Matt Beard

Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who is currently head coach of Bristol City, providing maternity cover for permanent Bristol manager Tanya Oxtoby.[1] He has previously managed the women's teams of West Ham United Women, Chelsea and Liverpool, and was the head coach of Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).[2]

Matt Beard
Matt Beard in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Matthew Beard
Date of birth (1978-01-09) 9 January 1978
Place of birth Roehampton, England
Club information
Current team
 Bristol City Women (caretaker manager)
Teams managed
Years Team
2008–2009 Milwall Lionesses
2009–2012 Chelsea Ladies
2012–2015 Liverpool Ladies
2016–2017 Boston Breakers
2018–2020 West Ham United Women
2021– Bristol City Women (interim)

Coaching career

Beard had his first coaching job as reserve team manager at non-league 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 title in 2008–09.

Beard was first team manager of Chelsea Ladies FC from 2009–2012, helping guide the club to the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final, the FA Premier League Cup Semi-finals, and a third-place finish in the FA National Premier League. He then took a position with Liverpool Ladies FC for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and was named FA WSL Manager of the Year in 2013 and 2014.[3]

On 22 September 2015, it was announced that Beard was leaving Liverpool Ladies FC, and had accepted a head coaching position with the Boston Breakers.[4][5]

In June 2018, he was appointed manager of West Ham United Women.[6] In May 2019, he took the club to the FA Cup Final, where they lost 3-0 to Manchester City at Wembley.[7]

On 19 November 2020, Beard and West Ham agreed on his departure from the club by mutual consent.[8]

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.[9]

References
  1. Bristol City women: Matt Beard set to take over until end of season BBC Sport. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  2. "Coaching Staff – Boston Breakers". www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. "Liverpool dominate FA Women's Awards". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. "Breakers name Matt Beard as head coach – Boston Breakers". www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  5. "Liverpool Ladies boss Matt Beard to take job in America". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  6. "West Ham Ladies appoint former Chelsea & Liverpool coach Matt Beard". West Ham United F.C. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  7. "Man City beat West Ham to win FA Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. "West Ham United Women's statement | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. "Coaching Staff – Boston Breakers". www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.