Jump to content

Matt Beard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people with similar names, see Mat Beard (disambiguation).

Matt Beard
Beard with Liverpool Women in 2024
Personal information
Full name Matthew Beard[1]
Date of birth (1978-01-09)9 January 1978
Place of birth Roehampton, England
Date of death 20 September 2025(2025-09-20) (aged 47)
Managerial career
Years Team
2008–2009 Millwall Lionesses
2009–2012 Chelsea Ladies
2012–2015 Liverpool Women
2016–2017 Boston Breakers
2018–2020 West Ham United Women
2021 Bristol City Women (interim)
2021–2025 Liverpool Women
2025 Burnley Women

Matthew Beard (9 January 1978 – 20 September 2025) was an English professional football coach. Active primarily in women's football, he managed Millwall, Chelsea, Liverpool, Boston Breakers, West Ham United, Bristol City, and Burnley.

Career

[edit]

Early career and Millwall Lionesses

[edit]

Beard had his first coaching job as reserve team manager at non-league Kingstonian. He then had coaching stints at Tooting & Mitcham, Hampton & Richmond Borough, and Charlton Athletic Ladies. After Keith Boanas moved to Millwall Lionesses in June 2008,[2] Beard went too and succeeded in the Lionesses job when Boanas quit after six months.[3] In Beard's first fledgling steps in management, he guided the team to the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division title and promotion to the top tier in the 2008–09 season.[4]

Chelsea Ladies

[edit]

Beard was named first-team manager of Chelsea Ladies for the 2009–10 season on the recommendation of team captain and former player-manager Casey Stoney, who had played for Beard when he was an assistant at Charlton.[4] He remained until 2012, having guided the club to the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final,[5] the FA Premier League Cup semi-finals in 2009,[6] and a third-place finish in the FA Women's Premier League National Division at the end of the 2009–10 season.[7]

Liverpool Women and Boston Breakers

[edit]

Beard then took a position with Liverpool Women for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and was named FA Women's Super League Manager of the Year in 2013 and 2014.[8] On 22 September 2015, it was announced that he was leaving Liverpool, and had accepted a head coaching position with the Boston Breakers.[9][10]

West Ham United Women

[edit]

On 7 June 2018, Beard was appointed manager of West Ham United Women.[11] In May 2019, he took the club to the FA Cup Final, where they lost 3–0 to Manchester City at Wembley.[12] On 19 November 2020, Beard and West Ham agreed on his departure from the club by mutual consent.[13]

Return to Liverpool Women

[edit]

On 13 May 2021, it was announced Beard was re-appointed manager of Liverpool Women, and would return six years after he left.[14] He won the FA Women's Championship with them by the end of the season.[15]

On 27 February 2025, it was announced that Beard had departed Liverpool with immediate effect.[16][17]

Burnley Women

[edit]

On 19 June 2025, it was announced that Beard had taken over as head coach of Burnley Women.[18] On 27 August 2025, after just two months in the role, Burnley announced that he had resigned from Burnley with immediate effect, as he wanted to pursue other opportunities.[19]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Beard was born on 9 January 1978.[20] He and his wife, Debbie, had two children.[21] Beard also had a stepson from his wife's first marriage, who was a youth coach for Chelsea for over 10 years.[citation needed] Beard had an older brother, Mark Beard, who played professionally for Millwall, Sheffield United and Southend United.[22]

Beard died by suicide[23] on 20 September 2025, at the age of 47.[24][25]

Managerial statistics

[edit]
As of 16 February 2025[26][27]

All competitive games (league, domestic and continental cups) are included.

Managerial record by team and tenure
Club Nat. From To Record
P W D L Win %
Millwall England 2009 2009 16 12 2 2 075.00
Chelsea England 2009 2012 61 33 8 20 054.10
Liverpool England 2013 2016 58 32 7 19 055.17
Boston Breakers United States 2016 2017 44 7 9 28 015.91
West Ham United England 2018 2020 70 24 10 36 034.29
Bristol City England 2021 2021 15 3 4 8 020.00
Liverpool England 2021 2025 103 50 19 34 048.54
Total 367 161 59 147 043.87

Honours

[edit]

Liverpool Women

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Matt Beard at WorldFootball.net Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Lionesses make key appointment". Millwall F.C. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ Leighton, Tony (26 April 2023). "Boanas leaves Millwall to take charge of Estonia". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b Leighton, Tony (18 October 2009). "John Terry digs deep to rescue Chelsea Ladies after funding cuts". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Shoot-out has unhappy ending for Chelsea Ladies". The Independent. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Leeds beat Chelsea to reach final". BBC Sport. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  7. ^ "National Division". The FA FullTime. The Football Association. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Liverpool dominate FA Women's Awards". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Breakers name Matt Beard as head coach – Boston Breakers". www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Liverpool Ladies boss Matt Beard to take job in America". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  11. ^ "West Ham Ladies appoint former Chelsea & Liverpool coach Matt Beard". West Ham United F.C. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Man City beat West Ham to win FA Cup". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. ^ "West Ham United Women's statement | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Matt Beard appointed Liverpool FC Women manager". Liverpool FC. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Former Liverpool Women's manager Matt Beard dies aged 47". Metro. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  16. ^ "WSL side Liverpool sack manager Beard". BBC Sport. 27 February 2025. Archived from the original on 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  17. ^ "Liverpool FC parts company with Matt Beard". Liverpool F.C. 27 February 2025. Archived from the original on 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  18. ^ Sanders, Emma (19 June 2025). "Beard named manager of Burnley women". BBC Sport. BBC.
  19. ^ "BURNLEY FC WOMEN'S UPDATE - BEARD PLACED ON GARDENING LEAVE | BurnleyFC". www.burnleyfootballclub.com. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Matt Beard Stats". FootyStats. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  21. ^ "WSL LIVE: Updates from Chelsea v Leicester and Brighton v West Ham, plus tributes to Matt Beard". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Coaching Staff – Boston Breakers". www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  23. ^ Matt Beard's son makes emotional statement after dad's death at just 47 - 'Never the answer'
  24. ^ "Former Liverpool manager Beard dies aged 47". BBC Sport. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Former Liverpool women's team manager Matt Beard dies aged 47". Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Matt Beard Manager Stats". FootyStats. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Matt Beard". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  28. ^ McVitie, Peter (3 April 2022). "Liverpool win Championship to book return to Women's Super League". Goal. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  29. ^ Magowan, Alistair (22 November 2013). "Liverpool dominate 2013 FA Women's Awards". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  30. ^ Price, Glenn (21 May 2024). "Matt Beard named WSL Manager of the Season at LMA Awards". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Liverpool FC — Matt Beard wins FA Women's Championship Manager of the Year". www.liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Beard.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matt_Beard&oldid=1313415619"