succeeding him. During his second spell at St James's Park he racked up 157 appearances and scored 56 goals, bringing his overall total after two spells with the club to 321 appearances and 117 goals. This equates to a goal every 2.74 matches, a decent ratio for a player who was seen by many as a provider rather than a goalscorer, particularly in the 1996–97 season when he was switched to midfield following Alan Shearer's arrival. It is this period of his career that Beardsley regards as the time when he peaked. Later career and retirement Beardsley left Newcastle for the second time on 18 August 1997 for £450,000, joining Bolton Wanderers, where he made 21 appearances but was unable to save them from being relegated from the Premier League just one season after promotion. He then went on loan to Manchester City, where he played six times in Division One. This loan spell made Beardsley the only player to play for both top-flight teams in Liverpool and Manchester. He then moved to Fulham who were managed by his former manager Keegan, where he made 28 appearances in two separate loan spells, eventually signing for them permanently. He then went to Hartlepool United on a free transfer, and played 22 times in Division Three to secure their Football League status. He finally ended his career at the age of 38 when he played twice for the Melbourne Knights in Australia. In a professional career totalling some 20 years in English football, he managed 659 league games and 210 goals, and a total of 799 games and 238 goals in all competitions. He had collected three major trophies (all of them with Liverpool) and was capped 59 times by England, scoring nine times. He had also played in two promotion winning teams earlier in his career, although he had been sold by Carlisle just before they sealed promotion in 1982. During the 2012–13 season, Beardsley played in a friendly for Cambridge United against the Newcastle United reserve squad to celebrate Cambridge's 100th anniversary since they were founded. International career After reaching the First Division with Newcastle, Beardsley became a regular in the England side in the second half of the 1980s, and teamed up with striker Gary Lineker, who described Beardsley as "the best partner I could ever have". It was Lineker who made way for Beardsley when manager Bobby Robson