Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, who is currently

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

club

Liverpool FC Women Liverpool Football Club Women is an England, English women's association football, women's football club, founded in 1989 as ''Newton LFC'' and subsequently renamed ''Knowsley United WFC'' and ''Liverpool Ladies''. A founding member of the top-t ...

. He has managed the side previously, as well as the women's teams of

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on an interim basis,

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women' ...

and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

Coaching career

Beard had his first coaching job as

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

manager at

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

Kingstonian FC. He then had coaching stints at Tooting & Mitcham, Hampton & Richmond Borough, and Charlton Athletic Ladies. After Keith Boanas moved to Millwall Lionesses in 2008, Beard went too and succeeded in the Lionesses job when Boanas quit after six months. Beard's first fledgling steps in management guided the team to the

FA Women's Premier League Southern Division The FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division is a league in the third level in the women's football pyramid in England, along with the Northern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and below the W ...

title in 2008–09.

Chelsea Ladies FC

Beard was first team manager of Chelsea Ladies FC from 2009 to 2012, helping guide the club to the

2012 FA Women's Cup Final The 2012 FA Women's Cup Final was the 42nd final of the FA Women's Cup. 276 clubs competed for the years trophy. The winners did not qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League. Birmingham City Ladies, beat Chelsea Ladies 3–2 in a pena ...

, the FA Premier League Cup Semi-finals, and a third-place finish in the FA National Premier League.

Liverpool FC Women

He then took a position with

for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and was named

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

Manager of the Year in 2013 and 2014. On 22 September 2015, it was announced that Beard was leaving Liverpool FC Women, and had accepted a head coaching position with the

West Ham United Women

In June 2018, he was appointed manager of

West Ham United Women West Ham United Women Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with West Ham United. They were formed in 1991 and play home games at Dagenham & Redbridge's Chigwell Construction Stadium on Victoria Road. History Whilst th ...

. In May 2019, he took the club to the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

, where they lost 3-0 to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

at Wembley. On 19 November 2020, Beard and West Ham agreed on his departure from the club by mutual consent.

Liverpool FC Women

On 13 May 2021 it was announced Beard was appointed manager of

, and would return 6 years since he left. He won the

FA Women's Championship The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

with them by the end of the season.

Personal life

Beard and his wife, Debbie, have two children: Harry and Ellie. Matt also has a step-son Scott Hastings from Debbie's first marriage. Scott is a football coach for

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. ...

Honours

Liverpool Women *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 2013–14 *

: 2021–22 Individual * FA WSL Manager of the Season: 2013 * LMA FA Women's Championship Manager of the Year: 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Matt 1978 births Living people People from Roehampton English football managers Women's Super League managers National Women's Soccer League coaches Boston Breakers coaches Liverpool L.F.C. managers Chelsea F.C. Women managers Expatriate soccer managers in the United States English expatriate football managers Association football coaches