Partner of League One winger Owen Dale reveals the chaos of deadline-day moves

Deadline day disruption from the partner’s perspective

Owen Dale’s loan move to Portsmouth was confirmed while his partner Jessica Beaumont was in labour. She recalls him being on the phone to the manager and his agent as she gave birth, and then going out on loan "pretty much as soon as I was out of hospital".

The move took the couple more than 200 miles away from family. Dale’s loan was not to a local club but to Portsmouth, a city Beaumont had never visited. The pair had only just got the keys to a house they bought in Congleton, close to Beaumont’s family in Stoke-on-Trent and commutable to Blackpool.

"We spent one night in there — we hadn’t even unpacked," Beaumont says. "Since living together, we’ve moved five times in five years. You have to be prepared for anything in the transfer window. But it’s also a really fortunate position to be in at a young age."

A life defined by uncertainty

Beaumont met Dale when he was at Crewe Alexandra. A loan to Blackpool followed with an option to buy, meaning for six months — during which Beaumont was pregnant with their son Xavier — they did not know if he would stay or return to Crewe. Blackpool signed him, but he was soon loaned out again.

"When the move to Portsmouth happened it really hit me — I had to quickly realise that ‘OK this is now my life’," she says. Just before the Portsmouth loan the couple had bought their first home together. A 10-hour round trip to see their newborn was deemed untenable.

"We thought ‘if he’s not playing well because he’s tired, what’s the point in doing this’?" Beaumont says. They rented out the Congleton house and have lived in rented accommodation since. She also had to quit her job while finishing her law degree.

"I was finishing my law degree and had a job at the time — I had to say to them I wouldn’t be coming back from maternity leave," she says. Post-natal complications made travel difficult, and she recalls Dale on the phone saying, "I’ve done a couple of house viewings. I’ve chosen this one. This is where we’re going to be living" and showing her on FaceTime. "In that moment I did feel really out of control."

Sacrifice in the lower leagues

Now 27, Dale has spent most of his career in League One, with two Championship stints at Blackpool and Oxford United. Last season was spent on loan at Plymouth Argyle, where he made 28 appearances, and he is currently a free agent.

"There’s always the risk that a move might not work," Dale says. "So I might uproot my whole family for this next venture and it all goes south. Over the years I’ve learned that until there’s a contract signed on the dotted line, you could end up anywhere."

Beaumont’s legal career is on hold; she now works in social media from home and shares her experiences on TikTok using #wag and #waglife. "My career can be picked up at any time — whereas his career is right now and you’ve really got to take every opportunity," she says.

"As much as people say it’s a glamorous lifestyle you do make sacrifices so your partner can have their dream and get themselves as far as they can in football. At the end of the day, as much as I’m involved, it’s his career. That means in order for me to support him properly I can’t get emotionally involved."

Beaumont says the stereotype of the easy footballer life does not match League One reality. "People also put League One players in the same bracket as Premier League players. In the Premier League they’re often set up for life — we can’t live in that way because we have to prepare for life after football."

Relegation and injury add further instability. While at Portsmouth, parent club Blackpool was relegated, affecting Dale’s wage despite him not being involved. "You have to be prepared for everything. You just can’t live outside of your means."

The upheaval now affects their children, four-year-old Xavier and two-month-old Etta. Planning Xavier’s fourth birthday was complicated by not knowing if they would still be in Plymouth. "We couldn’t plan to have a party in Plymouth with balloons and cakes etc because we didn’t know if we were going to be there," Beaumont says. They held it near family in Stoke-on-Trent instead.

"As much as I worry about Xavier and Etta, I also think how amazing it’s going to be for them when they’re older to be able to tell their life story and say they’ve lived in all these different places. I think it’s teaching them a good…"