Liverpool FC Women have parted ways with their manager, Matthew Beard, with the club seventh in the Women’s Super League. Beard was a part of his second spell in charge of the team after coaching them back-to-back titles, returning in May 2021, when they were playing the Championship.
This article will provide an overview of Beard’s legacy and achievements at Liverpool FC. We will also discuss some of the reasons behind Beard’s departure and the future of LFC women.
Beard’s Legacy and Achievements at Liverpool FC
Matthew Beard, the 47-year-old football manager of the Women’s Super League club initially joined the Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Women in 2012. He built the team that secured back-to-back titles for Women’s Super League in 2013 and 2014.
Beard had also managed the Reds during their first campaign in the Champions League. He was also a part of the West Ham United Women for two years after he returned from his management with Boston Breakers, during which he also coached the Women’s FA Cup final in 2019, just before his participation with the Bristol City Women.
He returned to the Reds in 2021 in order to recreate the team and achieve the promotion of the Women’s Super League (WSL) emphatically by winning the FA Women’s Championship during his first season. His past experiences have been noteworthy, which include working with the Bristol City Women, West Ham United Women, and Boston Breakers.
The Women’s club manager is said to have addressed the team for a considerable amount of time, and it was later agreed that Matt Beard had done everything he could for the team. Liverpool finished fourth last season and broke into the so-called “big four” for the WSL by finishing above Manchester United, but so far they have not been able to do the same, partly because of the series of injuries.
Reasons Behind Beard’s Departure and the Future of LFC Women
The LFC Women board talked to liverpoolfc.com, “We have all experienced some fantastic moments with Matt as manager of LFC Women and we express our gratitude for his significant contribution. Our priority was to return this team to where it belongs and we collectively achieved that in 2022 by winning promotion to the WSL.
“We need to build on that momentum and although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for future success on the pitch. The search for a new manager of LFC Women is under way, with Amber Whiteley stepping into the interim manager role with immediate effect.”
Beard thanked Liverpool and its fans in a press release and said, “I am proud [of] what we managed to achieve over the last three and a half years, including promotion back to the WSL. I could not have asked for more from the players and staff, and thank them for all their sacrifice and support.”
Beard is partly a victim of the success of last season, in that by overperforming expectations in relation to the resources available in the team, the expectations are now raised at Liverpool to the extent that the mid-table, which would have been closer to the level of the club previous season, is no longer sufficient.
Liverpool is financially a bottom-half squad as the latest accounts indicate, but then they do have young members in their team who are building themselves.
The departure of Beard seems to be brutal for many fans, but simultaneously it can prove to be reasonable since some fans were not completely satisfied with the way he played the game.
Amber Whiteley has assumed the role of interim LFC Women’s Manager with immediate effect. Liverpool lost 4-0 at Manchester City in Beard’s last match in charge and will face the basement club Crystal Palace this weekend.
As women’s football continues to become more popular among punters, it is also gaining attention on many football betting sites, where football enthusiasts can now enjoy more opportunities to engage with football through different betting markets on matches and tournaments.
