[2] He was a very good swimmer, rated second in the country at the 100 metres freestyle at 14, but he dropped swimming in favour of football after damaging the cartilage tissue on his shoulder.

Beattie's initial impact was positive, earning him the club's Player of the Season award as he helped the Saints stave off relegation.

[5] 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.

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.

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).

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[10] for a fee that could eventually rise to £3.5 million.

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.

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.

[13][14] 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.

[17] Beattie made his debut for Rangers immediately after signing for the club, playing in their opening match in the Scottish Premier League against Kilmarnock.

[21] In November 2011, Beattie began training with League One club AFC Bournemouth, with manager Lee Bradbury keen to sign him.

[22] However, later that month, Beattie moved north to train with old club Sheffield United to allow manager Danny Wilson to assess his fitness.

[25] 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.

[27] 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.

[28] 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.

[41] In December 2015, following Monk's dismissal as manager, Beattie left Swansea City alongside Pep Clotet and Kristian O'Leary.

[47] After Monk was sacked, Beattie remained on the staff for a further season, albeit on "gardening leave", and left in August 2020 after the arrival of Aitor Karanka as manager.