At the end of September, at a time when football fans across Europe returned to their stadiums, pubs, and sofas as the new footballing season began, the tragic news broke that former Liverpool Women’s manager Matt Beard had passed away.
A time of footballing hope and excitement quickly turned to pain and disbelief, as the reality of the 47-year old’s death settled. Football had lost not only a great manager, but a champion for the women’s game, a friend and a character. Above all, a family had lost a husband and a father.
Beard was one of the greats of football, having won back to-back league titles as Liverpool Women’s manager, breaking the dominance of Arsenal Women who had, before Beard’s successes, won nine league titles in a row. Beard left Liverpool Women in 2015 to manage Boston Breakers in the United States, which was seen as a pioneering move.
Following six difficult years for Liverpool Women, who found themselves in the second division of English football, Beard returned to the club. By the end of the season, he had solidified his role as a Liverpool legend, leading the club back to the first division. In a statement, Liverpool said Beard was a man of ‘real integrity and warmth’ and that he will be remembered by everyone at the club with ‘genuine fondness’. The impact he had at Liverpool was clear.
However, it was not just Liverpool that Beard left a lasting effect on. Beard held a managerial role at Chelsea for three years, prior to their dominance of the English game. Chelsea, speaking on Beard’s death, said that Beard played a fundamental role in Chelsea’s success in ‘laying the foundations’ prior to Emma Hayes’ arrival at the club.
Emma Hayes herself, speaking to the League Manager’s Association, said ‘Matt Beard was an incredible investor in the women’s game and someone who will be remembered by his players, his staff, and his colleagues for the amazing character that he was’.
Coverage of the WSL across the past weeks has been filled with tributes to Beard, with players who had worked with him across the years offering heartfelt condolences and reminiscing on stories of the great man they knew. Observations of a minute silence, black armbands and banners filled stadiums across the league, emphasising the legacy left by Beard on all fans of the sport. Current Liverpool Women’s manager Gareth Taylor told the BBC that Beard’s family had been ‘blown away’ by all the love that had been directed towards Beard and his family.
One of Beard’s former players, Natasha Dowie spoke to the BBC about the late manager, saying that he was ‘one of the of the best managers to ever work with’. Dowie was a part of the team that won back-to-back titles with Liverpool and was one of many players who spoke so highly of him. Dowie continued to say, ‘I will miss him, I will miss his laugh, I will miss his hug, his big cheeky smile but we will make sure he’s not forgotten’, conveying a sentiment shared by many who knew him.