. Injuries needed to be overcome, the Covid-19 pandemic had to be navigated.
Across under-15s and under-16s, Beach was sidelined for eleven months. His body simply wasn’t strong enough to handle the workload that came with training and playing for a Premier League club.
He managed to return in early 2020. A few appearances were made, confidence in his abilities started to grow. But then came the Covid-enforced lockdown, which Beach saw as an opportunity.
“I worked really hard during lockdown, I knew it was my chance to catch up with some of the other guys,” he explains. “If I compared myself to the other under-16s at that time, I’m sure I wasn’t at the level most were. But the potential I had – considering I had only had about six months to a year of goalkeeping experience – was there.”
Beach did enough to earn a two-year scholarship with Southampton, but only one appearance was made during the 2020/21 campaign due to a knee injury. It resulted in the youngster having doubts as to whether he would realise his potential.
He says: “I’m quite an optimistic person but, of course, there were times I got frustrated and down. It was a cycle that I felt at points I wouldn’t be able to break. But I always felt that if I stayed fit, I would progress and develop into a good goalkeeper. The concern was always about how I could prove it.
“I just had to work on my body and it gave me a different mindset when I came back as a second-year scholar. I was ready to smash it and didn’t worry about the other things. My focus was exactly where it needed to be.”
Beach started the 2021/22 campaign as a 17-year-old and with only a handful of goalkeeping appearances to his name. How he fared would go a long way to determining whether he would have a professional career – and at what level of the game that would be.
To use the youngster’s own term, he did “smash” the season and Southampton won the Premier League South title. The national crown evaded the Saints – Man City come out victorious – but Beach had made his mark and clubs took notice.
It was Chelsea who were able to convince Beach that his development would be best continued at Cobham. The club have kept their word and the youngster has already been involved in seven first-team matchday squads. “I’ve progressed massively,” says Beach. “The coaches at Chelsea are unreal; they look and identify things I hadn’t even thought of before.
“That focus and me working one-on-one with the coaches, I’ve improved so much technically in four months. At the same time, I had lots of minutes for the Under-21s, which is such a talented team, and working with the first-team goalkeepers has been incredible. They’re role models for me and being so close to the top, it does make you want it more.”
The loan to Chelmsford was a natural next step and Beach has relished entering the senior game.
He says: “I’ve settled in really well with the lads, the changing room is quality and banter is unbelievable. Of course, it’s a massive contrast to Chelsea in terms of the facilities but I think it’s good. It’s what I need and it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with it all. Up until I was 15 I was turning up in my kit and was straight onto the pitch! So it has brought back memories of when I was younger and gives me a bit of a buzz.
“A big difference is the fans. I absolutely love it. Whether it’s the home fans cheering you on or the away fans giving you abuse, that is an entirely new side of it to me. You really do feel you’re playing for these people and I have to admit, the stick I’ve got so far has been one of my favourite parts! You can hear everything from the guys behind the goal and they can properly single you out because there aren’t 40,000 people in the stands.
“It’s good-natured banter, though. Against Weymouth, I took a shot right in the face and my nose was bleeding for about ten minutes. They were thinking of bringing me off but decided to stop it with nose plugs. Then a chant started about me having tampons up my nose! There was another one recently too, some guys were singing, ‘Your neck’s too big for you, your neck’s too big for you!’ and I absolutely cracked up.
“It’s exactly what I need at this stage and I have to trust the process. But sometimes I sit back and think about my journey and wonder how it’s all happened. It’s a bit mad really but it makes me really excited about what is to come.”
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