He definitely got funding for an Academy at Ardingly, my mates son went there after being released from the Albion. His son was playing for Loxwoods mens team before he was 18. I remember the Academy used to play some decent teams from big clubs, including the Nike Academy...
He played for Millwall.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mark+beard+football&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=61J5WKDtC6On8wfTy4L4Bw
http://www.ardingly.com/Mark-Beard